Ayan na naman: "executive session." Baka sa totoo ay "secretive session"? 😡

JUST IN: The Senate approves the proposed P6.7-trillion 2026 budget on second reading.

Ang galing ng "drama" ng dalawang senators na ito! 😠

JUST IN: The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) secures a fresh freeze order covering the assets of a private construction company with the "greatest number of ghost flood control projects." The order also covers entities and individuals linked to the unnamed construction firm.

The newest freeze order issued by the Court of Appeals covers 280 bank accounts, 22 insurance policies, three securities accounts, and eight air assets.

"The filing of this petition for a freeze order underscores the AMLC's firm commitment to recover every peso of public funds that may have been misused," said AMLC Executive Director Matthew David.
So far, AMLC has received freeze orders covering some P13 billion in assets tied to the flood control scandal.

NEWS UPDATE: Palace press officer Usec Claire Castro says DOJ Usec Jojo Cadiz has submitted his resignation. No word yet if President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has accepted it.

The "ties" that facilitate corruption. 😡

Is it the end for the Independent Commission for Infrastructure? Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla hints that the ICI's days are numbered. More details in this report https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/inside-track/goodbye-ici/ @here

BREAKING: The Senate approves the P6.793-trillion 2026 budget on third and final reading with 17 votes, no negative votes or abstentions.

Who's absent aside from. Bato and villar?

nobody said no, but who abstained?

Hi everyone, these are the 17 senators who were present during the voting:

- Senate President Sotto

- Bam Aquino

- Chiz Escudero

- Risa Hontiveros

- Sherwin Gatchalian

- Bong Go

- Risa Hontiveros

- Ping Lacson

- Lito Lapid

- Loren Legarda

- Rodante Marcoleta

- Robin Padilla

- Kiko Pangilinan

- Erwin Tulfo

- Raffy Tulfo

- Joel Villanueva

- Juan Miguel Zubiri

Worth noting that Senator Pia Cayetano was not present during the voting, but she later delivered a speech calling out a "shortage" of funds supposedly for PhilHealth. She said the current spending plan failed to allocate P16.52 billion that was supposedly earmarked for the state health insurer.

Here are the senators who will be part of the bicam:

Senate finance chairman Sherwin Gatchalian

Majority bloc: Mark Villar, Pia Cayetano, JV Ejercito, Loren Legarda, Kiko Pangilinan, Erwin Tulfo, Camille Villar

Minority bloc: Jinggoy Estrada, Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, Bong Go, Imee Marcos

UPDATE: Senator Jinggoy Estrada has withdrawn as member of the bicam, according to Senate Majority Leader Migz Zubiri. No reason was given for his withdrawal.

Zubiri also noted that the designated senators were chosen because they were all vice-chairs of the Senate finance committee.

If it duplicates the Ombudsman's function and has fewer powers and a weaker budget, it is better to abolish it! 😡

REPORTER'S NOTES: Don’t applaud Marcos' anti-dynasty 'effort' just yet

Call me cautious (or maybe even skeptical), but President Marcos appealing to Congress to prioritize the passage of an anti-dynasty measure is an uninspired bid for PR points. It costs him nothing to make this plea to a legislature composed of dynasts who will likely move heaven and earth to block — or at best dilute — any measure that threatens their political survival. And if Congress doesn’t pass it, he still gets to claim he “publicly pushed” for reform, despite doing little more than a flick of the wrist (ano ba English ng pitik, basta 'yun).

He hasn’t even publicly articulated what kind of anti-dynasty law he supports. His long years in the House and the Senate produced no meaningful track record on this reform (except perhaps for the SK dynasty reform law). In 2022, during his presidential campaign, he echoed the favorite excuse of dynasts: "If people voted for them, then they deserve to be there."

ALSO, in the last three years, he has benefited from a system that refuses to define political dynasties, with his cousin as speaker, his son as majority leader, and his clan dominating Ilocos. (And yes, his sister is a senator, pero I'll give it to him, that's a relationship he DID NOT exactly benefit from haha).

My point is: actions speak louder than words. It's good that Malacanang is initiating a long overdue conversation on an important subject, but maybe hold off on giving the President kudos he hasn’t earned, at least not yet.

Watch this video about the funding of the BUCANA BRIDGE:

Former DPWH undersecretary Cathy Cabral will be invited to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure. ICI Executive Director Brian Hosaka said that she is initially scheduled to appear before the commission on December 15, Monday.

Hello! Lest we forget this year's budol company @here https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/villar-primewater-also-not-paying-subcontractors/

UPDATE: Senate finance chairman Sherwin Gatchalian said the bicameral conference committee (bicam) meeting will be moved to Saturday, December 13, as the technical staff of both the House and Senate need more time to reconcile conflicting provisions and amounts in the proposed 2026 national budget.

As the House and Senate prepare to reconcile disagreeing provisions in their versions of the proposed 2026 national budget through the bicam, watchdogs urge Congress to ensure the process is "genuinely open, well-documented, and understandable to all."

The Roundtable for Inclusive Development (RFID) and the People's Budget Coalition (PBC) urge the bicam members to adopt seven rules to ensure an open bicam. This includes the following:

1. Budget amendments should only be proposed during publicly convened sessions so the public can see who introduced certain changes to the budget.

2. Civil society observers should be allowed to attend bicam meetings.

3. Publication of the full bicam report, including minutes and detailed annexes

4. Major amendments should come with written justifications

The bicam will be held from Saturday, December 13, to Sunday, December 14.

Dynasts vs dynasties. In this episode of Rappler Talk, I spoke with Anti-Dynasty Network co-convenor Mikee Defensor. Just days after the coalition went public, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged Congress leaders to prioritize the bill’s passage. But how close is the House bill to what the coalition wants? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZgLbsiSVWc