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Probe of Leviste’s solar firm ongoing, says Ombudsman OMBUDSMAN Remulla said an investigation is already underway into alleged franchise violations of a solar energy firm founded by Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste, following claims that the transfer
Palace: Reported impeach raps vs. PBBM mere claims By Charles Dantes and Rio Araja VOL. XXXIX • NO. 331 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 2026 •
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Recanting witnesses face perjury, jail time Lacson: Blue Ribbon to tackle Alcantara ‘retraction’ Jan. 19
MALACAÑANG on Sunday dismissed reports of a planned impeachment complaint against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., calling the claims “unsubstantiated.” In a message to Palace reporters, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro reacted to Caloocan second district Rep. Edgar Erice, who said an impeachment complaint against President Marcos could possibly be filed once Congress resumes session. Another lawmaker, La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V, reacted to Erice, saying impeachment is a serious constitutional mechanism that “must be anchored on proof and not treated as a political announcement.” On the other hand, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte cautioned fellow Next page
By Ram Superable
F
ORMER Public Works officials who recant their sworn statements in ongoing investigations into flood control ghost project scandals face perjury charges and prison sentences of up to 12 years, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson warned Sunday. Lacson said the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee will take up the supposed retraction of ex-DPWH official Henry Alcantara when it meets on January 19. On Friday, former Public Works engineer Henry Alcantara reportedly retracted his earlier statements on his involvement in the flood control project anomalies, according to the lawyer of Senator Joel Villanueva, who has been implicated in the scandal. But the Department of Justice later said it has yet to receive or review any Next page
VIVA STO. NIÑO. Devotees raise the image of the Sto. Nino to be blessed during rites in Cebu City as preparations for the Jan. 19 Sinulog Festival went into high gear. Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu
De Lima says absence involuntary unlike Sen. Bato’s non-appearance By Rio N. Araja and Ram Superable
NOT GIVING UP. Relatives of workers, inset, buried in the collapsed landfill in Cebu City continue their vigil hoping that rescuers will still find survivors three days after the incident. Alan S. Tangcawan
‘Hopes of finding Binaliw survivors dim as 72-hour window passes’ HOPES of finding survivors days after the collapse of a massive mountain of trash in the central Philippines were fading, officials said Sunday, as rescue workers dug through tons of rubble. The recovery of a body on Sunday brought the confirmed death toll to seven, with at least 29 people still missing as the crucial 72-hour window since the landslide in Cebu City came to an end. About 50 sanitation workers were buried on Thursday when the mountain of garbage toppled onto them from an estimated height of 20 storeys at the Binaliw Landfill, a privately operated facility that handles trash for
the city of nearly one million. "Yesterday, we detected two signs of life through our specialized radar. There were still heartbeats 30 meters (98 feet) below the debris, but right now, there are no reports of that anymore," local fire officer Wendell Villanueva told Agence France Presse (AFP) on Sunday. He said it was unlikely "for people to still be alive" three days after "tons of debris and trash had collapsed over them." So far, 12 employees have been pulled alive from the garbage and hospitalized. Next page
MAMAMAYANG Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima on Sunday took a swipe at Senate President Vicente Sotto III, saying her absence as then senator was entirely different from the failure of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to physically appear at the Senate. Meanwhile, Sotto III has said that
Dela Rosa who made himself scarce following reports of an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) could be compelled to attend plenary sessions, including through an arrest order, if his vote would be critical to the chamber. “With due respect, SP Sotto should not compare me with (ex-) senator (Antonio) Trillanes (IV) or with Next page
Mayon Volcano unrest may last months—Phivolcs By Rio N. Araja THE ongoing magmatic unrest of Mayon Volcano in Albay, which is currently under Alert Level 3, may last for months, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). Phivolcs director Dr. Teresito Bacolcol said in a radio interview on Sunday “if we follow the 2023 template, this would probably take six months… In 2023, the activity at Mayon Volcano subsided six months later.” Next page
PYROCLASTIC DISPLAY. Volcano watchers are treated to another display of pyroclastic eruptions from the mouth of Mayon Volcano at around 8:40 a.m. yesterday. Nehemiah Manzanilla Sitiar/Facebook