Chiz Escudero admits ties to top flood contractor, denies role in deals  | The wRap - video Dailymotion

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Here are today’s headlines – the latest news in the Philippines and around the world:   - Chiz Escudero ‘friends’ with one of top flood control contractors, denies role in deals - Bacolod bishop goes no-holds-barred in sermon, slams SC, Senate on Sara impeachment  - RSF condemns killing of journalists by Israel - Michole Sorela gets lifetime MPBL ban, P200k fine after jaw-breaking sucker punch  - TS12 is coming: What we know about Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life of a Showgirl’  https://www.rappler.com/video/daily-wrap/august-12-2025/

Transcript

00:00Today on Rappler

00:07Senate President Chief Escudero admits to being friends

00:17with the head of one of the top 15 flood control project contractors.

00:21Pakolod Bishop Patricio Buzon slams the Supreme Court and the Senate

00:24on the impeachment case of Vice President Sara Duterte.

00:27Reporters Without Borders condemns the killings of Al Jazeera journalists by the Israeli military.

00:33Jensen player Mikol Zarela gets a lifetime ban after punching Mendoro's Jonas de Bayan.

00:38And pop superstar Taylor Swift announces her new album.

00:43Senate President Chief Escudero admits he is still friends with the president of one of the country's top 15 contractors

00:49for flood control projects under the Marcos administration in a press conference on Tuesday, August 12.

00:55However, he clarifies he had no hand in any of the deals of the firm.

00:59This after a Rappler report revealed that Centerways Construction and Development Inc. President Lawrence R. Lubiano

01:06was Escudero's biggest campaign donor in the 2022 elections.

01:10Centerways Construction ranked 7th among the top 15 flood control project contractors.

01:14Kinikilala ko, kaibigan ko, kababayan ko, Tigasursogon, contractor siya.

01:20Pero ang nakuha niya ay 5.4 billion di umano.

01:24Wala pang isang porsyento ng kabuoang pondo na sinasabi ng Pangulo sa flood control.

01:30He adds he is not a contractor nor is affiliated to any construction business.

01:34Wala akong kinalaman sa pag-identify, paggawa ng program of work, pag-bid, pag-award, pag-bahay, pag-payad, pag-inspeksyon ng anumang proyekto sa pamahalan,

01:45sa Sorosogon man o sa labas ng lalawigan ng Sorosogon.

01:49He points out that the contractor bagged most of the projects even before he returned to the Senate in 2022.

01:54Escudero claims there are demolition jobs against him with how the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte turned out.

02:00Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon cast aside restraint and denounces the Supreme Court's controversial ruling

02:08in the Senate's move to archive the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte.

02:12With what is happening in the Senate and the Supreme Court these days,

02:19one cannot help but feel frustrated with the present government and cynical about the future of our nation.

02:29Speaking before nearly 2,000 Catholics during Mass at the Cathedral on Sunday, August 10,

02:35the Bishop did not mince words as he expressed his disgust at how the two institutions handled the impeachment proceedings.

02:41The highest court meant to be the people's last resort for justice is lost in non-committal legalese

02:52and fails to uphold the people's right to hold their elected leaders accountable.

03:02The Upper House, once an august and independent body of statesmen and women,

03:11is now infested with members, entertainers, and populists coming from deeply entrenched dynasties

03:21who know nothing about the law.

03:24On July 25, in a 13-02 vote, the SG declared the impeachment proceedings against Duterte unconstitutional,

03:31saying it was barred by the one-year rule under the Constitution and violated the right to due process.

03:36But despite his concerns, Busan urges citizens in Bacolod not to give up and, quote, remain hopeful.

03:45Reporters Without Borders condemns the killing of journalists by the Israeli military,

03:49calling it a disgraceful tactic repeatedly used against journalists to cover up war crimes.

03:54RSF's Director-General Thibault Brewitong says, quote,

03:58This massacre and Israel's media blackout strategy,

04:01designed to conceal the crimes committed by its army for more than 21 months

04:05in the besieged and starving Palestinian enclave, must be stopped immediately.

04:10RSF also calls for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to stop the killings.

04:15This after a prominent Al Jazeera journalist, Anas al-Sharif,

04:19who Israel had previously threatened,

04:20was killed along with four colleagues in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday, August 10.

04:25The Israeli military says Al-Sharif was a Hamas militant posing as a reporter

04:30and was involved in rocket attacks on Israel.

04:33Al Jazeera rejects the assertion

04:35Prior to his death, Al-Sharif also had rejected such claims by Israel.

04:40UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Irene Khan, said last month,

04:44Israel's claim against Al-Sharif were unsubstantiated.

04:47Al-Sharif was among four Al Jazeera journalists and an assistant

04:51who died in an airstrike on a tent near Al-Shifa Hospital in eastern Gaza.

04:55Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani says, quote,

05:00The deliberate targeting of journalists by Israel in the Gaza Strip

05:03reveals how these crimes are beyond imagination.

05:07The United Nations Human Rights Office condemns the killings,

05:10saying the Israeli military's actions represented a, quote,

05:13grave breach of international humanitarian law.

05:17Jensen player Mikol Sorella ends his career in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League

05:23after full-force sucker-punching Mindoro's Jonas Tibayan.

05:28Aside from the lifetime ban, the Pro League also imposes a 200,000 peso fine on Sorella.

05:33He swung and hit Tibayan squarely on the jaw during a routine box-out move

05:37during the third quarter of the game between Jensen and Mindoro last Monday night, August 11.

05:42Rough reason officials immediately intervened and ejected Sorella from the Batanga City Sports

05:47Coliseum court as Tibayan lay on the floor a full five minutes.

05:52He was spewing blood from his mouth and unable to move due to what has since been diagnosed as

05:56a broken jaw and concussion.

05:58PBA legend and MPBL Commissioner Kenneth Duremdez says in a statement,

06:02I've seen the worst in basketball, and this is one of them.

06:06The league has the full authority to impose sanctions on this deplorable behavior.

06:10This is not the first time Sorella was involved in on-court violence.

06:14The former Sunbeda player once got into a one-game suspension in NTAA Season 91 in 2015

06:20after punching perpetual help's Kevin Oliveria.

06:23Pop superstar Taylor Swift announces her 12th album, titled The Life of a Showgirl, on Tuesday, August 12.

06:32The announcement of her new album came in an episode of New Heights,

06:35the podcast of football stars Travis and Jason Kelsey.

06:38Travis is Taylor's boyfriend.

06:40The release date of the album is yet to be announced.

06:43As of posting time, Taylor's website redirects to her online store,

06:46which features a pre-pre-order of her new album with blurred visuals and a glittery orange lock.

06:51The display picture on her social media pages have also been changed with the same visual.

06:56The Life of a Showgirl is coming out over a year after Taylor's record-breaking album,

07:00The Tortured Poets Department, which was released in April 2024.

07:04It's several months after her world record-setting Aris tour ended.

07:09And that's today's wrap.

07:11I'm Cara Oliver.

07:13Click the link below for the full story.

07:15Follow us on Rappler's YouTube, Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok.

07:26You're welcome.

07:27You're welcome.

Chiz Escudero admits ties to top flood contractor, denies role in deals | The wRap

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