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The Philippine National Police (PNP) has deployed four of its specialized units to assist the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) in verifying alleged irregularities in government flood control and infrastructure projects.

PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said on Thursday that the Engineering Service, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), Forensic Group, and Information Technology and Management Service (ITMS) will spearhead the police’s technical and investigative support to the ICI. ‘These offices have already begun meeting based on the requirements of the ICI,’ Tuaño said in a news briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City. ‘Our geodetic engineers will help validate the project coordinates cited in the ICI report to determine whether the identified locations actually exist.’

Tuaño said the police organization has already begun coordinating with the ICI, following a meeting on Tuesday at Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

The ICI, created by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is reviewing reports of ‘ghost’ or non-existent flood control projects and questionable fund allocations.

Tuaño clarified that the PNP’s participation is limited to technical verification and forensic validation, not policy or procurement matters. The Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management will coordinate the activities of the four units to ensure seamless support.

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‘For example, the ICI noted more than 400 supposed ghost projects, each with assigned longitude and latitude data,’ he said. ‘Our teams will cross-check those coordinates through engineering and forensic validation.’

In a separate statement, PNP Acting Chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. reaffirmed the organization’s full backing of the administration’s transparency and accountability drive.

‘The PNP recognizes the importance of this inter-agency collaboration as part of a broader effort to safeguard public funds and promote good governance,’ Nartatez said. ‘Our involvement will always be guided by professionalism, fairness, and due process.’

Tuaño also assured that the PNP’s regular operations will not be affected by its additional tasks under the ICI initiative. Budget requests related to its participation will depend on operational needs and are currently under evaluation. /cb

Despite a recent uptick in patients showing flu-like symptoms due to the rainy season and changing weather, the number of influenza-like illness (ILI) cases in the province remains lower than last year’s figures, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) reported.

PHO chief Dr. Cielo Ante said that while hospitals and rural health units have noted an increase in admissions for cough, colds, fever, and muscle pains – typical symptoms of ILI – the total number of cases is still 21 percent lower compared to 2024. ‘Based on data gathered from all MESOs (Municipal Epidemiologic Surveillance Officers) and HESOs (Hospital Epidemiologic Surveillance Officers), the numbers are still lower than the 2024 recorded data. Comparing morbidity weeks, or the same time period last year and this year, the numbers are actually lower,’ Ante said in a message on Thursday.

The province has recorded 511 ILI cases this year, down from 644 cases during the same period in 2024.

Ante urged the public to continue observing health advisories from the Department of Health (DOH) and the PHO to prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses.

‘We have sent all our recommendations to the Department of Education (DepEd) and to hospitals regarding influenza-like illnesses and, at the same time, reiterated the need for continuous diligence in promoting the 4S Habit, since the rainy season is also dengue season,’ Ante said.

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‘Our Public Health Services-Surveillance unit is monitoring trends closely together with the DOH,’ Ante added.

Based on a heat map shared by the PHO, the municipalities of Victoria, San Teodoro, Gloria, Pola, Bongabong, Bansud, Roxas, and Calapan City recorded slight increases in ILI cases. Meanwhile, the towns of Puerto Galera, Baco, Naujan, and Pinamalayan showed a decline.

The municipality of Socorro recorded the most significant jump, from zero cases last year to 126 cases this year.

No deaths related to influenza-like illness have been reported, according to the PHO./coa

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) on Thursday said that P5.2 billion worth of assets have been frozen after securing the sixth freeze order from the Court of Appeals in relation to the ongoing investigation into the anomalous flood control projects.

The freeze order covers 39 bank accounts, four insurance policies, and 59 real estate properties. ‘As of this morning, we have P5.2 billion and we’re still waiting for the submission of other bank returns and evaluation of other properties that were frozen by the six freeze orders,’ AMLC Executive Director Matthew David, speaking in Filipino, answered in a press conference when asked for an update on the assets frozen from the flood control probe.

The AMLC previously said that since the first freeze order was issued last September 16, the agency has so far frozen 1,671 bank accounts, 58 insurance policies, 163 motor vehicles, 99 real properties, and 12 e-wallet accounts believed to be connected to irregularities in flood control works.

David said that while he cannot disclose the individuals whose assets got frozen, he said that they include ‘former DPWH officials, contractors, and their cohorts in relation to the corruption of flood control projects.’

Meanwhile, when asked if the AMLC has observed activities of money laundering prior to the issuance of freeze orders, David said that the CA has authorized the AMLC to conduct a bank inquiry on these accounts.

David noted that after the bank inquiry, which he said will take a long time, the bank investigators will submit a report on the activities of bank account holders, especially if they withdrew huge amounts of money after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the investigation into corruption in government infrastructure projects.

The Independent Commission for Infrastructure’s (ICI) livestream of the flood-control probe is ‘meaningless if top officials would be spared,’ a left-leaning group said on Thursday.

‘The people want accountability from the top. The real masterminds are not the ground-level fixers or contractors, but the legislators and executive officials up to the President who made these scams possible in the first place,’ Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said in a statement.

Bayan’s concerns came after the ICI Executive Director Brian Hosaka and Special Adviser Rodolfo Azurin said in a press briefing on October 13 that ‘no high officials have been identified yet’ in the commission’s flood-control probe. The ICI has only recommended the filing of criminal charges against 15 contractors and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) district engineers so far.

However, in previous hearings in the Senate and the House, several testimonies have linked senators and congressmen to the anomalous flood-control projects, particularly through receiving kickbacks from contractors who have been awarded the infrastructure.

‘This is deeply alarming and raises serious questions about where the ICI investigation is headed,’ Bayan said.

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With this, Bayan promised that it would continue to organize mass actions, saying, ‘If the ICI refuses to hold senators, congressmen, and top officials accountable, then the people will hold them accountable in the streets.’

Bayan also urged the ICI to publicize its previous closed-door hearings, to assure the public of the ICI’s transparency.

A little over a month after the ICI began its proceedings, its chairperson, Andres Reyes, announced on Wednesday that the hearings would be open to the public starting next week.

The private proceedings received clamor from members of the House and the Senate, as well as progressive groups that have been demanding transparency from the investigative body.

In its five weeks of closed-door hearings, the ICI has called on several personalities to answer to its flood-control probe.

Among them are former House Speaker and presidential cousin Martin Romualdez Jr., contractors Cezarah ‘Sarah’ and Pacifico ‘Curlee’ Discaya, former Public Works Secretary, Sen. Mark Villar, former DPWH District Engineer Henry Alcantara, and former DPWH Assistant District Engr. Brice Hernandez, former DPWH Assistant District Engr. Jaypee Mendoza, and Former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo.

A complaint for two counts of murder has been filed against the police corporal allegedly involved in the killing of an Ilocos Norte barangay councilor and his partner, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.

The attack took place last Sunday afternoon. The corporal was identified as one of the suspects and arrested by police later that evening.

‘Last Oct. 20, a case against the corporal was filed for two counts of murder and one count of frustrated murder. He is currently detained and committed at the Ilocos Norte Provincial Jail,’ PNP public information chief Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said in a press briefing in Camp Crame on Thursday. ‘The administrative case against him commenced on Oct. 21, 2025. Acting PNP Chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. gave the order to the IAS Region 1 for his summary dismissal proceedings,’ he added.

The PNP did not identify the police corporal arrested, only saying he was assigned to the Tourist Police Unit of the Ilocos Norte Provincial Police Office.

Kagawad Joshua Bernardo, 26; his partner Eloisa Bonilla, 30; and his cousin Mark John Bernardo, 25, were eating at the porch of their home when the police corporal and another suspect on a motorcycle opened fire on them and fled the scene last Sunday afternoon.

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Bernardo died on the spot, while Bonilla was declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. Bernardo’s cousin was brought to the hospital for treatment.

‘In 2010, the suspect and the female victim were in a relationship. They broke up in 2012. They have since had their own families. The motive was jealousy,’ Tuaño explained.

He added that the motorcycle used was from the Ilocos Norte Provincial Police Office’s camp, based on testimonial evidence and closed-circuit television footage. /mr

In a bid to ensure transparency and integrity, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon has asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and other business groups to conduct an independent vetting and background check of DPWH officials.

The separate letters were sent on Wednesday to NBI Director Jaime Santiago, Institute of Corporate Directors Chairperson Benedicta Baladad, Management Association of the Philippines President Alfredo Panlilio, and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Consul Enunina Mangio. ‘What the President always says is to cleanse and not come in defense of DPWH. This is included in the reform and cleansing that our officials should be incorruptible and sincere in their service to the Filipino people,’ Dizon said in a statement on Thursday.

The 14 DPWH officials are:

Senior Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain

Undersecretary Arthur V. Bisnar

Undersecretary Ador G. Canlas

Undersecretary Nicasio A. Conti

Undersecretary Charles T. Calima

Undersecretary Samuel Rufino J. Turgano

Undersecretary Ricardo P. Bernabe III

OIC-Undersecretary Lara Marisse I. Esquibil

Assistant Secretary Nerie D. Bueno

Assistant Secretary Medmier G. Malig

Assistant Secretary Michael S. Vilalfranca

Assistant Secretary Constante A. Llanes Jr.

Assistant Secretary Michelle S. De Vera

Assistant Secretary Suzanne Marie R. LiwanagEsquibil was the newly appointed officer-in-charge for operations, overseeing Convergence Projects and Technical Services. Her appointment came after DPWH Undersecretary Arrey Perez resigned from the post last October 17, barely a month after he was appointed to the position.

Perez resigned after he was linked by Batangas Representative Leandro Leviste to flood control contractors. Dizon earlier said that Perez submitted his irrevocable resignation to give way to investigation and to prevent being a ‘distraction’ to the agency.