Author: gqSbgCfmna

November 23, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Katherine Cassandra Li Ong – charged with qualified human trafficking for her links to Lucky South 99 offshore gaming hub in Porac, Pampanga – was last tracked in Japan where she moved shortly after her release from detention, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission revealed yesterday.

According to PAOCC spokesman Winston John Casio, Japan was Ong’s final recorded destination in the first quarter of 2024 before she dropped off the radar.

Ong had earlier been detained at the House of Representatives for contempt, but she was freed when the 19th Congress ended and transitioned to the 20th.

“That was the last information we obtained—Japan. After that, we have no idea where she went,” Casio said in Filipino at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.

Ong was identified as the girlfriend of Wesley Guo, brother of ousted Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, who was convicted of qualified trafficking in persons and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Authorities earlier raided Lucky South 99, which allegedly served as a large scam hub that trafficked workers, according to the PAOCC and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

In May, a court in Angeles City, Pampanga issued arrest warrants against Ong and several others for qualified human trafficking.

The Bureau of Immigration placed her under an immigration lookout bulletin order, allowing the government to monitor her movements but not arrest her.

Casio said there is currently no information on whether Ong had traveled to countries other than Japan.

“We have to retrace everything regarding her movements,” he said.

He added that the right to travel remains protected unless restricted by law.

“The right to travel is an invaluable human right, but only insofar as nothing prevents you from exercising it,” said Casio.

Casio reported that the government intends to coordinate with Japanese authorities through legal channels to obtain more details on Ong’s whereabouts.

Shocked by the development, Sen. Risa Hontiveros urged the government to cancel Ong’s passport immediately.

Hontiveros said she was stunned to learn that Ong was released from detention despite a prior contempt citation, and disappeared after charges were filed against her and former presidential spokesman Harry Roque before the Angeles Regional Trial Court.

“Aside from the Interpol red notice, the government should cancel the passport of Cassie Ong and her accomplices. She is not a tourist,” Hontiveros said in Filipino.

The senator stressed that authorities must exhaust all means to locate Ong and bring her back to face charges.

“Cassie Li Ong should not escape accountability. She is facing human trafficking charges—this is not a minor traffic violation that can be overlooked,” she said. — Marc Jaysob Cayabyab

November 23, 2025 | 12:00am

PSC chairman Patrick Gregorio said the other day his eyes were opened during the recent Batang Pinoy where archery, futsal, taekwondo and swimming had hundreds, if not thousands, of participants, much more than in traditional sports like basketball and volleyball. It lit a fire in his heart as he envisioned a thrust in emerging sports with PSC leading the initiative.

“To be honest, nagulat ako sa dami ng participants,” he said. “Take futsal, for example. There were hundreds of players from nearly every LGU. I think we had 500 to 600 in archery and it helped that we brought in a Korean coach Ryu Ju-seng, known for developing Olympic medalists, for our national team. There are other emerging sports we can push like netball, floorball and handball but I’m excited about futsal especially since we’re currently hosting the first FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup.”

Gregorio said with the sprucing up of PhilSports Arena for the FIFA competition, he’s not discounting the idea of turning it into a dedicated futsal venue. “A lot of our arenas default to a basketball court after an event of a different sport but there are more than enough basketball stadiums around like MOA Arena, Ynares, Araneta, FilOil and the UAAP Akari coming up,” he noted. “Maybe it’s time we dedicate an arena for futsal and we could excite FIFA to help us in laying out a seven-year development plan for football. We’ve got a chance to do something big for football which, as they say, is ‘bagay’ to Filipinos. We worked out a seven-year development plan with FIVB and after hosting the Men’s World Championships this year, we’ll do the Women’s World Championships in 2029. I think with PFF and FIFA, we can work out a similar joint project.”

Gregorio said hosting a world sporting event is an investment. “I’m betting on sports and tourism,” said Gregorio, who was recently appointed by President Marcos as chairman of the National Sports Tourist Inter-Agency Committee. “Sports can help the economy if we attach it to tourism and it’s a great way to promote our country. In January, we’re hosting our first-ever WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open with Alex Eala playing. We’re now refurbishing the Rizal courts but I foresee in two years, we’ll need a bigger venue to host a WTA 250.”

November 23, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Audit (COA) commissioner Mario Lipana, who is currently under investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman over his alleged involvement in the flood control scam, had a P14.5-million increase in his wealth from his first day in office on Jan. 27, 2022 up to the end of 2024, his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs), obtained by The STAR from the ombudsman, showed.

Based on Lipana’s entry SALN filed with the ombudsman on Feb. 3, 2022, he started his term as COA commissioner with a net worth of P12.03 million, comprised of P7.03 million in real properties and P5 million in personal properties as of Jan. 27, 2022.

In a span of 11 months, Lipana’s net worth grew by P7 million or to P19.03 million as of Dec. 31, 2022, owing to the increase in his cash on hand and in bank to P12 million from just P4.5 million declared in his entry SALN.

The value of his real properties remained at P7.03 million as of Dec. 31, 2022, while a Toyota Camry vehicle valued at P500,000 declared in his entry SALN was no longer declared as of year-end.

Lipana’s net worth grew to P23.53 million as of Dec. 31, 2023, owing to the increase in his cash on hand/bank to P15 million. The value of his real properties also increased to P8.53 million from P7.03 million in the previous year. This was mainly due to his acquisition of a house and lot in Bulacan worth P1.5 million.

By Dec. 31, 2024, his net worth stood at P26.53 million, due to the increase in his cash on hand/bank to P18 million. The value of Lipana’s real properties remained at P8.53 million.

In all his filed SALNs, Lipana declared zero liabilities.

Lipana, who hailed from San Ildefonso, Bulacan was appointed as commissioner by former president Rodrigo Duterte with a term of until Feb. 2, 2027.

He previously served as director of the COA Regional Office IV-A (Southern Tagalog) and concurrent director of the COA Intelligence and Confidential Fund Audit Office.

Lipana is among the public officials currently under preliminary investigation by the ombudsman in connection with the flood control project anomalies.

In an interim report filed by the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) before the ombudsman last month, it recommended charges of plunder, graft as well as direct and indirect bribery against Lipana, senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva, and resigned congressman Zaldy Co, among others, over their alleged involvement in the systematic “kickback scheme” in the flood control projects.

It was earlier revealed during the House appropriations committee hearing on the COA’s proposed budget last Sept. 11 that Lipana’s wife, Marilou Laurio Lipana, president and general manager of Olympus Mining and Builders Group Philippines, has nine ongoing projects with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Bulacan with total contract cost of P326.609 million involving flood control projects and farm-to-market roads.

It was further revealed that Olympus Mining and Builders Group Philippines previously completed flood control projects amounting to P178.52 million also with DPWH Bulacan.

During the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing in September, dismissed DPWH Bulacan First District Engineering Office (DEO) district engineer Henry Alcantara revealed that sometime in 2022, COA commissioner Lipana requested from his office a list of flood control projects in Bulacan.

Alcantara said that based on the list of projects he provided to Lipana, the latter was able to secure a total of P1.4 billion in budget insertions for the projects – P500 million in 2023, P400 million in 2024 and P500 million in 2025.

The STAR had earlier requested a statement from the COA regarding the allegations against Lipana, and inquired on whether it is conducting or will conduct any internal investigation on him, but its Public Information Office (PIO) merely acknowledged the query without answering the issue.

“This is to acknowledge receipt of your email. We have forwarded your query to the Office of the Chairperson,” the COA PIO said.

COA chair Cordoba

Meanwhile, COA chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba’s wealth had increased by P5.437 million from 2022 up to the end of 2024.

Cordoba, who officially started his term as chairperson on Nov. 29, 2022, declared a net worth of P93.705 million as of Dec. 31, 2022, composed of P34.746 million in real properties and P63.959 million in personal properties as against P5 million in liabilities in the form of personal loan.

By Dec. 31, 2023, Cordoba’s net worth slightly decreased to P91.465 million, as the value of his “cash, jewelry, furniture and other personal effects” was down to P58.618 million from P60.859 million in the previous year.

Cordoba’s net worth went up the following year to P96.879 million as of Dec. 31, 2024, owing to the increased value of his “cash, jewelry, furniture and other personal effects” to P64.033 million.

The value of his real properties and liabilities remained at P34.746 million and P5 million, respectively.

The Philippine Star

November 23, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Toronto Raptors became the first team to reach the knockout rounds of the NBA Cup on Friday, motoring into the Last 8 with a dominant 140-110 defeat of the Washington Wizards.

RJ Barrett and Brandon Ingram scored 24 points apiece as the Raptors extended their perfect start to the NBA’s mid-season tournament.

But while Toronto moved on to the next round, the Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz were all left heading for the exit.

Indiana was eliminated after losing 120-109 Cleveland.

November 23, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — A second auction would be held – possibly by early December – for four of the luxury vehicles of the Discaya couple, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said yesterday.

The four were among the seven Discaya luxury vehicles that were offered at an auction early this week. Only three of the vehicles have been sold for a total of P38 million. The BOC had expected to rake in P103 million from the sale of all seven vehicles.

In an interview with dzMM, deputy chief of staff of the Office of the Commissioner Chris Bendijo said that the BOC expects to announce the date of the auction in the next five days.

“Our moving target is within the next five days, we will come out with an announcement, including the adjustment on the floor price and the date of the next auction,” Bendijo said.

“The instruction of Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno is to dispose of all of these as soon as possible for us to be able to generate revenues, all potential sources of revenue to help increase the funding of the government, we will maximize that,” Bendijo added.

He said the committee in charge of the auction will convene anew to discuss possible adjustments in floor prices.

“For example, in this case, the depreciation used was at 10 percent but we can maximize it to 16 percent so hopefully, once we adjust the floor price, more can join the bidding,” Bendijo said.

He said if the second auction fails, the BOC will consider direct offers from interested parties.

“So we have many remedies. We don’t stop once the bidding fails,” he said.

Simplex Industrial Corp. placed the highest bids for two of the cars – black matte Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG (2022) sold for P15,611,710 and red Mercedes-Benz G500 (2019) Brabus (15.5 million).

Lesentrell Jewelries acquired the Lincoln Navigator for P7.1 million. Simplex issued manager’s checks for its acquisitions, while Lesentrell paid in cash.

Set to be offered at the second auction are a black Rolls Royce Cullinan (2023), blue Bentley Bentayga (2022), orange Toyota Sequoia (2023) and red Toyota Tundra (2022).

November 23, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — For Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, who exposed the ghost and substandard flood control projects in Oriental Mindoro and Bulacan, there are more people involved in the corruption scandal than the 1,200 personalities being investigated by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).

He was reacting to ICI Commissioner Rogelio Singson’s statement that at least 1,200 people are criminally liable for the alleged kickbacks scheme, with 15 individuals involved per ghost project.

With a total of 472 ghost flood control projects inspected by the ICI, the people involved would surely be at least 2,000, Lacson said in a dwIZ interview yesterday.

The senator lauded the ICI’s move to recommend plunder, graft and bribery charges against President Marcos’ cousin, former speaker Martin Romualdez and resigned Ako Bicol party-list congressman Zaldy Co, whose companies Hi-Tone Construction and Development and Sunwest, have been found involved in ghost projects.

Lacson expressed hope the government would not falter in pursuing cases against the suspects, including Co, who was already ordered arrested by the Sandiganbayan for a malversation and graft charge in connection with a ghost project by Sunwest in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

“I don’t want people’s outrage to die down. But I don’t want them to turn violent,” he said of the upcoming anti-corruption protests on Nov. 30.

“If the people’s outrage die down, authorities might slacken with their efforts. The government acted on this because of pressure from the people. No matter how many, how long it takes, we need to get to the bottom of this and find its logical conclusion – put people behind bars,” Lacson said.

His “very important witness” in the Blue Ribbon committee probe – former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Roberto Bernardo – has more up his sleeve in the corruption scheme, Lacson said.

Bernardo is bound to pin more people down as a requirement for his state witness application, he said.

Meanwhile, Lacson is seeing a “calibrated effort” from some quarters to muddle the issue of flood control.

He cited the speech delivered by Marcos’ own sister, Sen. Imee Marcos, before participants of the Nov. 17 Iglesia Ni Cristo rally in Luneta, where she accused her brother of incompetence and of being hooked on illegal drugs – a family matter that Lacson said should have been resolved privately.

November 23, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Risa Hontiveros has filed her version of the measure seeking to ban from elective positions members of political dynasties, which she blamed for corruption and systemic poverty in the country.

In Senate Bill No. 1548, Hontiveros defined political dynasties as those related to each other within the fourth degree of consanguinity and who run simultaneously for national or local elective positions, including
party-list seats.

“No person related within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity to an incumbent national elective office shall be allowed to hold or run for national elective office,” the bill read.

“In all cases, no person related within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity to an incumbent local elective official shall immediately succeed the latter’s office by election,” the bill added.

The proposed measure empowers the public to file complaints before the Commission on Elections, which can motu proprio disqualify a political dynasty member from running for public office.

Article II, Section 26 of the 1987 Constitution expressly prohibits political dynasties as defined by law. In the absence of an enabling law, the constitutional ban remains unenforced for more than three decades.

In her explanatory note, Hontiveros said “the absence of an enabling law has enabled the continued dominance of political dynasties across the country.”

Hontiveros cited studies which showed that “fat dynasties” ruled over the poorest provinces in the country, and that “dynastic dominance both emerges from and perpetuates poverty and exclusion.”

“The Philippine Institute for Development Studies has stated that political dynasties compromise checks-and-balances and create conflicts of interest in public finance, especially when governors, district representatives and several mayors are related to one another,” she said.

Corruption also thrives in areas dominated by political dynasties, Hontiveros said, adding that “entrenched families can divert public resources, weaken oversight and engage in self-serving policies without fear of accountability.”

The other senators who filed anti-political dynasty bills are Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson and Senators Francis Pangilinan and Robinhood Padilla. Lacson has vowed to vigorously pursue the measure as chairman of the Senate electoral reforms committee.

November 23, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The country bade goodbye to former senator Juan Ponce Enrile who died last week at 101, as he was laid to rest at the Libingan ng mga Bayani yesterday.

Enrile was given full military honors and buried in a section reserved for presidents, Cabinet officials, national artists and national scientists.

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. was the highest-ranking official at the burial, offering a final salute to a man who, for decades, remained a powerful figure in Philippine politics.

Family members and colleagues first attended a funeral Mass at the Santuario de San Antonio Church in Makati, where his casket was displayed, draped in white cloth.

At the Libingan, uniformed personnel carried his flag-covered casket, while Philippine Air Force personnel dropped flowers in tribute.

As his remains were lowered, a band played one of his favorite songs, “Usahay,” while guests tossed orange-colored flowers, his preferred bloom.

Former senator Gregorio Honasan also paid his respects.

Honasan served as Enrile’s top aide when they plotted a coup in February 1986 to topple the first Marcos administration and establish a military junta—a plan that leaked and helped trigger the EDSA People Power Revolution.

As justice secretary from 1968 to 1970 and defense minister from 1970 to 1986, Enrile played a crucial role in the establishment and maintenance of a decades-long dictatorship marked by widespread human rights violations.

His defection with Fidel V. Ramos in 1986 paved the way for the four-day civilian-led military uprising that restored democracy.

Enrile later served four Senate terms—including one as part of the two-member opposition.

He rose to Senate president from 2008 to 2013 before becoming a key figure in the pork barrel controversy.

The late government official was jailed three times—over a coup attempt against Aquino in 1989, a rebellion charge in 2001, and plunder accusations in 2014—but survived each case.

Days before his death, the Sandiganbayan cleared him of all 15 graft cases.

In the twilight of his life, his career came full circle: one Marcos launched him into public service as insurance commissioner, and another gave him his final post as chief presidential legal counsel.

In a Facebook post, President Marcos thanked Enrile for his service to the nation.

“On behalf of a grateful nation, and with deep sorrow, I extend my prayers and condolences to the family of Juan Ponce Enrile,” the President said after necrological services for the late Cabinet member at Malacañang.

“We mourn his passing, but we also give thanks for the long and meaningful life he lived in service to the Filipino people. Maraming salamat, Tito Johnny,” he added.

In his eulogy, Marcos described Enrile as “a man who devoted his entire being to the service of the Filipino.”

“We must always remember the benefits, the contributions that he made to the Filipinos, to the Philippines… I couldn’t say he was my friend, he was certainly my mentor… But overall, he was a Filipino in the purest and best sense of being a Filipino where every molecule of his being was devoted to the service of the Filipino people,” he said.

Enrile’s burial at the Libingan, however, did not sit well with human rights groups.

Two days before the interment, more than 70 groups—including the August Twenty-One Movement and the Samahan ng mga Ex-detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto—condemned what they called a “historical distortion” meant to whitewash Enrile’s role during martial law.

“His sins against the Filipino nation and his legacy of impunity had inflicted an immeasurable damage to so many of our countrymen,” they said in a joint statement signed by over 80 individuals. “He never paid for these sins. Neither did he apologize for any of them.”

“Juan Ponce Enrile is not a hero. He never was, and he never will be,” they added.

Malacañang has yet to announce who will succeed Enrile as chief presidential legal counsel.