00:00Today on Rappler
00:07Ako Bicol Representative Zaldi Ko resigns from Congress.
00:18Malacanang names a former police chief to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure in place of Benjamin Magalong.
00:25A flood wall collapses in Bacolod City after severe tropical storm Opong, triggering probes of flood control projects.
00:33A court issues an arrest warrant for Royina Garma and Edilberto Leonardo without bail.
00:38And Russia launches a major drone and missile attack on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.
00:46Ako Bicol Representative Zaldi Ko resigns from Congress after facing an ultimatum from the House leadership to return home or face disciplinary action.
00:55Ko says his exit was, quote,
00:57On account of the real, direct, grave and imminent threat to the lives of my family members and me,
01:03and the evident denial of my right to due process of law.
01:06He adds, Ako Bicol will inform the office of Speaker Bo G.D. of the nominee who will replace him in the House of Representatives.
01:13In his letter to D., Ko denies intentionally allowing last-minute insertions in the 2025 budget during the Bicameral Conference Committee.
01:22Ko also disputes assertions that he benefited from infrastructure projects awarded to SunWest.
01:28He adds, he is not required to submit a medical certificate to justify his leave of absence.
01:34Ko has been absent since the start of the 20th Congress and has been abroad supposedly to seek medical treatment.
01:40Malacanang names former Philippine National Police Chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr.
01:46a special advisor and investigator for the Independent Commission for Infrastructure.
01:51He replaces Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong.
01:55This, days after Magalong submitted his resignation to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday, September 26.
02:01In a statement, Malacanang says the administration is confident that Azurin's experience and leadership will further strengthen the commission's mandate
02:10to uphold accountability and transparency in the use of public funds.
02:14Malacanang also expressed its gratitude to Magalong.
02:17In his resignation letter, Magalong said,
02:20The palace's pronouncements concerning my designation, which run contrary to the terms of my appointment,
02:25have undermined the role and mandate entrusted to me.
02:28Magalong also noted the circumstances that already cast doubt on the independence of the ICI.
02:34Azurin served a short time as PNP chief, taking office on August 1, 2022, and resigning on January 5, 2023.
02:44Police start investigating flood control projects in Bacolod City
02:48after a citizens' group raised concerns about six contracts worth more than P573 million,
02:54one of which collapsed during a recent severe tropical storm.
02:58The Bacolod City Police says it is reviewing 39 flood control projects built since 2022.
03:04City Police Director Colonel Joe Resti Coronica tells Rappler
03:08his office's findings will go directly to PNP Chief General Jose Melencio Nartates Jr.'s office
03:13and are separate from the probe by the Bacolod-based citizens' group, Council of Concerned Citizens, or C3.
03:19C3 says a part of a P96.5 million flood wall along the Lupit River in Barangay 40 collapsed during the heavy rains brought by severe tropical storm Opong.
03:30The project was completed just 19 months ago by Legacy Construction Corporation in a joint venture with MKU Construction and Supply.
03:37Based on a Rappler report, Legacy, one of the country's top flood control contractors, is owned by the Abelido family of Pasig.
03:45Bacolod Mayor Greg Gazataya asks the Department of Public Works and Highways to explain the collapse.
03:51DPWH Bacolod District Acting Head Engineer Lea Jamero has yet to respond to requests for comment.
03:57The Mandaluyong City Regional Trial Court issues warrants of arrest against retired police officers Royina Garma and Edilberto Leonardo,
04:07both implicated in drug war cases over the killing of former Philippine Chaiti Sweepstakes Office Board Member Wesley Barayuga in 2020.
04:14The warrant also covers Jeremy Causapin, Elias Tox, Nelson Mariano, and Whistleblower Police Lieutenant Colonel Santi Mendoza.
04:22The judge did not set bail for the five.
04:24Garma had made a tell-all testimony of how then-President Rodrigo Duterte asked her to design a reward system in the war on drugs.
04:33Garma said Leonardo was the head strategist of the system and was handpicked supposedly by her because he matched what Duterte allegedly wanted, someone good with money.
04:43Leonardo is on the ICC's list of people under suspicion.
04:46Garma reportedly flew to Malaysia this month to meet with International Criminal Court investigators as a potential witness against Rodrigo Duterte in his Crimes Against Humanity case.
04:56Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine early Sunday, September 28.
05:04This killed at least four people and injured dozens in one of the most sustained attacks on the capital since the full-scale war began.
05:10Ukraine's military says Russia had launched 595 drones and 48 missiles overnight and its air defense shot down 568 drones and 43 missiles.
05:19It also notes that the main target of the attack is the capital, Kyiv.
05:24President Vladimir Zelensky says the attack lasted more than 12 hours and caused widespread damage to a cardiology clinic, factories, and residential buildings.
05:33He again urges the international community to take strong action to stop Russia's energy revenues which are funding the invasion.
05:40So far, Ukraine has not been able to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to impose tough sanctions on Moscow.
05:47And that's today's wrap. I'm JC Gutinga. Thank you for watching.
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