00:00Good evening and glad first Monday of the New Year to all. This is Patrick DeSuz and pleased to bring you PTV News Now, kicking off our stories tonight.
00:11The 2026 General Appropriations Bill Congress submitted to the President early last week was touted by the bicameral conference committee as the cleanest ever.
00:22But the President saw it fit to do a little more scrubbing for a speckless and speak-and-span budget by trimming out some 92 billion in questionable lump sum money under unprogrammed funds.
00:34Citing public trust, rookie Senator Erwin Tulfo gave his flowers to the President for his fine-tutcombe review of the 2026 gab in which he found 92 billion pesos in questionable unprogrammed fund allocations and dutifully took out.
00:50Even traditional opposition figure, Senator Bam Aquino, praised the President's move to slash out the questionable earmark amount and lauded the increased budget for education, which he says is a win-win for students and the youth sector.
01:06For his part, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacso noted, only the President is the only authority mandated by law to approve the use of unprogrammed allocations to realign or augment funds under program or regular budget line items.
01:22It is the nation's undisputed top crowd broad that has several millions of Catholic devotees flocking to the streets of Manila to either witness or join in the procession of the religious icon or icon from the Quirino Grandstand to its home in Quiapu Church.
01:40Thus, the Philippine National Police or PNP announced today its assignment of at least 18,000 men and women cops, among them 1,000 undercover cops in civilian or plain clothes, to ensure safety and security to all onlookers and procession participants.
01:58In his speech in today's flag-raising ritual at main police headquarters in Camp Crame, PNP Top Cup Police Lieutenant General Jose Melencio Nartates Jr. urged the police to exercise utter vigilance and alertness during preparations and proceedings of the auspicious event, which draws mammoth crowds along the entire procession route.
02:21He also stressed to the men and women of the force to always maintain discipline, professionalism, and compassion in their duties to enforce the law, keep the peace, maintain order, while protecting the human rights of each individual.
02:37Our immediate focus shifts to the peace of the Black Nazarene and the Translation.
02:43This event gathers millions of devotees and with it comes a complex security environment.
02:51That requires careful planning and pool coordination.
02:56Let me be clear.
02:58There will be no let-up in our security preparations.
03:02We will remain proactive, alert, and ready to protect lives, respect faith, and ensure the orderly conduct of this significant occasion.
03:13Sa pagsisimula ng bagong taon, hinihikayat ko ang bawat isa na panatilihin ang disiplina.
03:19Profesionalismo at malasakit sa tungkulin.
03:23Patuloy nating patuloy nating patunayan ang kalidad ng ating serbisyo sa pamamagitan ng maayos na aksyon, malinaw na pananagutan, at paggalang sa karapatan ng bawat mamamayan.
03:38By any yardstick operation, Absolute Resolve, the bold mission to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in his home in Caracas and bring him to America was a smashing success.
03:53But we know now it wasn't nearly the narco-terror operations of the Maduro drug cartel DRAMPA was after, as much the country's rich oil reserves and the country's interim occupation needed to get it.
04:07While Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cecilia Torres await arraignment at a federal court in New York's Southern District,
04:14U.S. President Donald Trump made it crystal clear U.S. presence in Venezuela will extend even if it entails mass deployment of boots on the ground in Caracas and elsewhere where oil products are refined and shipped in Venezuela.
04:29Charges to be filed against the Venezuelan dictator are serious. Among them, conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the United States,
04:46the consequences of which entail a minimum of 30 years of slumber time or, at worst, life behind bars.
04:54So that's it for this evening's show. Join us anew tomorrow for yet another round of major stories here and abroad, breaking at the hour.
05:05And always stay connected by catching the news right here.
05:09I'm Patrick DeSus and thank you for watching PTV News Now.
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