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Win’s bloc to invite ’18 Marines’; Tulfo wants probe on ‘gathering’ By Joel Zurbano, Ram Superable, and Maricel Cruz
VOL. XL • NO. 112 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2026 •
THE dispute over the Senate’s flood control investigation intensified on Friday as the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee under acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian moved to take Next page control of the inquiry.
IBP, law deans, ex-SPs to senators: Stop rift
Split ‘profoundly disturbing’; push for swift resolution
• Marcoleta hearing a ‘gathering’—Win • Ping: Baligod 18 could face charges • Mike: No script made for witnesses
House impeach team to appear only to Win’s team By Maricel V. Cruz IF SEPARATE notices are issued by competing Senate leadership claims, the House prosecution panel will appear before acting Senate President Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian in the impeachment trial of Vice President Next page Sara Duterte.
By Ram Superable, Joel Zurbano, and Pot Chavez
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EGAL experts, law school deans, political analysts, and former Senate presidents on Friday urged senators to resolve the ongoing leadership dispute in the chamber and return to their legislative and constitutional duties, including preparations for the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) weighed in on the controversy, backing the validity of the June 3 Senate session that installed Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian as acting Senate President and reorganized several committees. IBP National President Atty. Allan Panolong said the proceedings and actions taken during the session carry a presumption of legality. Next page
MAY INFLATION SLIPS TO 6.8% BUSINESS / B1
MAHARLIKA REHAB. President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. joins Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon in inspecting the progress of the rehabilitation of the Maharlika highway in Pinabacdao, Samar province. Story on A3. PCO
Lawyer rebuts OMB, citing Ping’s finding of no flood control brains
SEND OFF. Philippine Navy officials send off yesterday Naval Task Group 84, its contingent aboard BRP Miguel Malvar FFG6 - PF,
A PUBLIC interest lawyer has pointed to the conclusion of former Blue Ribbon chair Senator Panfilo Lacson that the flood control scam had no mastermind. Lawyer Antonio Zoleta Bucoy cited Lacson’s finding to dispute Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remullla’s assertion that former Speaker and Leyte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez masterminded the flood control mess. Lacson headed the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that investigated irregularities in the government’s flood control projects. He had submitted a partial report on its finding before chaos broke out at the chamber. Romualdez has been invited to the resumption of the flood control
investigation of the Senate under the leadership of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano before another change of leadership unfolded at the chamber on Wednesday. The new Blue Ribbon chair, Sen. Erwin Tulfo, has also said the former Speaker might be invited to attend the hearing scheduled on June 8. Asked about that scheduled probe in a radio interview, Bucoy said it was a diversionary move. “My reaction to that is they are diverting the investigation. If you can recall, there was already a partial report of the Blue Ribbon Committee under Senator Lacson,” he said. He pointed out that Lacson categorically declared that the flood control scam had no mastermind. Next page
at Naval Operating Base-Subic, Zambales, for its participation in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise 2026 in Hawaii. PN
Bulacan RTC orders Diesel seen to rise by P4.50/l, of Discaya gasoline lower by P1.50/l — DOE arrest couple, nine others By Alena Mae S. Flores
CONSUMERS can expect a mixed movement in pump prices next week, with diesel increasing by as much as P4.50 per liter but gasoline dropping
by up to P1.50 per liter, an industry source said Friday. Based on trading from June 2 to June 4, gasoline is forecasted to decrease by P1 to P1.50 per liter. The
cal cyclone wind signal no. 1 as Tropical Depression (TD) Ester maintained its strength as it traversed southern Taiwan.
THE Malolos City Regional Trial Court (RTC) on Friday issued warrants of arrest against contractors Curlee Discaya and wife Sarah Discaya, along with nine other individuals, over malversation charges linked to an allegedly anomalous flood control project in Bulacan. Meanwhile, the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division has allowed former
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TD ‘Ester’ to bring rains over Batanes THE Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reported at 5 pm yesterday that Batanes remains under tropi-
By Rex Espiritu and Maricel Cruz
SENIOR EAGLE. The Quezon City Government symbolically issues an ID card to Philippine eagle Girlie, who at 45 to 46 years old and with a permanent wing injury and blindness in her right eye, has far outlived the typical lifespan of her species and stands as a living legend of wildlife conservation. DENR