Good day. Here are the stories of The Manila Times for Friday, September 5, 2025.

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READ: DPWH fires Bulacan engineers, blacklists contractors over anomalous projects

FORMER Bulacan 1st District engineer Henry Alcantara was dismissed from service, while two other ranking officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will soon face the same fate, Malacañang announced Thursday. Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon ordered the dismissal of Alcantara amid the investigation into anomalous flood control projects. Castro said that the dismissals of district engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez and assistant district engineer Jaypee Mendoza were also under way.

READ: Senate subpoenas 8 DPWH officials, contractors in flood control probe

SENATE President Francis Escudero subpoenaed five contractors and three executives of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to compel them to attend the probe on tainted flood control projects. The senator issued the subpoenas to require their presence on Sept. 8 for the second public hearing on Senate Blue Ribbon investigation on the reported irregularities surrounding the flood control projects nationwide.

HEADLINES: DPWH fires Bulacan engineers, blacklists contractors over anomalous projects | Sept. 5, 2025

READ: DPWH Secretary Dizon orders perpetual ban of Wawao Builders, Syms Construction for ghost projects

PUBLIC Works Secretary Vince Dizon ordered the perpetual blacklisting of contractors Wawao Builders and SYMS Construction Trading following the discovery of ghost flood control projects in Bulacan province, Malacañang said Thursday. Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Wawao Builders was the contractor for the P96.5-million ghost project in Bulacan while SYMS Construction Trading was the contractor for the P55-million ghost projects in the same province. Castro said the two faced criminal charges as well.

READ: Protesters storm Discaya compound, Sotto calls for calm

TENSIONS flared in Pasig City on Thursday after protesters demanding accountability for ghost and substandard flood control projects stormed the compound of St. Gerrard Construction and defaced its gate, prompting Mayor Vico Sotto to call for calm while the Discaya family vowed to file charges. Sotto warned that violence would not harm the corrupt but instead put security guards, workers and the protesters themselves at risk. At the same time, he urged residents not to lose hope, saying the momentum is now on the side of reform and stressing that accountability, stronger institutions and the rule of law must be pursued without shortcuts.

READ: Co out of country for medical reasons

AKO Bicol Party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co is in the United States for medical treatment, House spokesman Priscilla Abante confirmed on Thursday. News of Co’s whereabouts comes amid speculation that the former chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations had left the country amid investigations into anomalous flood control projects, some of which involved his company, Sunwest Construction. Sunwest is one of the 15 contractors that cornered 18 percent of flood control funds in the last three years. On Tuesday, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco tagged Co as among those who had requested billions of pesos from the Department of Public Works and Highways for projects in his district.

READ: Alice Guo faces new cases over POGO land

In other news, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has filed a new set of criminal and administrative complaints against former town mayor Alice Guo and 35 others over alleged grossly disadvantageous transactions involving a multi-billion-peso property linked to Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs). NBI Director Jaime Santiago said Thursday the new cases were filed with the Office of the Ombudsman against Guo, her former vice mayor and councilors, as well as local government officials who held office before her.

BUSINESS: New Philippines mining law aims for fairer revenue share and transparency

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday signed into law a measure overhauling the country's mining tax system to ensure a more equitable share of revenues for the government and greater transparency in the extractive sector. The new law introduces a simplified and progressive tax structure for large-scale metallic mining operations, replacing a fragmented regime that varied depending on the type of mining agreement.

SPORTS: PH soft tennis team win 4 golds

IN preparation for the 9th Asian Soft Tennis Championships on Sept. 13-26 in Mungyeong, South Korea, a team of student athletes, mostly from the University of Perpetual Help, collected four golds, two silvers and three bronzes at the Korea National University Autumn Soft Tennis Tournament on Monday in Sunchang County, South Korea. Shyryn Salazar of San Beda University dominated the competition and captured three gold medals in women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles. Rookie Shant Nuguit of Perpetual Help, meanwhile, made his international debut by winning the gold in mixed doubles.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today’s front page columnists. Tiglao asks why the Pope is silent on the so-called Israeli “genocide” while Tatad wants the whole flood control industry to be reformed.

Today’s editorial weighs in on the recent military parade in China. Read the full version in the paper’s opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

HEADLINES: DPWH fires Bulacan engineers, blacklists contractors over anomalous projects | Sept. 5, 2025

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