News

Metro Manila, Philippines – The United States has revoked the diplomatic and tourist visas of former House Speaker and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez confirmed to NewsWatch Plus. “It’s confirmed, we don’t have any other information,” the  envoy said when asked about the status of his cousin’s US visas. A source told NewsWatch Plus that Martin Romualdez previously held both a diplomatic visa and a tourist visa issued by the United States. The US Embassy in Manila declined to comment on the specific case. “Due to visa record confidentiality, the U.S. Department of State does not comment on individual visa cases or specific actions taken,” a US Embassy spokesperson said. Romualdez faces complaints linked to the multibillion-peso flood control controversy. The Sandiganbayan recently denied Romualdez’s plea to lift a travel ban on him. Earlier, Assistant Ombudsman Jose Dominic “Mico” Clavano IV said…

Metro Manila, Philippines – A Malolos court has ordered the arrest of contractor-couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya and nine others for a non-bailable malversation case linked to an anomalous flood control project in Bulacan. The Malolos Regional Trial Court Branch 20 issued the arrest warrant on Friday, June 5, a day after the Office of the Ombudsman filed graft and malversation cases against the Discayas and other public works officials. Also in the arrest list is the couple’s colleague in St. Timothy Construction Corp., Ma. Angeline Discaya Rimando, who is general manager. The court also ordered the arrest of the following officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways: Merg Jaron Laus Brice Hernandez Jaypee Mendoza Ernesto Galang Norberto Santos Lorenzo Pagtalunan Juanito Mendoza Floralyn Simbulan Some have already been detained for separate cases. Sarah Discaya is detained in Cebu for a different malversation case, while Hernandez and the…

Metro Manila, Philippines – Former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, who is facing a non-bailable plunder case over the flood control corruption scandal, will be placed under hospital arrest, the Sandiganbayan ruled. The court permitted the former public works chief to be detained at the Philippine National Police General Hospital (PNPGH) in Camp Crame, effectively denying his request to be brought to a private hospital in Pasig City. In a ruling dated Thursday, June 4, the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division partially granted Bonoan’s motion to be detained at PNPGH while his cases are pending due to his health condition. Bonoan, 80, is facing multiple illnesses including chronic renal disease, hypertension, diabetes, and prostate cancer, among others, according to a medical certificate cited in his motion for hospital arrest. “Even if the court has the duty to guarantee that the accused face the charges against him, we cannot turn a blind…

Metro Manila, Philippines – Tropical Depression Ester maintained its strength as it moved northwest of Batanes, the weather bureau said on Friday, June 5.   In its 11:00 a.m. bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) raised Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 over Batanes.  Ester was last located 230 kilometers northwest of Itbayat, Batanes.   The tropical depression showed signs of deceleration over the last few hours, dropping to 15 kilometers per hour (kph) from its previous 20 kph. It packs maximum sustained winds of 45 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 55 kph.   While Ester traverses the northern boundary of the country, PAGASA warned that the southwest monsoon (habagat) will continue to bring heavy rainfall across parts of Luzon over the weekend:   Friday, June 5: Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, Aurora , Zambales, Tarlac, Bataan, Pampanga, Metro Manila, CALABARZON, Occidental Mindoro, and…

Metro Manila, Philippines – Inflation slowed down to 6.8% in May, driven by a decelerating rise in transportation, food, and energy prices, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced on Friday, June 5. May’s inflation reading is 0.4 percentage points lower than the 7.2% recorded in April, which marked a three-year high since the 7.6% rate logged in March 2023. However, it remains significantly higher than the 1.3% rate observed in May 2025. The latest figure fell below the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) earlier forecast range of 7.1% to 7.9%. National Statistician Dennis Mapa noted that a major driver of the downturn was transport inflation, which dropped to 16.2% in May from 21.4% in April. In particular, diesel price inflation saw a massive drop, slowing to 58.5% in May from 122.7% the previous month. Food, beverages, housing, water, electricity, and liquid fuels also registered slower inflation rates, contributing to the…