Transparency

Francisco Comendador III faces up to six months without pay after a rival port operator accused him of letting vessels dock at a private terminal in violation of rules meant to protect the state port authority's own facilities.

Vice President Sara Duterte called for a speedier impeachment trial after weather forced a second straight day of cancellations, but prosecution counsel Lorna Kapunan countered that Duterte has yet to explain why ₱2.3 billion in confidential and other Office of the Vice President funds were allegedly used outside their intended purpose.

Malacañang says President Marcos never authorized the ₱24-billion allocation ex-DPWH chief Manuel Bonoan described to the Sandiganbayan, even as Senate finance committee chairman JV Ejercito acknowledged senators seek project funding through informal channels and pledged more open budget negotiations in 2027.

Faustino Dy III says the chamber will build on last year's transparency reforms as the Marcos administration prepares to transmit the National Expenditure Program to Congress before the August 14 constitutional deadline, even as the government's own budget agency warns of "very narrow fiscal space."

The Commission on Audit issued an unmodified opinion on the Department of Transportation's fiscal year 2025 consolidated financial statements, a milestone the agency says reflects tightened financial controls under Secretary Giovanni Lopez.

Former Senate President Franklin Drilon warned that any attempt to suppress evidence in Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial could trigger the kind of public backlash that toppled Joseph Estrada in 2001, as the Senate's pre-trial conference resumed June 22 with three of four articles still to be marked — and a sealed BIR box, COA disallowances, and P6.77 billion in flagged transactions among the documents awaiting examination.

The House of Representatives on June 2 approved House Bill No. 9397 — the Freedom of Information Act — on final reading with 284 votes and no opposition, sending the measure to bicameral conference to reconcile differences with the Senate version amid a political context defined by one of the country's worst corruption scandals in recent memory.

The World Bank just approved an $800 million loan for the Philippines. On paper, it's a vote of confidence. In practice, with the DPWH corruption scandal still unresolved and confidential funds unaccounted for, Filipinos have every reason to ask: who really benefits?

The Department of the Interior and Local Government introduces a comprehensive ranking system measuring LGU efficiency, transparency, and citizen satisfaction.

The upper chamber passes amendments requiring stricter reporting requirements and independent audits for the sovereign wealth fund.