00:01Contractor Curly Diskaya may soon face criminal charges and detention over an alleged P96.5
00:07million ghost flood control project. A Manila court issues a whole departure order against
00:12Senator Jinggoy Estrada, former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, and several other
00:17former Public Works officials. The Philippines takes strong exception to a Chinese embassy
00:22statement which said a diplomatic spat could result in millions of jobs lost. Charismatic
00:28U.S. civil rights leader Jesse Jackson has died at age 84. And Olympic gymnast Carlos Yulok and
00:34tennis star Alex Ayala are named Athletes of the Year by the Philippine Sports Writers Association.
00:47The Department of Public Works and Highways, or DPWH, asks prosecutors to include contractor Curly
00:53Diskaya in a case about an alleged P96.5 million ghost flood control project in Davao,
00:58Occidental. Diskaya may soon face criminal charges and detention over this. The case was earlier
01:03filed with the Digo City Regional Trial Court against several DPWH officials and Curly's wife,
01:09Sarah. She has been detained in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. Curly is not in a prison facility. He is still
01:14under the custody of the Senate. Assistant Ombudsman Miko Clavano says the affidavits gathered point to
01:21Curly as a possible beneficial owner of St. Timothy Construction Corporation, the firm that bagged the flood
01:26control contract. But despite the DPWH's request, Curly cannot automatically be added as an accused in
01:32the case. He must first be given the opportunity to respond to the allegations.
01:39A Manila court issues a precautionary hold departure order against Senator Jingoy Estrada,
01:44former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, and several other public works officials.
01:51Judge Juan Raniola Jr. says, quote,
01:54There is probable cause to believe that the respondents will depart from the Philippines to
01:58evade arrest and prosecution. The PHDO stems from complaints filed by the National Bureau of
02:04Investigation over alleged violation of the Anti-Graph and Corrupt Practices Act. It is a
02:09relatively new mechanism that, if granted by a court, can bar overseas travel even if the investigation is
02:15only at the complaint level. DOJ spokesperson, Prosecutor Polo Martinez, clarifies the preliminary
02:21investigation into the said complaints are still ongoing. Estrada has been implicated in the flood
02:26control scandal after former public works official Bryce Hernandez alleged the senator channeled 355
02:32million pesos worth of projects to Hagonoy and Malolos in Bulacan in 2025 with the supposed 30 percent
02:38SOP or kickback.
02:41The Philippines takes strong exception to a statement by the Chinese embassy that a simmering diplomatic
02:47spat could result in millions of jobs lost. There have been sharp exchanges recently between the
02:52Chinese embassy and Philippine officials over maritime confrontations in the West Philippine Sea.
02:57Some senators said China's ambassador should be recalled after the Chinese embassy warned last week
03:02that any serious damage to bilateral ties would, quote, cost millions of jobs.
03:06The Philippine Foreign Affairs Department says, Monday, February 16, we take strong exception to
03:12the embassy's tone which appears to imply that such cooperation could be withheld as a form of
03:16leverage or retaliation. The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
03:22Tuesday, February 17 is a holiday in China and the Philippines for the Lunar New Year.
03:27The Philippines accuses China of aggressive actions inside its exclusive economic zone,
03:32as China claims almost all of the South China Sea.
03:37Charismatic U.S. civil rights leader Jesse Jackson has died at age 84, his family said in a statement
03:43on Tuesday, February 17. Jackson was an eloquent Baptist minister raised in the segregated South who
03:49became a close associate of Martin Luther King Jr. during the turbulent civil rights movement of the 1960s.
03:55He twice ran for the Democratic presidential nomination. At the 1988 Democratic convention,
04:01Jackson electrified the crowd with his speech saying,
04:03America is not a blanket woven from one thread, one collar, one cloth.
04:08The Jackson family said,
04:10Our father was a servant leader, not only to our family, but to the oppressed,
04:14the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world.
04:16He served as Democratic President Bill Clinton's special envoy to Africa in the 1990s.
04:22Jackson was instrumental in securing the release of Americans held in Syria,
04:26Cuba, Iraq, and Serbia. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2017.
04:31Jackson continued his activism later in life, condemning the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.
04:39Carlos Yulo and Alex Ayala are named Athletes of the Year by the Philippine Sports Writers Association.
04:44This is Ayala's first PSA Athlete of the Year award, while Yulo is named for the second straight time.
04:49I am so honored to be named the PSA Athlete of the Year alongside Carlos Yulo.
04:57Unang-una sa lahat, congratulations Carlos, isang malaking karangalan mo kasama ka sa paninan na ito.
05:03Being named Female Athlete of the Year is a moment in my life that I will cherish forever.
05:10Ayala took 2025 by storm as she cracked the world top 50 and claimed multiple historic feats for Philippine
05:16tennis. Her best run came in the Miami Open, a WTA 1000 event, and wrapped up the year by winning
05:22her first ever gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games. Yulo meantime hopes to pick Ayala's brains.
05:28He says the battle in sports is mental, so he seeks guidance from fellow athletes.
05:58Ulo comes off a stellar 2025 after he won his third gold medal in the
06:02Artistic Gymnastics World Championships and continued his golden streak with
06:06the fourth win in the Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
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