Notes from the field ~
Here's how your senators voted on the resolution urging the ICC to place Rodrigo Duterte under house arrest

These senators are sipsip and no loyalty to the country but only to themselves. We should know whom to vote for by now in 2028.

ICI asks Mark Villar to explain DPWH projects under Duterte admin

Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary and now Senator Mark Villar was invited by the Independent Commission on Infrastructure.

Villar, who served as DPWH chief under former president Rodrigo Duterte, was invited “to discuss and shed light on the planning, budgeting, execution, supervision, and monitoring of flood control and other infrastructure projects” under his watch.

He was asked to appear on Tuesday, October 7.

A Discaya firm blacklisted in 2020 made most of its comeback during the tenure of Roger Mercado, Duterte's DPWH chief after Mark Villar. St. Gerrard's biggest client: Mercado's own province, Southern Leyte. My latest:

https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/discayas-bag-billion-deals-southern-leyte-dpwh-chief-mercado/

The Department of Public Works and Highways on Friday, October 3, filed a complaint before the Philippine Competition Commission against several contractors over alleged bid rigging and manipulation.

Among the firms named are St. Timothy Construction, Sunwest Inc., Wawao Builders, IM Construction Corporation, and SYMS Construction Trading. If found guilty, they face a combined penalty of up to P2.3 billion.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is seeking to revoke the licenses of Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez, Jaypee Mendoza, and several other engineers and an accountant linked to the Bulacan flood control project controversy.

On Friday, October 3, the DPWH turned over evidence to the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). The two agencies also signed a memorandum of agreement to strengthen coordination on such cases.

@here

A simple yet strategic solution to pass the Freedom of Information Bill into law that even a grade six student can understand.

"Either we accept deception as normal, or we try something new."

If President Marcos has staff, friends, or family who are members of this group, you can send this image to him. Or print this and put it in his office table.

The late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago already filed a very good version of the FOI Bill. It just needs to be made a priority legislation.

It can be passed in less than an hour tomorrow morning, or the next day.

Kahit papaano mababawasan ang corruption. May kasabihan "Kung gusto may paraan, kung ayaw maraming dahilan".

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This idea was first published in the article "The Tale of Two Leaders" on March 15, 2025.

It resurfaced and was republished on September 21, 2025 (proudly displayed at Luneta Park during the Trillion Peso March).

The number of days that it has remained JUST AN IDEA, WITHOUT BEING IMPLEMENTED, is 202 (two hundred and two) days.

Can Rappler pls check who among the senators did not have budget insertions in the 2025 budget? Sen. Risa has denied she made any but still best to verify or confirm this to make it official.

Sa totoo lang, marami ayaw sa FOI bill maging law. Maraming TINATAGO ang mga pulitiko natin. So? Sadly: PNU - Pagputi Ng Uwak. 😢

Proposed Law #102: An Act Requiring the Public Disclosure of the Individual Budget Insertions and Amendments of All Senators and Members of the House of Representatives for the Past Ten Years.

There shall be a government website that itemizes all individual budget insertions and amendments made by all Senators and Members of the House of Representatives for the past ten years.

The website shall, at a minimum, include filters by Senator, Member of the House of Representatives, Name of Project, Location of Project (City and Province), Type of Project (e.g., school, hospital, road, flood control, etc.), and Status of the Project (Completed, Incomplete, Substandard, or Ghost).

This proposed law is also applicable to other local legislative bodies such as city/municipal councilors and provincial board members.

Once the government has completed the publication of data for the past ten years, it can then begin publicizing data from the 11th to 20th years in the past.

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Presumption of Accountability:
To raise the standard of infrastructure projects, the burden of proof that no irregularities exist shall rest jointly on the politician, the supervising engineer, and the contractor. They share accountability to demonstrate, with verifiable evidence, that the project was executed properly and in accordance with approved standards and budgets.

The Presumption of Innocence applies to all citizens "innocent until proven guilty", as it is a fundamental human rights principle, while the Presumption of Accountability applies to all public officials in the performance of their duties and responsibilities.

ah EO's only cover executive branch? I did not know that. Also in one of the official web pages, there was a line about preventing journalists from abusing FOI. That's rich! Abusing, ha. 🙄

Yes, it's very strategic and proactive.

Future civil engineers will think many many times before signing a government infrastructure project.

Or if they sign an infrastructure project, then they shall make sure that it will be completed.

Proposed Law # 103: A Law Requiring All Journalists to Uphold the Highest Standards of Journalism at All Times

Rationale:
A journalist in the Philippines, with more than 25 years of experience, decided to publicize the list of budget amendments of ONE senator.

He disclosed that the record came from the Senate. However, HE DID NOT DISCLOSE the budget amendments and insertions of the other twenty three (23) senators.

According to Senator Panfilo Lacson, individual budget insertions and/or amendments, whatever they may be called depending on one’s perspective or definition, can amount to as much as 100 billion pesos.

And yet, this journalist, with at least 25 years of experience, chose to discuss in public only the 3 billion pesos worth of budget amendments of one senator.

He must have seen the entire list from the Senate, and yet he decided to focus only on the budget of a single senator.

He did not discuss in detail the budgets of the other 23 senators, nor the budget amendments or insertions of all other senators in his past 25 years journalism experience.

This proposed law will be amended in the future.

Image source: International Press Institute, 2025.

i was thinking more along the lines of how revoking henry's, brice' et al's licenses is sending a message to other DPWH employees to not confess and just shut up.

Proposed Law #104: A Law Creating a Special Division Under the Sandiganbayan and the Office of the Ombudsman

The competent and independent lawyers and accountants of the Special Division shall focus on the silent transfer of unexplained wealth from corrupt public officials to their legal heirs.

Rationale:
Corruption in the Philippines is so systematic and unprecedented in world history that we should not only focus on the public officials themselves but also on their legal heirs.

Aside from the Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR) from BIR, which is a crucial requirement in transferring properties, the legal heirs of all corrupt public officials shall also receive the following:

1. An original certified copy of the first SALN of their parents or grandparents who have served as public officials;

2. The estimated amount of unexplained wealth stolen by their parents or grandparents who have served as public officials;

3. The local and national corruption rankings of their parents or grandparents, as estimated by an independent organization;

4. The estimated opportunity cost caused by the public officials’ corruption (e.g., the number of Filipino children deprived of education and a better future, or the number of Filipinos who died due to poor healthcare);

5. A certified true copy of all the income tax returns (ITRs) of their parents and grandparents who have served as public officials;

6. The number of real estate properties owned before and after assuming public office (to be specified by type of property, total area in square meters, etc.).

Amendment to Existing Law:
The unexplained wealth of public officials cannot be inherited by their legal heirs unless proven through all ITRs that such wealth was accumulated in good faith.

The legal heirs of all corrupt public officials shall not inherit the wealth without attending at least a one-month seminar about the greed of their parents and grandparents, and the opportunity costs of such unimaginable greed.

Image source: Anonymous, November 2013.

BREAKING: Senator Ping Lacson says he will resign as blue ribbon chairman. 

“No amount of criticisms from misinformed netizens and partisan sectors can distract or pressure me from doing my job right, but when my own peers start expressing their group or individual sentiments, maybe it is best to vacate,” he says on Sunday, October 5. | via @Bonz Magsambol - Rappler @here

NEWS UPDATE. As talks of an alleged ouster plot swirl, Senate President Tito Sotto tells Rappler he is "quite confident" he still has the majority’s support to remain in Senate leadership.

Sotto also reacts to Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano's proposal on snap elections: "We have no Constitutional nor legal framework for snap elections. We will be flirting with uncertainty and chaos."

To Senator Alan Peter Cayetano:

Resign and return all your unexplained wealth.

Find your first declared SALN, then compute your regular salary over the past x years as a public official.

Return your unexplained wealth to the Filipino children deprived of education and a better future. Buy lands and build schools for them.

There’s a huge school backlog in the Philippines, and your unexplained wealth contributes to this problem.

Sotto on Lacson's planned resignation: The man is frustrated.