Here are today's headlines – the latest news in the Philippines and around the world:
- Lacson resigns as Senate blue ribbon chair - Sotto ‘quite confident’ of majority support to remain Senate leader - Lara’s family firm hauled P2B in DPWH deals in Cagayan since 2020 - Marcos vows accountability in ghost projects, but cautions against weak cases - Pope Leo, after Trump critique, urges Catholics to help immigrants
00:08Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lakson resigns as Blue Ribbon Committee Chairperson.
00:19Senate President Tito Soto says he's quite confident of the majority's support to retain the leadership.
00:24A construction firm founded by Cagayan Representative Joseph Lassam Lara had secured 3.7 billion pesos in government contracts since 2020.
00:33President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vows to hold accountable those behind alleged ghost flood control projects, including allies.
00:40And Pope Leo XIV urges Catholics to care for migrants.
00:46Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lakson submits his resignation as Chairperson of the powerful Blue Ribbon Committee to Senate President Tito Soto.
00:54Rappler obtained a copy of Lakson's resignation letter on Monday, October 6.
00:59He says other senators expressed disappointment with the way he handled the probe into anomalous infrastructure projects.
01:05This was after the committee's recent hearings in which several senators were implicated by resource persons in alleged corruption.
01:12Lakson says some senators have insinuated that he had been, quote,
01:16zeroing in on several colleagues and protecting members of the House of Representatives.
01:20He denies all of this, saying, quote,
01:23There are no political considerations in any and all my actions related to my handling of the committee hearings and other related activities.
01:31He adds, he has no reason to amass political capital because he has no further political plans beyond 2031 when his term as senator ends.
01:40Meantime, the Senate suspends its Blue Ribbon Committee hearings on the alleged anomalies in the Department of Public Works and Highways' flood control projects.
01:47Senate President Tito Soto dismisses rumors of an ouster plot amid reports that some majority bloc members are planning to support another Senate leader.
01:58When asked if he still has the support of his colleagues,
02:00I'm quite confident, but as usual, you know, any senator who is elected into the leadership only serve at the pleasure of your colleagues, of your peers.
02:14So we always leave it at that.
02:16But as far as I'm concerned and as far as I know now, I'm quite confident that we are stable and the leadership of the Senate is well in place.
02:26Soto also says the majority bloc may hold a caucus on Wednesday or Thursday to discuss recent developments.
02:32In a report by Enquire.net, Deputy Majority Leader J.B. Ejercitos says that the Senate is, quote,
02:38losing focus on the real perpetrators and those behind the chaos.
02:42He adds, he has seriously thought about leaving the majority if the probe doesn't change direction.
02:48Meantime, Senator Erwin Tulfo says that neither he nor his brother, Senator Rafi Tulfo, has been approached for support.
02:54Talks of another ouster plan in the Senate are growing after the expected resignation of Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lakson as Blue Ribbon Committee Chair.
03:03Soto was elected Senate President on September 8th following the ouster of Senator Cheez Escudero.
03:10JLL Pulsar, a construction firm founded by Cagayan 3rd District Representative Joseph Jojo Lasam Lara,
03:16and now owned by his children, has secured P3.7 billion in contracts from the Department of Public Works and Highway since 2020,
03:24the same year he became a congressman.
03:27Rappler's review of DPWH's online tracking portal shows 2.1 billion pesos worth of these contracts were in Lara's home province in the last five years.
03:37Since 2023, the company has won 1.37 billion pesos in contracts from the DPWH.
03:43Lara became a member of the House Appropriations Committee in 2022.
03:46In an interview with Rappler, Lara's chief of staff, Vic Casaway, denies the congressman used his position to advance the interests of his children's construction company.
03:56Casaway says, quote,
03:57Their contracts have dropped dramatically.
03:59It's actually unfair to the congressman's family that their contracts have been reduced to this level.
04:04Casaway notes, Lara, quote,
04:06He never entered into contracts in his own district.
04:09Based on the general information sheet submitted to the SEC by JLL Pulsar,
04:14Lara's children own 96.28% of the company as of March 2025.
04:21President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vows to hold accountable those behind alleged ghost flood control projects,
04:26even if his political allies are involved.
04:29But, he adds,
04:29In an interview with Manila Bulletin, Marcos emphasizes the importance of following the law,
04:39otherwise any actions are not legitimate.
04:41He also says rushing cases with incomplete evidence could backfire and allow offenders to avoid punishment.
04:47He adds,
04:47But if we are actually going to punish these people, we have to be very, very clear about what we are doing,
04:54and we have to be very, very clear that we go after the guilty ones.
04:58Marcos adds,
04:58The irregularities in flood control projects were so extensive that they showed a deep system of corruption that must be dismantled.
05:05He also calls the situation shocking, saying corruption in government had long been suspected,
05:11but not as bad as what was recently discovered.
05:15Pope Leo XIV urges the world's 1.4 billion Catholics to care for migrants,
05:20days after he criticized the hardline anti-immigration policies of U.S. President Donald Trump.
05:25Leo had questioned whether the Trump government's treatment of migrants were in line with the Catholic Church's pro-life teachings,
05:32a comment that drew heated backlash from some prominent conservative Catholics.
05:36Leo tells thousands of pilgrims celebrating Mass in St. Peter's Square
05:39that migrants should not be treated with the coldness of indifference or the stigma of discrimination.
05:44He calls on Catholics to, quote,
05:46Open our arms and hearts to them,
05:48welcoming them as brothers and sisters,
05:50and to be a presence of consolation and hope for migrants.
05:53And that's today's wrap.
05:57I'm JC Gotinga.
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