00:01The United States cancels visas of Leyte Representative and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
00:07The teacher asks the Supreme Court to uphold the legality of the Senate's 12-member quorum in its June 3
00:12plenary session.
00:13Senator Jinggoy Estrada's graft case will move to trial at the Sandigan Bayan despite his refusal to enter a plea.
00:21A Bulacan court orders the arrest of Curly Diskaya as the ombudsman formally accuses him and his wife Sara of
00:26flood control corruption in the province.
00:28And Filipino tennis star Alex Ayala reaches the semifinals of the Birmingham Open.
00:40The United States cancels the diplomatic and tourist business visas of former House Speaker Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez.
00:47A U.S. visa may be revoked at any time and for a wide range of reasons.
00:51Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel Babe Romualdez confirms this Friday, June 5, but says he doesn't have
00:58any details.
00:59He is the cousin of Representative Romualdez. They are both cousins of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
01:05Representative Romualdez faces complaints before the ombudsman for plunder, graft, money laundering, and direct and indirect bribery.
01:12Ombudsman Boying Remulia says Martin Romualdez is the purported mastermind of an alleged corruption scheme related to ghost flood control
01:19projects.
01:22A teacher asks the Supreme Court to uphold the legality of the Senate's 12-member quorum in its June 3
01:28plenary session.
01:29In a 20-page petition, high school teacher John Barry Tayam urges the SC to declare that the physical presence
01:35of 12 senators on June 3, 2026 constituted a legally valid, binding, and constitutional quorum of the active, available membership
01:43of the Senate.
01:43Tayam also urges the SC to affirm the full legality and constitutional validity of the session.
01:49He argues the Senate had then reached the required number to function, two days since the block led by Senator
01:55Alan Peter Cayetano decided to skip sessions.
01:58The 12-member block led by Acting Senate President Win Gatchalian invoked the Avellino Doctrine of 1949, in which the
02:05High Court held the quorum of 12 was legal among all available senators.
02:09Meantime, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines confirms the quorum was valid and legal.
02:14The IBP says the doctrine was applicable because Senators Bato de la Rosa and Jinggoy Estrada could not be compelled
02:20by the Senate to be present.
02:22Deans and professors of law schools around the country also say the Gatchalian block was correct in interpreting there are
02:28only 22 available senators.
02:30Malacanang also recognizes the leadership of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian as Acting Senate President.
02:35So the minority is now the group of Sen. Alan Cayetano.
02:40So sino ba dapat na masunod?
02:42Majority o minority?
02:46Sen. Jinggoy Estrada's graft case will move to trial even after his refusal to enter a plea.
02:52This after the Sandigan Bayan denies motions to dismiss his charges.
02:56Estrada remained silent during arraignment prompting the Anti-Graft Court 2nd Division to enter a not guilty plea on his
03:02behalf.
03:03Meantime, the Sandigan Bayan 5th Division grants former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan's motion to be placed under hospital arrest.
03:11Bonoan said he is suffering from illnesses and conditions related to his age that require constant special medical attention.
03:18Estrada and Bonoan are facing one count of graft in the 2nd Division for alleged involvement in a flood control
03:23project kickback scheme.
03:24They also jointly faced separate charges of plunder and graft before the 5th Division over the same allegation.
03:32A Bulacan court issues an arrest warrant against businessman and government contractor Curly Diskaya.
03:38This after the ombudsman filed criminal charges against him and his wife Sarah over an allegedly anomalous flood control project
03:44in the province.
03:46With the Diskayas are other DPWH officials including Bryce Hernandez and JP Mendoza who were charged with malversation of public
03:53funds through falsification of documents.
03:55Ombudsman investigators found payments for an almost P4M flood control project in Kalumpit, Bulacan were released despite an unapproved disbursement
04:04voucher.
04:05It also found the government fully paid the Diskaya-owned St Timothy Construction Corporation for dredging and embankment without any
04:12basis for the project's completion.
04:14Sarah Diskaya is detained in Cebu over a separate malversation case from an alleged P96M ghost project in Davao Occidental.
04:21Meantime, Curly is still in Senate custody after he was cited in content by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee in
04:27September 2025.
04:29Hernandez and Mendoza testified before the committee last year.
04:35Filipino tennis star Alex Ayala displayed steely nerves as she battled Russia's Alina Sharayeva to reach the quarterfinals of the
04:41Birmingham Open Thursday, June 4.
04:44She beat world number 130 Charayeva for the second time this year.
04:48After the 1 hour and 40 minute match in the United Kingdom, Ayala said,
04:52I was definitely in a tough spot in the second set but I'm proud that I stayed in there and
04:56ultimately gave myself another chance to do better tomorrow.
05:01And that's today's wrap. I'm JC Gotinga. Thank you for watching. Click the link below for the full story. For
05:07more updates, download the Rappler app.
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