00:01The Bureau of Immigration confirms Senator Loren Legarda and her son Leandro Leviste have left the country amid plunder and
00:08graft complaints.
00:09The Ombudsman appeals a Sandigan Bayan decision to grant bail to former Senator Bong Revilla.
00:14The country's economy grew by only 2.3% in the second quarter of 2026.
00:20Saudi Arabia expects coordinated attacks by Iraqi militias and Yemen's Houthis under the supervision of Iran's military.
00:26And Alex Ayala's reunion with tennis icon Venus Williams ends in a loss in the Canadian Open in Toronto.
00:41The Bureau of Immigration confirms Senator Loren Legarda and her son Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste have left the
00:49country on Sunday, August 2.
00:51This after the Office of the Ombudsman announced plunder and graft complaints against them.
00:55BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval says the office confirms the departure of Senator Loren Legarda and Representative Leandro Leviste in separate
01:03flights last August 2.
01:04Both had no derogatory records at the time of departure.
01:08On July 31, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulia announced plunder and graft complaints are currently pending against Legarda and Leviste over
01:15the latter's solar energy projects.
01:17The Ombudsman's investigation also allegedly revealed some service contracts were transferred to Leviste's affiliated corporations that only exist on paper
01:25but had not started operations.
01:28The Senate confirms Legarda is currently on medical leave.
01:31Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr. says last August 3, the Chief of Staff of the Office of Senator Legarda sent
01:37a letter informing the Office of the Secretary that Senator Loren Legarda will be on medical leave from 3 to
01:425 August 2026.
01:44Senator Erwin Tulfo also confirms Legarda filed for a medical leave, adding this was the reason for her absence during
01:50Senate impeachment hearings.
01:52Legarda skipped the impeachment trial from August 3 to 5.
01:57The Office of the Ombudsman files an appeal to ask the Sandigan Bayan 3 Division to reconsider its decision on
02:03former Senator Bong Revilla's bail.
02:05The 3 Division granted Revilla's petition allowing him to avail of temporary liberty.
02:10The Ombudsman argues Revilla is part of the conspiracy to commit malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents.
02:16It adds, the evidence, when taken as a whole, established Revilla's presumptive guilt.
02:21This is also the point of 3 Division Chairperson Associate Justice Carl Miranda, who dissented on the grant of bail.
02:27The Ombudsman adds, in the present case, accused Revilla's participation in the criminal design was not inconsequential nor peripheral.
02:34On the contrary, he was the leading link who set in motion the criminal chain.
02:38Revilla is allegedly at the center of the case involving a 92.8 million peso Bulacan flood control project because
02:45he acted as proponent for the public works contract.
02:49The Philippine Statistics Authority reports the country's economy grew by only 2.3% in the second quarter of 2026.
02:56Weak investment and elevated prices weighed on economic activity, resulting in the slowdown.
03:01The latest figure is lower than the 2.8% growth recorded in the first quarter of 2026 and the
03:075.4% expansion in the second quarter of 2025.
03:11This brings economic growth in the first half of 2026 to 2.6%.
03:15The 2.3% expansion in the second quarter of 2026 is the weakest since the fourth quarter of 2009,
03:22excluding the COVID-19 pandemic when the economy grew by only 1.8%.
03:27The government already slashed its growth target range to 3.5% to 4.5% for the full year
03:33amid weaker investment, elevated inflation, and domestic and external uncertainties.
03:38The World Bank expects the Philippine economy to grow by 3.7% in 2026.
03:43The World Bank earlier warned investment was slowing down amid heightened scrutiny of infrastructure spending after corruption in flood control
03:50projects, as well as a surge in global energy prices.
03:55Saudi Arabia expects imminent coordinated attacks from the north and south by Iraqi militias and Yemen's Houthis under the supervision
04:02of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
04:04This according to a senior Saudi official speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity.
04:09The official says intelligence reports from Saudi Arabia, the US, and other regional countries indicate civilian and economic sites could
04:16be targeted, including energy infrastructure, ports, and airports.
04:19Saudi Arabia also observes drones and missiles being moved, suggesting coordinated operations from both directions.
04:26The official says the planned attacks could be intended to disrupt diplomatic efforts as Riyadh continues to pursue de-escalation
04:32and a negotiated settlement.
04:34Saudi-US cooperation remains very high at all levels, including operationally with the US Central Command.
04:41Alex Ayala's much-awaited reunion with tennis icon Venus Williams ends quickly.
04:46The Filipino and American duo drops their opening match in the Canadian Open in Toronto, as they absorb a 6
04:52-4, 6-3 loss to Japan's Miyu Kato and Russia's Lyudmila Samsonova in the round of 32 of women's doubles
04:59action.
04:59After pulling level at 4-4 in the opening set, Ayala and Williams lose the next six games as their
05:05chances of winning slowly slips away, with Kato and Samsonova wrapping up the match in 1 hour and 15 minutes.
05:11The loss marks Williams' exit from Toronto as she also lost her first match in singles play.
05:16But Ayala, who received the first round bye as the 25th seed, advances to the third round after a victory
05:21over the USS Alicia Parks in the round of 64.
05:26And that's today's wrap. I'm JC Guttinga. Thank you for watching. Click the link below for the full story. For
05:32more updates, download the Rappler app.
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