manilastandard.net
@ManilaStandardPH
@mnlstandardph
@manilastandard
@ManilaStandardYT
Missed your copy of Manila Standard? Call or text our Circulation Hotline at 0917-8848655 or email: circulation@manilastandard.net . For advertisement: email: advertise@manilastandard.net •09173382170 / 85646229
Bernardo details flood control project ‘scheme’
MEDIA ORGS SEEK RELEASE OF DETAINED JOURNALIST
By Joel Zurbano, Charles Dantes, Maricel Cruz and Vince Lopez TESTIMONY by former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Roberto Bernardo before the Senate has reinforced findings of a long-running corruption scheme in flood control projects, as Malacañang, the Commission on Audit (COA), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) separately weighed in on the expanding investigation. Bernardo told the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Monday night that a scheme involving lawmakers, DPWH officials, and contractors existed during his time in government, corroborating conclusions earlier reached by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI). Next page
NEWS / A3
VOL. XXXIX • NO. 340 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2026
Bong Revilla jailed in QC on malversation charge
No special treatment, Palace, DILG, PNP vow amid flood control scandal By Vince Lopez, Maricel Cruz, and Charles Dantes
F
ORMER senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. was ordered detained at the Quezon City Jail’s Male Dormitory in Payatas on Tuesday following a malversation of public funds case filed with the Sandiganbayan, despite posting bail for a separate graft charge at the special anti-corruption court.
DETAINEE. Former Senator Bong Revilla Jr. posts bail for a graft case before the Sandiganbayan, but is still brought to the Quezon City Jail male dormitory in Payatas for his non-bailable case of malversation over a questionable flood control project. Top right photo shows where Revilla and his co-accused are detained. Bottom right photo shows nine former Public Works officials who are brought to the Sandiganbayan for their bail hearing. Manny Palmero, BJMP
Discaya junks link to ex-Speaker yarn, says he never entered South Forbes By Maricel V. Cruz CONTRACTOR Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya on Monday denied under oath that he had ever entered South Forbes Park, a claim that figures prominently in a Senate Blue Ribbon
Committee hearing. The claim is also said to weigh heavily on the Senate panel’s assessment of allegations seeking to link former Speaker Martin Romualdez to a Makati property allegedly bought by the Discayas.
Testifying before the committee, Discaya rejected accusations that he approached occupants or issued instructions related to the property, saying he had no personal knowledge of the area. “We have never entered South Forbes Park. We do not even know
what the houses there look like,” Discaya told senators. Senator Ping Lacson, who presided over the hearing, later said the information presented by two witnesses, identified by the aliases “Joy” and Next page
China warns PH: Stop provocations or pay the price
BEATING THE 6 A.M. OIL PRICE HIKE.
Jeepney drivers queue at a gasoline station before 6 a.m. Tuesday when a scheduled bigtime oil price hike of as much as P2 per liter for diesel takes effect. Edd Castro
By Katrina Manubay CHINA on Monday warned “certain uniformed service members” in the Philippines to stop spreading what it described as disinformation about Beijing. It added that those provoking tensions should cease their actions or “pay the price,” a statement that drew criticism from a Philippine senator. In a graphic released by the Chinese Embassy in Manila on Tuesday, Chinese For Next page
Police officials said Revilla remained under custody for the non-bailable malversation case linked to an alleged P92.8-million ghost flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan. Malacañang, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) underscored that no special treatment would be accorded the ex-lawmaker amid the ongoing legal proceedings. Revilla on Tuesday posted P90,000 bail for the graft case before the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division. However, the court did not allow him to go home after the Sandiganbayan Special Third Division ordered his temporary Next page
Impeach case vs. PBBM won’t hold water —Palace By Charles Dantes and Maricel V. Cruz
MALACAÑANG on Tuesday dismissed the impeachment complaint filed against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as a “scripted distraction,” saying the President was not involved in any impeachable offense. Meanwhile, a Congress leader also said the impeachment case against Mr. Marcos “is weak, unsupported by credible evidence, and unlikely to move forward in the House of Representatives.” Presidential Communications Office
Next page
DILG chief defends P10-m bounty for Atong Ang’s arrest
Eala, partner bow out of Aussie Open doubles
DEPARTMENT of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla has refuted as “unfair” allegations that his offer of a P10million cash reward for the arrest of gambling lord Charlie “Atong” Ang was simply a show and that the bounty would just line the pocket of those with vested interest. Meanwhile, a composite team of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday tried to serve a warrant of arrest on Ang at
FILIPINA tennis sensation Alex Eala is now headed for Manila at much earlier time for the inaugural staging of the 2025 Philippine Women’s Open WTA-125 Tennis Championships. The 20-year-old Eala and Brazilian partner Ingrid Martins fell to an experienced pair Magda Linette and Shuko Aoyama, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 3-6, in the first round of the 2026 Australian Open women’s doubles in Melbourne Park. Eala is a wildcard entry in the first-ever WTA event in
one of his purported properties in San Antonio, Zambales. The warrant servers arrived at a beach house believed to be owned by Ang in Barangay Pundaquit, but came back empty-handed. Remulla was reacting to the criticisms, particularly the snide remark of former Commission on Elections Commissioner Rowena Guanzon who claimed that the authorities already knew where Ang was hiding. Next page
By Peter Atencio
Next page
Alex Eala and her doubles partner, Ingrid Martins