Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) said on Friday that it hears the public’s call for accountability and justice amid its investigation into infrastructure anomalies, emphasizing that the commission is one with them against corruption.

The ICI released the statement in response to the disaster survivors and progressive groups who conducted Black Friday protest in front of the commission’s gate on Friday morning to condemn the alleged whitewashing and cover-ups in the commission’s investigation process.

‘The ICI hears and understands the public’s call for accountability and justice. The Commission is one with them against corruption,’ the ICI said in the statement.

‘The Commission remains committed to fulfilling its mandate of gathering evidence and testimonies related to anomalous flood control and other infrastructure projects in the country,’ it pointed out.

According to the ICI, they meticulously assess and verify all information received amid their fact-finding investigation, saying that they are doing it ‘while respecting the Constitutional rights of all resource persons invited.’

‘Before referring cases to the Office of the Ombudsman, we ensure that all findings are substantiated and capable of withstanding scrutiny in the court of law to prevent dismissal,’ said the ICI.

The ICI also mentioned its continuous invitation of persons involved in the investigation, both public and private individuals, to cooperate in its probe hearings.

’40 days old’

The ICI noted that it is only about ’40 days old’ and is a newly established entity.

‘Our budget approval with DBM (Department of Budget and Management) is still pending, and resources remain limited. Despite multiple constraints, we continue to move quickly while maintaining thoroughness and accuracy in vetting the reports and data submitted to us,’ the ICI noted.

As for livestreaming its hearings, the commission said it is ‘actively studying and drafting the rules of procedure and parameters to allow livestreaming, while respecting the law and the rights of all concerned.’

‘The ICI remains steadfast in its duty to uncover the truth and to ensure that all those accountable are brought to justice under the rule of law,’ the commission said. Earlier this Friday, ICI Chair Andres Reyes Jr. said in a press conference that it ‘will take some time’ for the commission to have rules and procedures for live-streaming its hearings because they are ‘undermanned’ with lawyers to process it.

The Sandiganbayan has acquitted former Senate President and current Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile of his remaining graft charges in the alleged diversion of P172.8 million in public funds linked to the pork barrel scam.

The anti-graft court’s Special Third Division also cleared Enrile’s former chief of staff, Jessica Lucila ‘Gigi’ Reyes, and the businesswoman at the center of the controversy, Janet Lim Napoles, of 15 graft counts during the case’s promulgation on Friday, Oct. 24.

The Sandiganbayan concluded that ‘the prosecution failed to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.’

According to the decision penned by Special Third Division Chairperson Justice Ronald Moreno, the Sandiganbayan ordered Napoles and several co-accused to jointly pay the government amounts ranging from P8 million to P40 million, with six percent annual interest from the finality of the decision until full payment, for each count of graft.

However, the court ruled that no civil liability would be imposed on Enrile, Reyes, the senator’s former deputy chief of staff, Jose Antonio Evangelista II, and other co-accused.

The Sandiganbayan also noted that the graft cases against private individuals Eulogio Dimailig Rodriguez, officials of defunct National Agribusiness Corporation (NABCOR) Romulo Magahis Relevo, and former director of National Livelihood and Development Corp. (NLDC) Alexis Gagni Sevidal were dismissed due to their deaths, while the case against private individual Hernani Ditchon was likewise terminated on the same ground.

Charges against private individual Fernando Balbaira Ramirez were dismissed due to lack of probable cause.

Meanwhile, former Budget Undersecretary Mario Relampagos has been declared a fugitive, while former Technology Resource Center (TRC) Director General Antonio Ortiz, private individuals Ronald John Lim, Amparo L. Fernando, Aileen Palama, John Raymund De Asis, Noel V. Macha, and Margarita P. Guadinez, as well as former president NABCOR Alan Alunan Javellana, and NABCOR official Maria Julie Asor Villaralvo-Johnson, have yet to be arraigned and remain at large.

Enrile was only able to attend the promulgation via Zoom. The 101-year-old former senator appeared briefly on-screen during the reading of the decision on his remaining graft charges, looking frail and confined to a hospital bed.

Similarly, Napoles also attended both hearings virtually – one involving Enrile’s remaining graft cases and another concerning the alleged misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of former Senator Gregorio Honasan II.

Reyes, for her part, personally attended the promulgation. When asked for her reaction to the anti-graft court’s verdict, she said she was ‘thankful’ and ‘grateful.’

The charges against Enrile and others stemmed from the PDAF, or pork barrel, scandal that surfaced in 2013 after the Inquirer exposed the misuse of lawmakers’ discretionary funds for ghost projects.

Under the scheme, PDAF allocations were funneled into a network of bogus nongovernmental organizations run by Napoles.

Enrile, Reyes, and Napoles were indicted in 2014 for plunder, accused of pocketing P172.8 million in kickbacks from Enrile’s PDAF from 2004 to 2010.

Napoles was separately convicted of plunder in 2018 in connection with former Senator Ramon Revilla Jr.’s pork barrel funds.

On October 4, 2024, the Sandiganbayan acquitted Enrile of plunder, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove he received at least P50 million in kickbacks-the threshold for plunder.

Aside from Enrile, Revilla, and Senator Jinggoy Estrada were also charged with plunder over the PDAF scam but were later acquitted.

Senator Joel Villanueva refuted on Friday Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla’s remark that the dismissal of the administrative case against him was a ‘secret decision.’

Villanueva, in a text message, showed the Inquirer a screenshot of his tweet in 2021 supposedly showing a netizen that his motion for reconsideration had been granted and his case was dismissed.

‘Are you kidding me? We always talk about it,’ he told the Inquirer when he was asked why he did not publicize the reversal of the case filed against him.

Villanueva likewise shared a recording of a privilege speech he delivered during the chamber’s plenary session in 2024.

In the privilege speech, Villanueva categorically stated that he has no pending case before the Ombudsman.

‘The first accusation is that I have a case before the Ombudsman. True or false? The answer is false,’ he said then.

In a televised interview early Thursday, Remulla said he will write to Senate President Vicente Sotto III to enforce Villanueva’s dismissal from public office.

In 2016, former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales ordered Villanueva’s dismissal from public service for his administrative liability over the allegedly anomalous use of P10 million from his pork barrel allocation as a House member.

Villanueva, however, dismissed Remulla’s pronouncement, calling it a mere form of harassment.

The senator then proceeded to send to the media a copy of certifications from the Office of the Ombudsman and Sandiganbayan-one proving that he has no pending criminal and administrative cases and the other proving that he is not an accused or a defendant in any case filed in court.

Both documents were issued on September 10, 2025.

Later, Remulla said that the reversal of the dismissal order against Villanueva was done in secret.

‘To my surprise, when I got to the office, I was confronted with a decision signed by former Ombudsman (Samuel) Martires dated July 2019,’ Remulla told reporters in an interview on Thursday afternoon. ‘It only came out when I said that the Ombudsman would be taking action on that matter,’ he added.

Disaster survivors and progressive groups held a Black Friday protest in front of the gate of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to condemn the alleged whitewashing and cover-ups in the ICI’s investigation into the infrastructure anomalies across the country.

The groups arrived at the ICI building at around 9:40 a.m. on Friday. Tension immediately surrounded the area as security personnel halted them from entering the gate.

The groups condemned the ICI’s alleged slow investigation and its alleged lack of transparency.

According to Eufemia ‘Mimi’ Doringo, spokesperson of group called People Surge, it has already been two months since the investigation into corruption in flood control projects was conducted, but until now, no one has been arrested and held accountable.

‘While ruthless officials steal billions of pesos from the public treasury, millions of poor people are still homeless, unemployed, and they continue to drown in poverty. It is not only climate change that is killing us, but also corruption,’ Doringo said.

‘We will continue to protest while no arrest is done, and until the public’s money is returned,’ she stressed.

The ICI is currently investigating the alleged anomalies in infrastructure projects nationwide./apl

Converge finally acquired the rights to Dave Ildefonso from Titan Ultra after the PBA approved a revised version of the deal on Friday.

The FiberXers sent rookie Kobe Monje plus the second round pick next season and a first rounder in the Season 52 Rookie Draft in order to get Ildefonso.

Ildefonso is now set to join his father, assistant coach Danny Ildefonso, after Converge’s first trade proposal was reportedly thumbed down by the league.

But Converge will have wait longer as Ildefonso is playing for Abra in the thick of the team’s title bid in the MPBL Playoffs.

He is averaging 18.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals in 31 games for the Weavers.

Titan Ultra inherited the rights of Ildefonso from NorthPort, which selected the former Ateneo standout in the first round of the 2024 Draft.

Ildefonso and NorthPort couldn’t come to terms on a deal, prompting the young forward to take his act to the MPBL with in-between stints for Strong Group Athletics.

Monje was selected in the second round of last month’s Rookie Draft and played just one game for the FiberXers, scoring two points in four minutes against his future team in a 129-92 win last Oct. 11 in Rodriguez, Rizal

In Caraga Region, stories of new beginnings are unfolding – one child, one family at a time.

Since 2023, at least 212 children across the region have been reached by adoption and foster care programs under the National Authority for Child Care (NACC).

Of these, 55 children are now living with their adoptive parents, 73 are under licensed foster care, and 30 declared legally available for adoption this year.

The numbers make Caraga one of the country’s most active regions in giving abandoned and neglected children a second chance at family life.

To keep that momentum, the Municipality of Sta. Josefa in Agusan del Sur became the latest to formalize its partnership with NACC on October 21. The town is now one of only six local governments in the Philippines to sign such an agreement.

‘This partnership shows our shared commitment to ensure that no child grows up without a family,’ said NACC director for operations and services Imelda Ronda, who represented Undersecretary Janella Ejercito Estrada during the signing.

Under the deal, the Sta. Josefa Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) will identify and train foster parents, prepare adoption petitions, and process certifications declaring children legally available for adoption.

The NACC, through its Regional Alternative Child Care Office (RACCO) Caraga, will assist in processing these cases and train local personnel through trust-based relational intervention (TBRI) – a trauma-informed approach that helps children recover from abuse, neglect, or early trauma.

RACCO Caraga acting head Emily Sanogal said the initiative aims to build a child-centered mechanism that ensures every child’s right to a permanent and loving home.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) have also included NACC’s programs in the Child-Friendly Local Governance Audit, a move that recognizes child care as an important measure of local governance

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Thursday filed another set of criminal complaints against its officials who were being linked to ‘ghost’ or substandard infrastructure projects in La Union and Davao Occidental, with one lawmaker cited as a ‘person of interest.’

Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon went to the Office of the Ombudsman to file graft charges and malversation through falsification of public documents against 22 individuals, including DPWH engineers, employees, and contractors involved, particularly Silverwolves Construction Corp. and the Discaya-owned St. Timothy Construction Corp.

Named respondents for the province of La Union were Gil Lorenzo, district engineer of the 2nd District Engineering Office (DEO); Raul Gali, assistant district engineer of the same office; Mario Laroya, chief of the DEO’s construction section; project engineers Ethel Grace Guerrero, Joseph Brian Delizo, and Christian Paul Edurial; materials engineer Albemar Elloise Estipular; Nestor Sibayan, representative of the DEO’s office for the quality assurance section; Jose Perez, the DEO’s representative for the planning and design section; Zyrah Marie Estipular, representative for the maintenance section; Dan Ginete, chief of the DEO’s finance section; and Marivic Manalo of Silverwolves.

For Davao Occidental, Dizon filed charges against Rodrigo Larete, district engineer of the provincial DEO; Michael Awa, assistant district engineer and chief of the construction section; Joel Lumogdang, officer in charge of the construction section; Harold John Villaver, project engineer; Jafael Faunillan, chief of the DEO’s quality assurance section; Josephine Valdez, chief of the planning and design section; Ranulfo Flores, chief of the maintenance section; Czar Ryan Ubungen, acting chief of the finance section; St. Timothy, represented by Ma. Roma Angeline Rimando, the authorized managing officer, and Cezarah ‘Sarah’ Discaya, the beneficial owner, according to Dizon.

This would be the second case for Discaya at the Ombudsman after Dizon filed the same set of charges against her, being the representative of St. Timothy Construction, over the faulty projects in Bulacan.

Lawmaker’s role

After the filings, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla disclosed that the ‘person of interest’ they were looking at for the cases in La Union was Benguet Rep. Eric Yap, whom he said was the ‘beneficial owner’ of Silverwolves.

‘He divested from it a few years ago, supposedly, but there’s reason to suspect that he’s still the beneficial owner of the company, so there’s a clear case of conflict [of] interest,’ Remulla told reporters at a press conference together with Dizon and retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Andres Reyes Jr., chair of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure.

Yap did not immediately respond to messages asking for his comment.

Remulla said the Davao Occidental projects started in 2021, but officials behind the project started to complete them only after the scandal surrounding flood control projects made headlines.

Dizon clarified that the Davao Occidental projects were bid in 2021, awarded the following year, and were supposed to be finished in 2022.

‘But obviously, according to testimonies of residents themselves, and also upon investigation by the police, it was never completed. The construction there only started in August of this year,’ he emphasized.

‘It’s already three years since the supposed completion and full payment of the project. This is clearly a ghost project,’ Dizon said.

Senate admission

Projects in La Union, meanwhile, were considered substandard projects, considering the testimonies by the people in the province and even statements from Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong.

It was Magalong who also alleged that Yap was the beneficial owner of Silverwolves, but Dizon said they will leave the decision whether or not to include the lawmaker in the case to Remulla and the investigating team of the Ombudsman.

Dizon also insisted that Discaya was the beneficial owner of St. Timothy, reiterating her ‘own admission’ in the Senate blue ribbon committee’s previous hearings on the flood-control scandal.

Remulla said the alleged person of interest will have to undergo intensive research by their field investigators, but noted that Yap was chair of the House appropriations committee from 2019 to 2022. ‘We will find out if there were other contracts done with the company when he was the chairman of the appropriations committee. If proven, this is a clear case of conflict of interest. Congressmen should never partake in these contracts,’ he said.

Barangay Ginebra, San Miguel Beer and members of the PBA delegation arrived here on Friday ahead of their marquee showdown this weekend at Coca-Cola Arena.

The group touched down at Dubai International Airport after an eight-hour flight from Manila and was welcomed by the staff of Far Eastern Private School, which is hosting the big Philippine Cup fixture.

Barangay Ginebra, San Miguel Beermen and members of the PBA delegation have arrived here in Dubai ahead of Sunday’s Philippine Cup showdown at Coca-Cola Arena. This is the seventh time the PBA will hold a game in this city @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/zJpjqGFncu

– Jonas Terrado (@jonasterradoINQ) October 24, 2025

PBA commissioner Willie Marcial, San Miguel Corporation sports director Alfrancis Chua and San Miguel team governor Robert Non, who all arrived a day earlier, later joined coaches Tim Cone of Ginebra and Leo Austria of San Miguel for a press conference before media from Filipino publications based here and influencers.

Ginebra’s Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson and San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez also took part in the presscon.

Both teams were also scheduled to hold meet and greet sessions to cap off the first day of the league’s seventh visit in this modern Middle Eastern city.

The two teams are slated to hold practice at separate venues on Saturday, but not after taking part in an outreach activity in the morning.

Ginebra and San Miguel will slug it out on Sunday, eyeing a crucial win to improve a 1-2 slate each team holds at this point of the All-Filipino tournament.

The PBA contingent is scheduled to return to Manila on Monday

Malacañang on Friday urged the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate the ‘secret decision’ reversing the 2016 dismissal order against Sen. Joel Villanueva.

At a press briefing, Palace press officer Claire Castro said that such a decision, if proven true, could erode public trust in the country’s justice system.

‘We have faith and trust in the capability of Ombudsman Boying Remulla, and even though they are an independent body, we should still tell them-through us-that this matter truly needs to be thoroughly investigated so that whatever mistakes were made, or whatever laws may have been violated, can be properly addressed and corrected by the Office of the Ombudsman,’ she said.

Castro added that it is too early to determine whether former Ombudsman Samuel Martires could be held liable for the matter.

‘That depends on the situation, and indeed, there is a provision in the rules of procedure of the Office of the Ombudsman which, if we are not mistaken, was mentioned in news reports back in 2016-that a motion for reconsideration may be filed,’ she said.

Castro also noted that if a motion for reconsideration was indeed filed in 2016, it should not have taken until 2019 – or two years – for the motion to be resolved.

On Thursday, Remulla stated that he would no longer request the Senate to implement the 2016 dismissal order against Villanueva.

After declaring his intent to pursue the dismissal, Remulla said a decision signed by Martirez in July 2019 suddenly surfaced, reversing the 2016 order.

‘So I was surprised by that decision. It only came out when I said the ombudsman would do something about that. So it’s a surprise secret decision that came out,’ Remulla told reporters.

According to Remulla, no one knew about the Martirez’s decision reversing the 2016 order, including people close to the ombudsman’s office. ‘Even [Senate President] Tito Sotto didn’t know about it. They released it now. So don’t you call that a secret decision?’ the ombudsman asked.

Remulla said he will study the reversal and why it only surfaced now.

Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has asked the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to summon Senator Bong Go and his father and brother to its hearings on the investigation of the anomalies in infrastructure projects.

This came after Trillanes recently filed plunder and several other criminal complaints against former President Rodrigo Duterte, Go, his father Deciderio Lim Go, and his brother Alfredo Go over the alleged P6.95 billion in government infrastructure projects, which were supposedly awarded to CLTG Builders, owned by his father, and Alfredo Builders, owned by his brother.

In an X post, Trillanes said he submitted to the ICI this Friday a copy of the complaint affidavit he recently filed before the Office of the Ombudsman against Go.

‘I also asked the ICI to summon and investigate Bong Go along with his father and brother,’ Trillanes added in the post.

Meanwhile, ICI executive director Brian Keith Hosaka, when asked for a comment, told reporters in a Viber message that he ‘will still have to confer with the commission about this matter.’

Based on the letter from Trillanes to ICI Chair Andres Reyes dated October 24, which he attached to his X post, he reiterated that the alleged P6.95 billion in government infrastructure projects that the firms of Go’s relatives secured were ‘during periods when Sen. Go held positions of influence as aide to former President Duterte and later as senator.’

‘Of this amount, over P816 million was secured through joint ventures with St. Gerrard Construction, owned by the Discaya family, who are implicated in the ongoing flood-control controversy,’ Trillanes said in the letter.

‘These contracts were obtained through alleged abuse of official position and influence, resulting in unjust enrichment, which is prohibited under the Plunder Law and the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act,’ he added.

Go, in response to Trillanes’ recent filing of complaints before the Ombudsman, earlier said that the complaint is only a diversionary tactic to take the public’s attention away from the anomalous flood control scandal.

‘To Trillanes: You are barking at the wrong tree. If you are really serious, why don’t you file a case against corrupt officials? Why don’t you file a case against your financiers? Those contractors. You know that. We’ve been holding hearings here in the Senate about that for months now,’ Go said.

Aside from Go and his two relatives, Trillanes also asked the ICI to summon other concerned Department of Public Works and Highways officials to explain the transactions and conduct random inspections of the reported project sites in Davao to verify their actual implementation.