Category: Philippine Star

Former Senate president Francis Escudero has sent a letter to the Commission on Elections expressing his readiness to be investigated by the poll body for accepting illegal campaign contributions during the 2022 elections, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said yesterday.

‘The candidate who received (donation) from a contractor sent us a letter expressing his intention to appear next week. He’s a senator. He already made an admission,’ Garcia said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay Forum without mentioning the senator’s name.

Garcia belied reports that the Comelec is singling out Escudero in its probe on candidates who had accepted donations from government contractors.

He explained that Escudero was among the first to be summoned because the contractor had already admitted giving P30 million in campaign funds to Escudero. The senator confirmed the donation.

In an interview with ‘Storycon’ on One News, Garcia also said he has inhibited from the investigation on Escudero’s case, admitting that he served as election lawyer when the senator ran for vice president alongside former senator Grace Poe in the 2016 elections.

‘I already inhibited myself,’ he said. ‘You cannot see my signature or participation in that particular case.’

Lawrence Lubiano of Centerways Construction and Development Corp. earlier appeared before the Comelec to confirm that he made the donation – but in his capacity as private individual.

‘Let’s just wait for the candidate to tell us his side because based on the law, both the donor and the candidate are liable,’ Garcia said in Filipino.

If proven guilty, Garcia said both the donor and the candidate would face imprisonment as well as permanent disqualification from holding public office.

At the same forum, Garcia confirmed that there are also presidential and vice presidential candidates facing Comelec investigation for allegedly receiving illegal campaign donations.

‘I would like to confirm that those on the PCIJ list are also on our list,’ he said, referring to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism report on campaign contributions.

Based on the PCIJ report, both President Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte received donations from contractors.

Meanwhile, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said the posting on social media of a photo of him with contractor couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya was meant to discredit his Senate Blue Ribbon committee probe on the flood control corruption scandal.

Rep. Kiko Barzaga posted the photo, which Lacson said was taken during the May midterm elections campaign season. ‘The fact that it is being circulated only means that it is intended to besmirch my reputation and credibility in chairing the Blue Ribbon committee on the flood control project anomalies,’ Lacson said.

Lacson said a friend, Fred Villaroman, brought the Discaya couple to his Taguig office where they invited him to join their grand rally in Davao with their son who was a nominee of Pinoy Ako party-list.

Lacson said he declined the invitation after a meeting that lasted no more than 20 minutes. He said he turned down the offer because the Discayas were a political rival of his ally Senate President Vicente Sotto III.

‘I thought it was not a smart political decision to join a rally of any party-list group,’ he said.

‘I did not know the Discayas and that was the first and only time outside of the Blue Ribbon committee hearings that I met them,’ he added.

‘I did not receive, nor did the Discayas offer any campaign contribution in whatever form,’ he also pointed out. ‘I hope this clarifies whatever insinuations are being attached to this said photograph.’

The Senate yesterday approved a resolution asking the International Criminal Court (ICC) to consider placing former president Rodrigo Duterte under house arrest on humanitarian grounds.

The resolution, a tapered version of a lengthier one filed by Duterte allies in the chamber, was approved 15-3-2 by the chamber.

It was introduced by Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano and Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and was sponsored by Senators Ronald dela Rosa, Robin Padilla, Imee Marcos, Rodante Marcoleta, Bong Go, Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva.

All of them voted yes alongside Senators Sherwin Gatchalian, JV Ejercito, Loren Legarda, Panfilo Lacson, Erwin Tulfo and Mark Villar.

Meanwhile, senators who voted no were Risa Hontiveros, Francis Pangilinan and Bam Aquino.

In her explanation of vote, Hontiveros argued there was no proof the ICC was neglecting Duterte’s welfare, noting that his family recently described him as ‘well, even jolly.’

Pangilinan echoed Hontiveros, saying that the cries for justice from thousands of victims of extrajudicial killings must take precedence.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III abstained, saying he also would not like to disrespect families of victims of alleged extrajudicial killings.

Sen. Raffy Tulfo also abstained, stressing he would have voted yes had Duterte’s being unwell was certain.

Senators Camille Villar, Lito Lapid, Francis Escudero and Pia Cayetano were not in the session hall when the chamber voted.

Meanwhile, Duterte-allied senators yesterday used a Commission on Appointments hearing to grill an Air Force general, Maj. Gen. Loreto Pasamonte, zeroing in on his unit’s supposed role in the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte during proceedings originally set to confirm the promotion of 39 military officers.

Former Bayan Muna representative Neri Colmenares, for his part, said Duterte’s present health status should not be a cause of delay or postponement of the confirmation of charges hearing against him.

That photograph of hundreds of millions in cash stacked casually on nondescript tables is iconic.

The sight of so much cash gives corruption its ugly face. It is no longer an abstraction. Every Filipino who works very hard to earn a few of those bills to buy the bare necessities is shocked by the callous quantity of it all – the workaday attitude of those who dump the cash in suitcases and cartons.

Volumes of cash such as those in the photo are accumulated in many other places and delivered to designated recipients. Hundreds of millions, possibly billions, in cash brought to mansions and penthouses. Deducting those allowed ‘for the boys,’ much of the cash flows to a few central points: the masterminds and protectors of this enormous racket.

Money, as we know, is fungible. My hundred-peso bill is fully interchangeable with your hundred-peso bill. They buy the same things.

But money is fungible only to an extent. At a certain magnitude, there will be difficulty transacting cash.

Our banking system is fully armed to detect financial fraud and ring alarm bells when odd transactions happen. One cannot leisurely walk over to a bank branch and try to deposit a hundred million in cash. A new law designed to fight money muling allows the bank to capture your cash and hold on to it until some very important questions are adequately answered.

In the midst of the corruption crisis we now endure, bank tellers are probably more precious than senators. They detect suspicious transactions and promptly report to the Anti-Money Laundering Council. If our banks get together, we can yet stop those reported suitcases of cash from reentering circulation.

The BSP last week limited cash withdrawals to P500,000. A former finance secretary proposed lowering the peso denominations in circulation. There will be some inconvenience in this, but criminals must be prevented from enjoying the fruits of their betrayal.

So much cash is likely stranded in the mansions of the masterminds. Enough alerts have been issued in the financial and business communities. Cash in large volumes cannot move without detection.

There are many ways corrupt money may be laundered. One way is to use the casinos to convert cash to checks. Our authorities are now keeping close watch over these establishments to avert the country being downgraded as a money laundering haven.

Another way is to accumulate real estate, using cash transactions when possible. This is reflected in the staggering inflation in the choicest real estate developments.

Such has been the volume of the recent scams that the price spiral in golf shares and country club memberships is attributed to them. Some of the dirty money is used to buy luxury goods such as designer bags, expensive wristwatches and supercars to avert depreciation of dirty money.

Over the last three years, the House of Representatives became a living showcase for designer bags, expensive wristwatches and supercars. This should have alerted us to the scale of corruption going on.

Several times in the past, our government printed new money as a method to flush out the caches of cash of the previously powerful. An easier way is to put out search warrants for those places identified by whistleblowers as drop points for suitcases filled with cash. It is never too easy to dispose of cash above a certain quantity.

The corruption attending our infrastructure projects deeply alarmed our people. Churches, business groups including the normally staid Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry and schools administrations have all issued statements denouncing the corruption.

We cannot rely on the usual rallies which have been commandeered by the political factions positioning for the next elections. From hereon, every Filipino citizen should speak out when they see things.

Computers should help our banks identify the large cash withdrawals that happened over the recent past. They could also help us identify those performing as money mules for the powerful. Auditors have a heroic role to play in saving our Republic.

Fill social media with anecdotes about luxurious spending by the powerful. We know now, from these anecdotes, who has been splurging on what. Store clerks should spill the beans.

The small guys – those who carried suitcases of cash for their powerful bosses – can tell us a lot. We need their testimonies and their courage to get to the bottom of all these.

The business community is abuzz with stories about powerful individuals trying to buy big time into large corporations. These are more sophisticated ways of laundering dirty money. At some point, all these attempted buy-ins should be documented.

Over the next few weeks, we can look forward to an unprecedented national festival of truth-telling. This is the sort of national festival that is giving the corrupt sleepless nights.

In every community, there should be a forum on how money for local projects has been squandered. There is one amazing story from Albay, for instance, about how a billion pesos in infra funds was used to build a road to the resort of a politician’s underling – contracted out to that politician’s company of course.

Many of these stories will distress us. But they are stories we all need to tell.

That telling photograph of millions in cash leisurely sitting on tables did not just demean our currency. It demeaned the nation.

Bianca Pagdanganan launched her return to LPGA Tour action with flashes of brilliance, carding a 69 in the opening round of the Lotte Championship at the Hoakalei Country Club in Ewa Beach, Oahu, Hawaii, on Thursday.

Though she stumbled at the finish, a dynamic start and steady play kept Pagdanganan well within reach of the leaders in the $3-million event.

The long-hitting Filipina, backed by ICTSI, teed off on the back nine and immediately caught fire, stringing together four consecutive birdies from No. 17 through No. 2 to surge up the leaderboard. Her momentum, however, slowed down as she settled for pars over her next five holes before bogeying the par-4 No. 8, her penultimate hole of the round, to finish with a 34-35 card.

While that dropped her to a tie for 25th at the end of the day, the power-hitter remains just five shots off the pace set by Japan’s Akie Iwai, who fired a sparkling eight-under 64 to grab the early lead.

Also in the mix are Peiyun Chien, Gabriella Ruffels and Nasa Hataoka, who matched 65s, while Pornanong Phatlum, Patty Tavatanakit, and A Lim Kim carded 66s to create a tightly packed leaderboard.

Despite hitting only six fairways and reaching 12 greens in regulation, Pagdanganan’s sharp putting – just 28 putts on the day – and resilience showed her readiness to contend again. With her immense power off the tee – averaging 293 yards – and growing maturity in course management, Pagdanganan remains a compelling contender heading into the weekend, especially if she can tighten up her long game and capitalize on scoring opportunities.

The 27-year-old has been knocking on the door of a breakthrough win, and her current form suggests it may only be a matter of time before she breaks through. Her recent performances have consistently placed her within striking distance going into moving day – a testament to both her raw talent and evolving consistency.

In contrast, fellow ICTSI-backed star and two-time US Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso continued to search for form, enduring a difficult opening round of 77 (+5) that put her at serious risk of missing the cut.

Saso, who started with promise by birdying her first two holes, quickly lost her rhythm. After making two pars, she dropped five shots over her next seven holes, including a double bogey on the par-3 ninth. Her back nine wasn’t kinder, as she managed just one birdie while surrendering two more bogeys and another double bogey to finish with a 39-37 effort.

The stats told the story: just seven fairways hit, eight missed greens, and three failed sand saves, despite registering 28 putts. For a player of Saso’s caliber, a major champion known for her calm under pressure and ball-striking prowess, the round was uncharacteristically erratic.

Saso’s recent struggles raise questions about confidence and rhythm, both of which have eluded her for much of the season. A bright start showed she still has the tools, but regaining trust in her swing and consistency in execution will be key if she hopes to climb back into contention and avoid another early exit.

Team North flexed its muscles and seized control with eight wins out of 12 matches in the opening Four-ball format of the ICTSI North vs South Elite Junior Championship at The Country Club yesterday.

Team North established a commanding 8-4 lead – an emphatic opening statement in the season-ending showdown of a year-long junior golf tour that featured seven tournaments in each region.

Team North captain Francis Talion attributed their strong Day 1 performance to careful planning.

‘Basically, we started by making critical projections on how the other team might compose their roster for Day 1 – that’s what we based our own lineup on,’ said Talion

As of yesterday afternoon, 69 deaths had been confirmed, with search and rescue teams still working frantically in the aftermath of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck Cebu on Tuesday night.

It was the end of a working day, and bedtime for many people when the quake hit, followed by aftershocks. Buildings, houses and other structures began collapsing, including heritage churches. Power and telecommunications lines conked out. Fissures formed on roads and bridges, making passage dangerous and disrupting supplies and rescue work.

Cebu is now under a state of calamity as seismologists warn of more aftershocks. The earthquake was felt in varying intensities across Cebu and neighboring provinces, with the epicenter located off Bogo City.

The magnitude of the quake was just a few points shy of the 7.2 or the so-called Big One that seismologists have warned could hit Metro Manila and neighboring provinces straddling the West and East Valley Faults.

An earthquake more powerful than the Big One in fact hit Luzon including Metro Manila on July 16, 1990. Recorded at a magnitude 7.8, the Luzon earthquake killed over 1,600 people, with the casualties highest in Baguio City and Central Luzon particularly Nueva Ecija.

That quake heightened concerns about the Big One hitting the country’s most densely populated region. In March 2004, the Metro Manila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study was released by the Japan International Cooperation Agency in partnership with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. The study warned that up to 35,000 people could die from the Big One including from fires that would break out.

Japan, which has suffered from numerous killer earthquakes and tsunamis in the past centuries, has arguably the world’s most sophisticated earthquake response and mitigation system in place.

While the Philippines lacks the resources of Japan, the JICA study identifies the weaknesses in earthquake preparedness in Metro Manila and how these can be addressed.

Some of the recommendations have been undertaken. These include the introduction of new building safety standards and tightening of their implementation, inspection of public infrastructure and buildings for structural integrity and their reinforcement, and yes, those regular earthquake drills in schools and offices.

Yet seismologists and disaster response advocates have stressed that much more need to be done in terms of readiness for the Big One. The earthquake in Cebu should spur more action in enhancing preparedness.

At his playful homecoming presscon, the new Mister International 2025 Kirk Bondad was still reeling from his victory.

‘Honestly, the feeling that I’m getting from being Mister International right now, it’s like when you walk in the park and suddenly a fresh breeze hits you and it goes like, I’m still catching up to the feeling. I have nothing but love in my heart,’ the Filipino-German supermodel, fitness enthusiast and businessman said.

Held at Holiday Inn Express Manila Newport City in Pasay on September 29, Kirk expressed his gratitude to all his supporters, mentors and fellow kings.

He also dove deep into his budding friendship – and kilig chemistry – with Mister Korea Choi Seung-ho, who emerged second runner-up at the pageant’s finals in Bangkok on September 25.

‘We have been always very near to each other at the pacing of rehearsals or anything else because P and K are close to each other in alphabetical order. So, it was just naturally inclined that we will just spend more time together,’ explained a smiling Kirk.

‘But also, we are gym bros so there were not many people who were bonding in the gym but he was one of the people that I always saw in the gym so naturally we bond there, too,’ he added.

The duo made several videos together that fanned the flames of a possible bromance.

‘And then shoutout to my roommate Oliver [Prasetyo, who placed in the top 20], Mister Indonesia. One day out of nowhere in the live stream, he creates F4, which I at that time, I didn’t know what it means. But it meant a lot because that video also got viral and it was Oliver, Mr. Thailand Scott [Kanapol Treesongkiat, who was part of the Top 11], Seung-ho, Mr. Korea and me. So, automatically with that we were also doing additional content so we were just naturally organically building chemistry more,’ shared Kirk.

New F4 version

F4 (Flower Four), formed in 2001, is the now legendary Taiwanese boy group consisting of Jerry Yan, Vanness Wu, Ken Chu, and Vic Chou.

Kirk has another plan to further his ‘partnership” with Seung Ho.

‘I’m really pushing and pushing hard that [lifestyle brand] Bench will get him here because Bench is the official sponsor for Mister Korea International. So, I want him to bring Seung-ho here and do some shooting with me because I know there’s a lot of demand and we want to please [the fans].’ .

Mister Korea has also said that he’s hoping to do a project with you, a Boys’ Love (BL) series.

‘Yeah, we’ll figure out the details later about that,’ replied a hopeful and impish Kirk.

The local stock market is not expected to recover from its ongoing slump unless positive results emerge from ongoing investigations into corruption in flood control projects, according to Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) president and CEO Ramon Monzon.

Asked on what he thinks of the market right now, Monzon said that it is ‘very bad.’

‘It reflects what is happening in our country,’ the PSE chief said.

‘The market’s number one ally is confidence – both local and foreign investors. It appears that we do not have that right now until what is happening stabilizes,’ he said.

Anomalies in the country’s flood control projects have opened the floodgates of heavy selling pressure in the PSE over the past two months.

Discoveries of substandard and ghost projects due public and private sector officials to pocketing trillions of pesos in public funds meant for flood control and infrastructure projects have led to a collapse in the local bourse.

‘Our foreign investors are selling. We’re already positive in July, then it reversed,’ Monzon said.

As of Tuesday’s closing, the Philippine Stock Exchange index has lost 426.29 points since ending at 6,379.75 on July 28, when President Marcos ordered an audit of flood control projects during his 2025 State of the Nation Address.

Analysts said the massive corruption scandal has impacted investor sentiment and outlook.

‘Hopefully, some very positive results from these investigation will come out,’ Monzon said.

‘I just hope they do a very good and credible investigation with really concrete positive results. That’s the only thing that could bring back confidence in the market,’ he said.

Monzon led the stock market contingent during the protest actions on Sept.21 where thousands gathered to demand accountability and punishment for those engaged in anomalous deals in the government and in the private sector, especially those who have pocketed trillions in public funds meant for flood control and infrastructure projects.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) wants all local government building officials to undertake a rapid assessment of buildings in their respective localities in the wake of the destruction wrought by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Cebu province.

‘We focus on this first, then we deal with the resiliency designs and enforcement of the building code,’ Arrey Perez, newly appointed DPWH Undersecretary for technical services, National Building Code Development Office and operations for external convergence projects, said in a text message to The STAR.

Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon rushed to Cebu province yesterday morning – on President Marcos’ orders – after inspecting the devastation in Masbate caused by Typhoon Opong.

At a briefing, Dizon said the DPWH was fast-tracking the conduct of structural assessment, especially of the bridges in the province.

‘Right now, obviously, we’re still reeling from this very tragic event yesterday, which struck in the middle of the night,’ he said.

‘The instructions to us by the President, apart from making the initial assessment, is to respond immediately to the needs of Bogo and the other LGUs in northern Cebu which were severely hit by this,’ Dizon said. ‘For DPWH, our task was to, first of all, clear the roads. So all the national roads are being cleared right now. A lot of them have already been cleared.’

‘The national highways that got disfigured, a lot of them have already been flattened so that the goods and the essential services heading to the north, especially in Bogo City, will be unhampered,’ the DPWH chief said.

‘So we are working round the clock, 24/7 tayo dyan. We will be working overnight to make sure that your roads are cleared.’

Bacolod Rep. Albee Benitez also called on the government to conduct a thorough review of the country’s infrastructure facilities to ensure they would be able to withstand natural disasters.

‘Even as we have yet to assess the full extent of the destruction caused by the earthquake, it is also urgent that the government conduct a thorough review of the disaster-worthiness of all public infrastructure,’ Benitez said.

‘First expose the shoddy work, punish those guilty for it, then take the necessary steps to ensure that no public building, road or bridge will contribute to loss of life, injury and damage to property,’ he said.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM), for its part, has called on agencies to activate their Quick Response Fund in response to the earthquake in Cebu.

With P8 billion still in the budget pile as of Oct. 1, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (NDRRM) Fund is on standby for support in repairing earthquake damage in the region.

‘We also have the NDRRM Fund on standby for larger-scale needs, including the repair of damaged facilities and heritage sites, to help ensure that our communities can rise again as quickly as possible,’ the budget secretary said.

‘Likewise, DBM’s regional offices in Central and Eastern Visayas were instructed to coordinate with their regional counterparts from the OCD to identify requirements where DBM assistance may be extended,’ she said.

Speaking to reporters at the House of Representatives, Science Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said thousands could be killed if an earthquake similar to the one that hit Cebu strikes at the heart of Metro Manila.

A hypothetical magnitude 6.5 quake in the metropolis would be deadly because of the region’s many buildings and dense population, Solidum said.

‘It is a reminder of the seriousness of the efforts that we need to do, ensuring that your family and the community are prepared in your areas,’ he said.

Metro Manila residents have long feared the arrival of ‘The Big One,’ or a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that experts say can happen as early as 2058 or as late as 2258.

Cebuana actress Kim Chiu was spotted shopping for construction materials for her fellow Cebuanos who were affected by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Cebu.

Kim was seen personally buying construction materials at a hardware store, as shown on her official Facebook page, to support relief efforts for victims of the deadly earthquake in Cebu.

The materials will be donated to residents in San Remigio and Bogo City, the latter being the quake’s epicenter.

The powerful tremor struck on the night of September 30, leaving 72 people dead and damaging infrastructure, including homes and heritage churches. As of October 2, aftershocks continue to be felt across affected areas.