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The Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 204 has granted the prosecution’s withdrawal of the drug case against Rep. Leila De Lima (Mamamayang Liberal Partylist).

In a resolution dated September 30, the Muntinlupa RTC accepted the prosecution’s withdrawal of the motion for reconsideration, filed on July 14, 2025, effectively closing and terminating one of De Lima’s drug cases, the one that led to her nearly seven-year imprisonment.

‘WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Motion to Withdraw (Motion for Reconsideration dated 14 July 2025) filed by the prosecution is GRANTED. With the withdrawal of the motion for reconsideration, this case is hereby deemed CLOSED and TERMINATED,’ the court’s ruling read.

The court explained that every acquittal becomes immediately final upon issuance and cannot be recalled for correction or amendment.

According to the court, granting a motion for reconsideration on the case would violate the constitutional protection against double jeopardy, as it would essentially subject the acquitted individual to a new prosecution.

‘Considering that this case already involves an acquittal, the Court shall exercise sound discretion and allow withdrawal of the prosecution’s motion for reconsideration,’ the court’s order read.

‘Indeed, the directive of the Honorable Prosecutor General upon the panel of prosecutors to withdraw the motion is impressed with merit,’ it added.

On July 23, the Department of Justice ordered the Muntinlupa prosecutors to withdraw the motion for reconsideration on the drug case of De Lima filed in RTC Branch 204.

Timeline of De Lima’s acquittals. February 2021: De Lima was acquitted in her first drug case by the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 205.

She was later acquitted in her second case by RTC Branch 204 in May 2023 due to lack of evidence.

Following this second acquittal, prosecutors filed a motion for reconsideration with RTC Branch 204.

Following this second acquittal, prosecutors filed a motion for reconsideration with Branch 204. However, the court denied the motion and upheld the acquittal, citing reasonable doubt and the recantation of key witness Rafael Ragos.

Her third and final drug case was dismissed in June 2024 after the court granted her demurrer to evidence, effectively clearing her of all charges.

On Sept. 4, 2024, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), then headed by Menardo Guevarra, filed a petition for certiorari – not an appeal – with the Court of Appeals, claiming RTC Branch 204 committed grave abuse of discretion in acquitting De Lima.

The appellate court’s eighth division granted the OSG’s petition and remanded the case to RTC Branch 204 for a new ruling consistent with Court of Appeals guidelines. The appellate court found that the RTC failed to clearly state the facts and legal basis for its decision.

Upon remand, RTC Branch 204 reaffirmed its original ruling and again acquitted De Lima, maintaining that the absence of Ragos’ testimony due to his recantation created reasonable doubt. This prompted the prosecutors to file a second motion for reconsideration, which the DOJ now plans to withdraw.

Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez is asking for a detailed clarification about the condition of the San Juanico Bridge as he hinted that there could be corruption in the rehabilitation of the structure.

The rehabilitation of the 52-year-old bridge, which links the islands of Samar and Leyte, was first estimated to cost P800 million, but the amount reportedly increased to P7 billion recently.

‘There is something going on na hindi kanais-nais na corruption,’ said Romualdez, cousin of President Marcos and former speaker Martin Romualdez. ‘From P800 million to P7 billion? Magkano ba talaga?’

The mayor said there should be a public disclosure about the real state of the bridge. He questioned the imposition of the three-ton weight limit on the bridge, which he said was implemented without sufficient notice or explanation.

Romualdez said he wanted to know who conducted the feasibility study that recommended the weight limit and why the public was not informed about the matter.

‘That’s why I am calling for clarification of these issues. Is the bridge really defective? How long would the rehabilitation take? Who conducted the study? Why was everything seemingly so sudden and we were given 48 hours only to close the bridge?’ Romualdez asked.

He criticized the Department of Public Works and Highways for not providing a clear information about the condition of the bridge and the basis for the weight limitation.

Romualdez said the reported defects on the bridge were not new since 20 years ago, the structure also underwent repair and the public was given sufficient time to prepare.

He said experts should be tapped to look into the bridge to determine the real cost of the rehabilitation and how it would be done.

Actress Ellen Adarna was in fangirl mode after being noticed by “Meteor Garden” star and original F4 member Ken Chu.

Ellen had uploaded on her TikTok account, and later reposted on Instagram, a video of her lip syncing to F4 song “Jue Bu Neng Shi Qu Ni.”

“Learn Chinese or trust men,” Ellen wrote in the video’s text. In the captions for both posts, the actress referenced Daoming Si played Ken’s co-star Jerry Yan.

On Instagram, Ellen also proceeded to tag the Instagram handles of Jerry, Ken, and the other F4 members Vic Chou and Vanness Wu.

“I don’t trust you guys but F4 is 4ever,” she humorously added.

Much to Ellen’s surprise, Ken commented on the actress’ Instagram post with a raising hands emoji, and it was enough to send Ellen spiralling.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!! Wo ai ni !!!!” Ellen replied, saying “I love you” in Mandarin. “Hahahaahahahaahahahahhaahhahahahaahahjajahajajahaahahhahahahahaahahh omg ahahahhahhahahaah omg omg omg.”

The text in Ellen’s video fuelled more speculation that she separated from husband and fellow actor Derek Ramsay.

However both Ellen and Derek have denied such rumors on two separate occasions.

CCTV footage captured the shaking at the Minglanilla Sports Complex in Cebu after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake with its epicenter in Bogo City struck Tuesday night, September 30.

The strong quake toppled buildings, killed several, and injured dozens across northern Cebu and Metro Cebu. Rescue operations are ongoing as authorities assess the extent of damage.

When Malian center Mo Diassana went down with an ACL injury in NU’s first game, it became difficult for the Bulldogs to stay competitive the rest of the last UAAP season. NU battled without a Foreign Student Athlete (FSA) until the end and finished seventh of eight.

To address a similar situation handicapping any team in the future, the UAAP Board of Trustees asked for a solution from the Board of Managing Directors and the proposal that was made is to allow two alternating FSAs so that in case one goes down, the other can still hold the fort. Unfortunately, the proposal is the wrong solution to the problem. If the idea is to keep a level playing field, the right solution is to eliminate FSAs all together because they undermine the integrity of college sport. The NCAA saw the light, bit the bullet and did it in 2021.

The reality is FSAs are simply imports who are peddled from school to school with agents bowing to the highest bidder. They come with signing bonuses, big salaries and fat bonuses, turning UAAP into a virtual commercial league. This leads to local players demanding more from their schools and the spiraling effect is dangerously inimical to the purity of college sport.

Is it discriminatory or racist to ban FSAs? Of course not. Foreigners are free to enroll as students but it’s a school’s prerogative whether or not to allow them to join varsity sport. UAAP bans FSAs to vie for MVP honors. Is it discriminatory? The PBA excludes imports in the Philippine Cup. Is it discriminatory? Dissenters argue that schools abroad don’t ban Filipinos or foreigners from joining varsity teams. But how many schools are there in UAAP? Eight. How many schools are there in the US NCAA D-1? More than 350. Then, there are about 300 D-2 and some 450 D-3 schools. If a Filipino player is good enough to play D-1 basketball, the door will always be open for him. US schools couldn’t care less if UAAP bans FSAs.

In UAAP, a dominant FSA can tilt the balance of competition so the challenge is to recruit the best possible import. That comes with a price. Schools with big budgets will bring in the best talents while schools with lean budgets will suffer. That’s not levelling the playing field. The standard of competition becomes a function of how much a school can afford to pay an import. With the proposal of two FSAs, imagine at what cost they’ll come.

Varsity sport is supposed to engender loyalty to the school. But except for Ange Kouame, no FSA has shown identity with his school. Not even Ben Mbala who ended up playing as an import in Mexico, Korea, Spain, Turkey and France. After finishing their UAAP eligibility, FSAs are gone with the wind. It›s not a good example to local players and surely, not something UAAP would like to foster.

Some self-minded local players – who must be reminded to think league first, not think me – contend that FSAs make them better and prepare them for international competition. But FSAs also take away opportunities for coaches and players to improve. With a dominant FSA, the easiest thing to create a winning program is to focus the offense and defense on him, leaving the locals to play second fiddle. The place to learn from imports is the pro league not UAAP and the recipe is certainly not to make UAAP a de facto commercial league.

UAAP has to put a stop to turning players into pros with some earning allowances bigger than the average PBA player. The first step is to eliminate FSAs or imports who provide imbalance, not balance, to the league and are mostly a poor example of players who enroll not to study but to play for pay.

It’s not enough for Bongbong Marcos to return our PhilHealth’s P60 billion.

The Supreme Court must outlaw the siphoning of our PhilHealth money to begin with. BBM’s admin took our P60 billion in 2024 for non-health insurance projects.

A clear ruling will stop future admins from dipping their hands in members’ funds, petitioners at the SC say.

To which I add: make the culprits pay interest on the P60 billion. Also interest on the P242.28 billion that two admins have withheld from our PhilHealth since 2019. And indict them for breaking the Universal Health Care, Sin Tax and Corporation Laws.

BBM is trying to appease us PhilHealth members. His Finance Sec. Ralph Recto misspent half of our P60 billion on the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Islands Bridges. Korea already lent money for that construction. BBM’s Health Sec. Ted Herbosa misused the other half for pandemic emergency pay of health workers. The Dept. of Health, not PhilHealth, should’ve paid for that. Herbosa is facing three ombudsman cases for fund anomalies.

Recto was deputy speaker in December 2023 when the House allotted multibillions for Charter change to parliamentary form. Congress also inserted pork barrels, mostly for fake and shoddy flood works.

In January 2024 Recto assumed as Finance chief to enforce the dirty budget. BBM signed both the 2024 budget and Recto’s appointment.

Malacañang, the Cabinet and Congress did worse in 2025. They zeroed out funds that should’ve gone to PhilHealth: 50 percent of PAGCOR and PCSO remittances to the Office of the President and 40 percent of taxes on tobacco and sweetened beverages. By keeping mum, Budget Sec. Amenah Pangandaman was complicit.

BBM designated Herbosa as PhilHealth chairman. He appointed as directors Recto, Pangandaman, Social Welfare Sec. Rex Gatchalian and Labor Sec. Benny Laguesma.

PhilHealth is in financial crisis. Its budget for members’ benefits this year is P271 billion. But it has spent P195 billion as of August. The balance will run out by November, said Dr. Juan Antonio Perez of Action for Economic Reform.

PhilHealth will be forced to dip into its reserve funds. That’s a no-no in any insurance operation. In fact, when BBM’s admin took our P60 billion, it called the money ‘excess’ when it was in fact reserve. We members know who to blame if our PhilHealth collapses.

PhilHealth depends this year only on P200-billion direct contributions from us income earners. That’s because the admin turned to zero the original P74 billion from sin taxes in the 2025 budget. That P74 billion too was used for fake and faulty flood works.

The SC petitioners are ex-senator Koko Pimentel, Ernesto Ofracio (now deceased), Junice Melgar, Profs. Cielo Magno and Dante Gatmaytan, Dr. Minguita Padilla, Ibarra Gutierrez, Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, Public Services Labor Independent Confederation Foundation Inc. and Philippine Medical Association.

BBM plans to return our P60 billion next year. He says he’ll include it in the 2026 budget – but it’s not there.

Had BBM’s admin not taken P60 billion from our PhilHealth reserve, it would’ve earned interest. The culprits should return the principal with interest.

Interest on such huge amount is five percent per annum. Since BBM will return it after two years, the principal and compounded interest should total P66.15 billion.

Two admins further owe PhilHealth P242.28 billion in PAGCOR-PCSO remittances and sin taxes. That money should’ve earned five percent yearly interest too. Charge it to the culprits.

For 2026, BBM and Pangandaman propose P53 billion for PhilHealth. But that’s only equal to the compounded interest on the P242.28 billion owed to PhilHealth since 2019.

Pangandaman was Budget undersecretary at that time.

The past and present Cabinet members in PhilHealth’s board broke the Universal Health Care and Sin Taxes Laws when they withheld P242.28 billion.

They also violated the Corporation Law. As directors they had fiduciary duty to us PhilHealth fund owners. They failed to fulfill such duty and instead obeyed wrongful orders from their appointer-President.

We PhilHealth members consist of:

66 million direct contributors from monthly incomes and our dependents;

37 million indigent members whose indirect contributions should come from PAGCOR/PCSO and sin taxes.

At present we members need to be hospitalized or undergo delicate procedures in order to benefit from our contributions. If admins remit all funds earmarked by law to PhilHealth, then we can enjoy other benefits like blood works, ultrasound, x-ray, CT scan, MRI. Even basic tooth filling.

There’s officially a new PBA team.

The Titan Ultra Giant Risers will be debuting in the PBA Season 50, after the league’s board of governors approved Pureblends Corporation’s purchase of the NorthPort Batang Pier franchise.

‘They will be entering the 50th season of the PBA, and their team will now be known as ‘Titan Ultra’ team,’ PBA board treasurer Raymond Zorrilla said during the pre-season press conference Wednesday at Shangri-La The Fort in Taguig.

Giant Risers team governor Emilio Tiu said they have a roster that can compete against stronger teams.

‘We waited for this event at mga taon, tinaymingan namin yung 50 years because ibang klase itong 50 years sa PBA. And we expected na when we join, we will learn so many things and we can also expand together with PBA,’ Tiu said.

‘For the composition of the team, I have to admit that we are still young, but we have a complete lineup. We will give the strong teams fight without saying ‘kuya.’ Kami, lalaban din kami,’ he added.

The Titan Ultra squad will be coached by Jhonedel Cardel. Former NorthPort head coach Bonnie Tan is a consultant, while Rensy Bajar, Raymund Tiongco, Lester Alvarez, Maverick Chua and Raymond Valenzona are the assistant coaches.

Veterans Calvin Abueva and Joshua Munzon will spearhead the Giant Risers, along with young guns Cade Flores, Fran Yu, Mario Barasi and Chris Koon.

Meanwhile, the PBA announced that former NorthPort team manager Pido Jarencio is the new governor of the Terrafirma Dyip.

A police lieutenant accused of raping a 14-year-old girl in Ginatilan town, Cebu, is now the subject of a manhunt by the Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO).

The victim, a Grade 9 student from Barangay Poblacion II, Malabuyoc, accused Police Lt. Jephte D. Bariga, officer-in-charge of Malabuyoc Police Station, of sexual assault. The incident allegedly happened in Barangay San Roque, Ginatilan, around 12:20 a.m. on September 28.

Later that day, at around 10:30 p.m., the victim and her family reported the incident to the Ginatilan Municipal Police Station. Authorities immediately launched a hot pursuit operation until 8 a.m. the following day but failed to locate the suspect at his police station.

On September 30, CPPO confirmed that manhunt operations are ongoing after initial follow-up efforts yielded no results. The case was already elevated to Police Brigadier General Redrico Maranan, regional director of Police Regional Office (PRO)-7, who immediately ordered Bariga’s relief effective September 28.

The suspect was also directed to surrender his service firearm and Philippine National Police (PNP) identification card.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Headquarters and the Women and Children Protection Desk assisted the victim in her medical examination and provided her and her family with security detail.

To prevent Bariga’s escape, lookout bulletins were issued to all seaports and airports across Cebu. CPPO has also coordinated with local officials and the suspect’s family for his surrender.

CPPO officer-in-charge Police Colonel Abubakar Mangelen Jr. assured the public of accountability in handling the case.

‘The Cebu Police Provincial Office remains committed to upholding justice, accountability, and integrity. We assure the public that justice will be served,’ said Mangelen.

Bariga is set to face administrative and criminal charges for violations of Republic Act 8353, or the Anti-Rape Law of 1997, as amended by Republic Act 11648 on statutory rape.

About P75 million in ‘ghost’ farm-to-market road projects in Mindanao have been uncovered by the Department of Agriculture.

The DA earlier flagged two projects in the Davao Region and Zamboanga City dated 2021 and 2023.

‘We are talking about five kilometers of road. That’s what we have seen so far,’ Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. yesterday told dzBB.

‘We have identified the contractors. But these are small-time contractors,’ he added.

The contractors are not included in President Marcos’ list of 15 contractors who cornered 20 percent of the P545-billion budget for flood control projects, he noted.

Tiu Laurel maintained that the suspicious road projects are isolated cases and do not reflect widespread issues in the state agency.

‘Technically, these are very small contracts. I think there’s one worth P30 million and then the others had P15 million each,’ he said.

Funds came from the DA’s budget and the projects were implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways, he noted.

The Philippines, he said, is lacking 62,000 kilometers of farm-to-market roads.

Auditing the projects is challenging since these are located in far-flung and hard-to-reach areas, Tiu Laurel stressed.

The ongoing Senate inquiry into anomalous flood control projects nationwide has prompted the DA to initiate an audit of farm road projects.

A powerful earthquake struck Cebu last night, sending residents rushing out of their homes, damaging heritage churches and prompting the evacuation of a hospital in Cebu City.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the magnitude 6.9 tectonic earthquake struck at 9:59 p.m., with its epicenter located east of Bogo City in Cebu and its depth at 10 kilometers. Phivolcs warned that aftershocks were expected.

Residents reported that the centuries-old Archdiocesan Shrine of Santa Rosa de Lima in Daanbantayan town partially collapsed. On Bantayan Island, residents posted videos showing another heritage church, the Parroquia de San Pedro Apostol Bantayan, swaying during the quake and parts of its façade falling apart.

Intensity 6 was recorded in Cebu City and Villaba, Leyte; Intensity 3 in San Fernando, Cebu and Intensity 2 in Laoang, Northern Samar, Phivolcs said.

It advised residents in Biliran, Cebu and Leyte to stay away from coastal areas, and for residents to move farther inland amid threats of a tsunami.

Patients and staff of the Cebu City Medical Center were evacuated outside the building, according to Mayor Nestor Archival.