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HUNT ON FOR ATONG ANG AS 17 CO-ACCUSED IN CUSTODY By Vince Lopez, Pot Chavez and Joel Zurbano THE hunt for the accused in the missing sabungero case is now focused on gaming tycoon Atong Ang after 17 of the 18 respondents are now under custody, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director Maj. Gen. Robert Morico said on Wednesday. Next page
VOL. XXXIX • NO. 334 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2026
Bonoan misled PBBM—Lacson Says Palace given wrong coordinates of flood control infra
By Ram Superable
F
ORMER Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan deliberately submitted to Malacanang wrong grid coordinates for thousands of flood control infrastructure, including 421 that were identified as ghost projects, Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson disclosed yesterday.
Lacson, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, said he received “reliable information” that Bonoan intended to mislead the President and that the incorrect data formed part of the ‘Sumbong sa Pangulo’ website which lists flood control projects and the contractors that handled them. Next page
Report linking former Speaker to Discayas baseless—lawyer
THERE is no indication that former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan will return to the Philippines after he was implicated in allegedly questionable flood control projects in Bulacan, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said. “We have no news yet. We have not talked yet – no communication,” Remulla said in a television interview. Bonoan left the country for the United States via Taiwan in November 2025. According to the Department of Justice, Bonoan accompanied his wife for the latter’s medical procedure in the US, and was scheduled to return on December 17, 2025. However, Bonoan, who is the subject of an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) earlier issued by the DOJ, has not yet returned to the country.
By Maricel Cruz THE lawyer of Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Wednesday shut down reports linking the former Speaker to an alleged property purchase using the Discaya family as a front. “With reference to recent news reports linking former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez to the Discayas through an alleged property purchase, Rep. Romualdez has no knowledge nor involvement in the purported transaction,” said Ade Fajardo, lawyer and spokesperson of Romualdez. “Rep. Romualdez has not met the Discayas and has only heard of them based on what is being said in media reports. As such, the claim in the report about using the Discayas as a front in a property purchase is outright baseless,” Fajardo said. The denial comes ahead of the resumption on January 19 of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee inquiry,
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HONORING OFWS. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. praised OFWs in the United Arab Emirates as a source of honor and
pride for the country during a gathering of the Filipino community in Abu Dhabi, recognizing their significant contributions to the development of the UAE and the Philippine economy, as well as their resilience, talent, and exemplary work ethic. The President reaffirmed the government’s continued commitment to the welfare of OFWs, expanding opportunities through stronger cooperation between the Philippines and the UAE, and encouraging continuous learning, skill development, and strengthening the spirit of bayanihan among Filipinos abroad.
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DEPARTMENT of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla on Wednesday, Jan.14, bared that P1 billion was offered to him and his brother,
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, through a middleman to stop the ongoing investigation into anomalous in flood control projects. He said the offer was passed through a “mutual friend” who conveyed it to him and his brother.
The DILG chief said the intermediary was close to him and an unidentified person who was also being linked to the flood control scandal. “Someone mentioned to me if it was possible. I said; ‘Don’t talk to me anymore. Let’s not talk anymore if it’s like
Bato in Davao but no arrest without ICC warrant—Jonvic By Pot Chavez
that.’ I stopped talking,” Remulla said. He explained that the bribe was being made in exchange for him and his brother to drop their investigations and prevent the source of the fund from being unmasked.
INTERIOR Secretary Jonvic Remulla said that Senator Ronald Dela Rosa was last known to be in Davao. However, Remulla pointed out that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) cannot take action against him because it has yet to receive a formal copy of the supposed arrest order from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
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DILG chief bares P1-b bribe try to drop flood control investigations By Vince Lopez
‘No word yet on Bonoan’s return to PH’
Death toll in Binaliw rises to 19, Cebu declares day of mourning By Rex Espiritu THE death toll from the collapse of the Binaliw landfill in Cebu City climbed to 19 as of Wednesday, authorities said, while 17 others are still missing. The latest fatality was a 40-year-old
man, according to Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak. Fifty-two personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection are deployed at the site to continue the search, rescue and retrieval operations. Next page
STO. NINO EXHIBIT. Devotees and caretakers organize hundreds of Sto. Niño images ahead of the Sto. Niño Exhibit at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City, part of the Fiesta del Sto. Niño 2026 celebrations this month. The exhibit, showcasing Child Jesus images from various parishes and devotees, will be open to the public from January 16 to 23, 2026, with daily novena masses scheduled. Norman Cruz
Razon files cyberlibel complaint vs. Barzaga MANILA BOUND. K-pop powerhouse BTS is returning to Manila almost a decade after for a two-day mega concert in March 2027, as part of its world tour. The sevenmember group last performed in the Philippines on May 6 and 7, 2017 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena for its ‘2017 BTS Live Trilogy Episode III (Final Chapter): The Wings Tour.’
BUSINESS tycoon Enrique Razon, chairman of port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), has lodged a cyberlibel complaint against Cavite 4th District Rep. Kiko Barzaga over alleged false statements the lawmaker posted on social media. Razon’s counsel, lawyer Laurence
Arroyo, said the complaint stems from Barzaga’s January 9 Facebook post claiming that National Unity Party (NUP) congressmen received bribes from Razon during various gatherings at Solaire ahead of the 2025 elections in exchange for supporting Speaker Martin Romualdez of Leyte.
Another January 9 Facebook post by Barzaga, also cited in the complaint, stated that Razon was the mastermind behind corruption in Congress and that he would disclose everything in a speech upon his return in the first week of February, accompanied by the hashNext page