Here are today’s headlines – the latest news in the Philippines and around the world:
- Anti-dynasty bill from Bojie Dy, Sandro Marcos is weak, but a start - PrimeWater allegedly not paying contractors, water districts: 'Dami ’nyong nabudol' - Democracies must fight for freedom, Nobel laureate Machado says - Justin Kobe Macario thrives in solo act for PH's maiden gold in 2025 SEA Games - Kayla Sanchez anchors PH team to 4x100m freestyle gold in smashing SEA Games debut
00:08House Speaker Bojiti and Majority Leader Sandro Marcos jointly file an anti-dynasty bill.
00:20Villar-owned prime water allegedly defaulted on obligations to contractors and water districts.
00:242025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado says democracies must be prepared to fight for freedom in order to survive.
00:32Justin Coby Macario bags the country's first gold medal at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.
00:39And Olympic medalist Kyla Sanchez and her team snag the country's second gold medal at the SEA Games.
00:46House Speaker Bojiti and Majority Leader Sandro Marcos jointly file a bill prohibiting political dynasties on Wednesday, December 10.
00:53The filing comes a day after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told Congress to prioritize passing the anti-dynasty bill.
01:00The proposal describes a dynasty as an existing family connection between a sitting official and anyone related to them up to the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity.
01:09This includes not only a politician's immediate family but also those related by marriage.
01:14This appears to go against the interests of many lawmakers who are dynasts themselves.
01:19But the proposal has some interesting caveats.
01:21It does not prohibit cross-level or cross-jurisdiction dynasties.
01:26It does not prohibit a dynast from immediately succeeding an incumbent relative in the next election.
01:31It is silent, unpartylist abused by dynasts.
01:34But even if the bill hurdles the lower house, it will still have to pass the Senate where one-third of lawmakers are siblings.
01:41Villar-owned Prime Water is currently under multiple investigations for allegedly defaulting on their obligations to contractors and water districts.
01:49A Rappler investigation found 41 out of 77 Prime Water partners failed to collect millions worth of unpaid dues from the company.
01:56Senator Rafi Tulfo, chairperson of the Public Works Committee which has begun investigating Prime Water, says a contractor relayed similar problems.
02:03More than half a billion ang inyong i-infused na capital.
02:08Sino ba naman local district? Water local district hindi papayag.
02:12Pero nabudol sila!
02:14Ang taro niyo pong nabudol?
02:16Prime Water grew exponentially under the Duterte administration when Senator Mark Villar was DPWH's secretary.
02:22The Local Water Utilities Administration, which oversees water districts, is an agency attached to the DPWH, a conflict of interest for Villar.
02:30In several water districts, Prime Water failed to fulfill their contractual obligations.
02:36Nobel Peace Prize laureate for 2025 Maria Corina Machado says democracies must be prepared to fight for freedom in order to survive.
02:44This in a speech on Wednesday, December 10, delivered by her daughter during the awarding ceremony of her prize, which she could not attend.
02:50Machado was awarded the Nobel Prize for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.
03:01She says the prize held profound significance not only for her country but for the world.
03:05What we Venezuelans can offer the world is the lesson forged through this long and difficult journey.
03:13That to have democracy, we must be willing to fight for freedom.
03:18Machado was unable to personally receive her prize in Norway following a grueling three-day journey, sometimes in disguise, as she fled her home country.
03:27She had been in hiding since August 2024 after authorities expanded arrests of opposition figures in Venezuela.
03:33Machado safely arrived in Norway hours after the ceremony.
03:38Justin Kobe Macario wins the country's first gold medal at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.
03:44He tops the men's individual Pumse with a score of 8.2 points, narrowly edging Thailand's representative by just one-tenth of a point.
04:03Machado and the Philippine team settled for silver in 2021 Vietnam and bronze in 2023 Cambodia for the mixed freestyle Pumse event.
04:10Noong una pong in-announce yung line-up namin, parang kinawaan po kasi hindi ako kasanay sa si Games po.
04:17Routine po yung mga past si Games po.
04:19And grandab ko pong itong opportunity na to para maglaro and i-represent po yung country po.
04:27Olympic medalist Kayla Sanchez along with Sandy Chua, Chloe Aileta and Heather White swim their way to the gold medal at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games.
04:36The team clocks 3 minutes and 44 seconds in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay to Best Singapore, which has ruled the event since 2015.
04:45Sanchez won an Olympic silver with Canada in the Tokyo Games in 2021 in the same event.
04:50This was two years before she officially switched to represent the Philippines.
04:54The Philippine swimming team bags two medals on day one of the competitions, with Gian Christopher Santos getting silver in the men's 200m medley.
05:02In jiu-jitsu, the Philippines secures two gold medals with Dean Rojas and Kimberly Ann Custodio topping their respective categories.
05:10Meanwhile, Aaliyah Finnegan earns the first gymnastics gold medal for the Philippines following her triumph in the women's vault.
05:16The Olympian replicates her golden feet in the vault in the 2021 Vietnam edition.
05:20And that's today's wrap.
05:24I'm Julian Serenio.
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