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Court grants AMLC petition to freeze ex-Sec Bonoan’s assets By Joel E. Zurbano
VOL. XL • NO. 37 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2026
THE Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has issued a freeze order on the assets of former Department of Public Works and Highways secretary
Manuel Bonoan in connection with an alleged money laundering scheme, as reported by Bilyonaryo News Agenda on Wednesday. The freeze order affects five of BonNext page
PBBM suspends PUV fare hikes Transport, labor groups buck move; PISTON 2-day strike starts
By Katrina Manubay and Alena Mae Flores
P
RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the suspension of the scheduled fare increases for public land transportation that were supposed to take effect today, citing the need to ease the burden on commuters amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East. In a video statement, Mr. Marcos directed the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to defer the hikes, while assuring transport workers that government support, including the P5,000 cash aid, would be expedited and expanded. “Let us postpone that for now because we are in the middle of this
situation where we need to continue supporting our commuters, workers, students, and everyone who uses our transport system,” he said. Transport group PISTON and the labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno criticized the President’s directive, saying Next page
Marcos won’t use excise fuel tax power yet
CHECKING ON PRICES. President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., upper right photo, checks market prices at the Agora Public Market in San Juan City together with Agriculture Secretary Francisco Laurel Tiu and Trade and Industry Secretary Cristina Roque even as women leaders of Akbayan Party-list and allied groups, inset, stage a protest against rising food prices in a march inside the Kamuning Public Market in Quezon City. Revoli Cortez, Manny Palmero
By Katrina Manubay and Maricel V. Cruz PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said yesterday the government has yet to decide whether to suspend or reduce excise taxes on petroleum products, noting that the situation requires a “very complicated” assessment. “We will see. Depends on the trends. We have to watch the trends on oil prices. We just have to look. It’s very hard to say because it’s all speculation. We don’t know how long this will last,” the President told reporters after a price check on basic commodities in a San Juan market. “We don’t know what the effects are. We don’t know what will happen in the Strait of Hormuz. Right now, we are just adjusting to the situation. And when the situation calls for it, then we will see when to exercise that power,” he explained. Next page
Gov’t ramps up price, supply monitoring of basic goods, food By Katrina Manubay, Othel V. Campos, Ram Superable, Maricel Cruz and Vince Lopez THE government has stepped up efforts to monitor the prices and supply of food and other basic goods as President Fer-
DMW dispatches 3rd repatriation flight to ME By Vito Barcelo THE government dispatched its third chartered flight early Wednesday to bring home Filipinos from the Middle East, as part of its ongoing repatriation efforts
amid escalating tensions in the region. The B777-300 plane departed from Manila with Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) officials Dominique Rubia-Tutay and Vennie Legaspi onboard to assist in the repatriation of overseas Filipinos.
The latest mission follows two earlier flights that arrived over the weekend. The first landed last Saturday, while the second touched down Sunday morning. DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia Next page
House to begin formal VP Sara impeach hearings on March 25 By Maricel V. Cruz and Katrina Manubay THE House Committee on Justice declared the third and fourth impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte sufficient in substance, formally moving the proceedings to the next stage and setting initial formal hearing dates beginning March 25, April 14, 22, and 29, 2026.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, committee chairperson Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro confirmed the approval of motions covering both complaints, with no objections raised by members. Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team said that their position has not changed, asserting that the complaints against her are flawed and not based on established facts. Next page
SAFELY HOME. Twenty more overseas Filipino workers, 18 from Israel and 2 from Oman, arrive in Manila yesterday to a warm welcome by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. OWWA
dinand Marcos Jr. assured Filipinos that there was “no need to hoard” amid the oil price shocks driven by escalating tensions in the Middle East. “So far, we’ve been able to keep everything at normal levels. Everything Next page
Romualdez lauds passage of bill on merit scholarship By Maricel V. Cruz LEYTE Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez has lauded the third-reading approval by the House of Representatives of a consolidated bill establishing the Presidential Merit Scholarship Program. “The program aims to widen access to quality education of graduating senior high school students not only from poor families but from other financially challenged and middle-class households as well,” he said. Romualdez’s House Bill (HB) 5763 was incorporated into the consolidated measure, principally authored by Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander Marcos of Ilocos Norte. Next page