US peace plan for Ukraine drew from Russian document — sources
THE US-BACKED 28-point peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, which became public last week, drew from a Russian-authored paper submitted to the Trump administration in October, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
The Russians shared the paper, which outlined Moscow’s conditions for ending the war, with senior US officials in mid-October, following a meeting between US President Donald J. Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington, the sources said.
The paper, a non-official communication known in diplomatic parlance as a “non-paper,” contained language that the Russian government had previously put forward at the negotiating table, including concessions that Ukraine had rejected such as ceding a significant chunk of its territory in the east.
This is the first confirmation that the document — whose existence was initially reported by Reuters in October — was a key input in the 28-point peace plan.
The US State Department and the Russian and Ukrainian embassies in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
The White House did not comment directly on the non-paper but cited Mr. Trump’s comments that he was optimistic about the 28-point plan’s progress.
“In the hopes of finalizing this Peace Plan, I have directed my Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with President Putin in Moscow and, at the same time, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will be meeting with the Ukrainians,” Mr. Trump wrote.
It is unclear why and how the Trump administration had come to rely on the Russian document to help shape its own peace plan. Some senior US officials who reviewed it, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, believed the demands made by Moscow would likely be rejected outright by the Ukrainians, the sources said.
SKEPTICISM OVER RUSSIAN INFLUENCE
After the paper’s submission, Mr. Rubio held a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during which the paper was discussed, the sources said.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva this week, Mr. Rubio acknowledged receiving “numerous written non-papers and things of this nature,” without elaborating.
Since the peace plan was first reported by Axios last week, skepticism has mounted among US officials and lawmakers, many of whom see the plan as a list of Russian positions and not a serious proposal.
The United States has put pressure on Ukraine, nonetheless, warning it could curb its military assistance if Ukraine did not sign.
The plan was composed at least in part during a meeting between Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, Mr. Witkoff and Kirill Dmitriev, the head of one of Russia’s sovereign wealth funds, in Miami last month. Few inside the State Department and White House were briefed on that encounter, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that Mr. Witkoff had offered advice to high-ranking Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov regarding how Mr. Putin should speak to Mr. Trump. According to call transcripts obtained by the news agency, Mr. Ushakov and Mr. Witkoff alluded to a possible “20-point plan” as early as Oct. 14. The scope of that plan apparently widened during subsequent conversations with Mr. Dmitriev, it added.
PLAN REVISED AFTER GLOBAL BACKLASH
The US proposal, which caught officials in Washington and Europe off-guard, triggered a flurry of diplomacy across three continents. The original plan has changed dramatically since then: Nine of the original 28 points have been cut following talks between senior US and Ukrainian officials, according to ABC News.
A bipartisan group of US senators said on Saturday that Mr. Rubio had told them the 28-point plan was not a US plan but instead a Russian wish list, although the White House and State Department vigorously denied that Mr. Rubio had characterized it as such.
In the discussions that followed, a senior US delegation that included Mr. Rubio agreed to excise or modify some of the most pro-Russian parts of the plan during meetings in Geneva with European and Ukrainian officials.
Mr. Driscoll is currently meeting with a Russian delegation in Abu Dhabi. A Ukrainian delegation is also in the United Arab Emirates for talks with the US team, according to a US official.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said they supported the modified peace deal framework that had emerged from the latest talks but stressed that the most sensitive issues – territorial concessions are especially contentious – needed to be fixed at a potential meeting between Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Trump. — Reuters
Taiwan plans extra $40 billion in defense spending to counter China
TAIPEI — Taiwan will introduce a $40-billion supplementary defense budget to underscore its determination to defend itself in the face of a rising threat from China, President Lai Ching-te said on Wednesday.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military and political pressure over the past five years to assert its claims, which Taipei strongly rejects.
As Taiwan faces calls from Washington to spend more on its own defense, mirroring US pressure on Europe, Mr. Lai said in August he hoped for a boost in defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030.
Unveiling the T$1.25-trillion ($39.89-billion) package, Mr. Lai said history had proven that trying to compromise in the face of aggression brought nothing but “enslavement.”
“There is no room for compromise on national security,” he said at a press conference in the presidential office.
“National sovereignty and the core values of freedom and democracy are the very foundation of our nation.”
DETERMINATION TO DEFEND ITSELF
Mr. Lai, who first announced the new spending plan in an op-ed comment in the Washington Post on Tuesday, said Taiwan was showing its determination to defend itself.
“It is a struggle between defending democratic Taiwan and refusing to submit to becoming ‘China’s Taiwan,’” he added, rather than merely an ideological struggle or a dispute over “unification versus independence.”
Mr. Lai had previously flagged extra defense spending but had not given details.
The de facto US ambassador in Taipei, Raymond Greene, wrote on Facebook that the United States supports Taiwan’s “rapid acquisition of critical asymmetric capabilities.”
“Today’s announcement is a major step towards maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait by strengthening deterrence,” he added.
Taiwan has been modernizing its armed forces to push an “asymmetric” approach to warfare to make its forces, which are much smaller than China’s, agile and able to pack a greater and more targeted punch.
For 2026, the government plans that such spending will reach T$949.5 billion ($30.3 billion), to stand at 3.32% of GDP, crossing a 3% threshold for the first time since 2009, government figures showed.
Speaking earlier in Beijing, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Taiwan was allowing “external forces” to dictate its decisions.
“They squander funds that could be used to improve people’s livelihoods and develop the economy on purchasing weapons and currying favor with external powers,” the spokesperson, Peng Qingen, told reporters.
“This will only plunge Taiwan into disaster.”
The United States is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties.
US RELATIONS
But since US President Donald J. Trump took office in January, it approved only one new arms sale to Taiwan, a $330-million package for fighter jets and other aircraft parts announced this month.
“The international community is safer today because of the Trump administration’s pursuit of peace through strength,” Mr. Lai wrote in the Washington Post.
Mr. Lai said Taiwan’s ties with the United States were “rock-solid,” when asked at the news conference whether he was worried about Mr. Trump’s visit to China next year, given the improved Washington-Beijing trade relations.
“Recently, before his trip to Asia, President Trump specifically emphasized that ‘Taiwan is Taiwan’ and President Trump (said he) personally respects Taiwan. These two brief statements say it all,” Mr. Lai said, referring to comments Mr. Trump made while visiting the region last month.
Mr. Lai says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future. Beijing has rejected his repeated offers of talks, saying he is a “separatist.” ($1=31.3400 Taiwan dollars). — Reuters
US slashes 36% off Medicare spending on 15 high-priced medicines
THE US MEDICARE health plan said on Tuesday that newly negotiated prices for 15 of its costliest drugs will save 36% on those medications compared with recent annual spending, or about $8.5 billion in net covered prescription costs.
The prices go into effect in 2027, including a monthly price of $274 for Novo Nordisk’s popular GLP-1 drug semaglutide, sold as Wegovy for weight loss and Ozempic for diabetes.
Medicare’s recent net price for Ozempic was $428 a month, according to an analysis published in the Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy. Medicare put the drug’s list price, before confidential rebates and discounts, at $959 a month.
Based on such non-discounted list prices, Medicare said savings on the 15 drugs ranged from 38% to 85%.
“They were gonna go to the table and try and push on those prices, and that’s what they did,” said William Padula, professor of pharmaceutical and health economics at the University of Southern California.
AstraZeneca’s leukemia drug Calquence, Boehringer’s lung treatment Ofev and Pfizer’s breast cancer drug Ibrance took the biggest hits from this round of Medicare negotiations, each slashed by over $4,000 from estimated net prices.
The annual price negotiations were established under President Joseph R. Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. Previously, Medicare was barred by law from negotiating with drugmakers.
SAVINGS OUTPACE PREVIOUS YEAR’S
The projected 2027 savings of 36% is better than the 22% savings of net spending — according to an estimate from Goldman Sachs — that Medicare achieved with last year’s first round of price negotiations for 10 different drugs.
“They are getting more efficient with their methodology,” but this latest batch of newer products likely had “more wiggle room” on price, Mr. Padula said.
Additional drugs up for negotiation this year included GSK’s asthma and COPD inhaler Trelegy Ellipta, which will have a price of $175 versus its list price of $654. AbbVie’s irritable bowel syndrome medicine Linzess has a new price of $136, down from $539.
Analysts said they will also be comparing the new prices to prices negotiated by other high-income countries, a concept President Donald J. Trump has fought for, which is sometimes referred to as most-favored-nation pricing, or MFN.
The pharmaceutical industry has fought the efforts. “Whether it is the IRA or MFN, government price setting for medicines is the wrong policy for America,” said Alex Schriver, spokesperson for industry body PhRMA.
Medicare covers more than 67 million people aged 65 and over and those with disabilities.
“These prices are going to come down below the existing net prices. There will be some real savings,” said Sean Sullivan, professor of pharmacy at the University of Washington.
“All of the other players can see them. What is going to stop them from asking manufacturers for that same price?” He said.
PRICES STILL HIGHER THAN IN OTHER WEALTHY NATIONS
The Medicare agency unveiled last year maximum new prices for the first 10 high-cost medicines negotiated under the IRA to take effect in 2026.
For those drugs, including medicines such as the Pfizer and Bristol Myers Squibb blood thinner Eliquis and Amgen’s arthritis drug Enbrel, the new prices were still on average more than double, and in some cases five times, what drugmakers had agreed to in four other high-income countries.
Under the IRA, Medicare is required to consider a number of factors for pricing, including manufacturer data and availability of alternative treatments. The law does not include a review of international prices in the process.
Many other countries have long had universal prescription drug coverage that relies on centralized price negotiations with manufacturers.
The Trump administration has since outlined what it considers most-favored-nation pricing terms: the lowest price in any country that is part of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development with a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of at least 60% of US GDP per capita.
Under a separate pilot program, Medicare has proposed a smaller “country basket,” which includes six G-7 countries — the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan — plus Denmark and Switzerland. The benchmark used to calculate the MFN price would be the second-lowest price within that basket of countries, adjusted by GDP per capita.
Medicare’s next round of drug price talks is expected to include 15 additional prescriptions and hospital-administered medicines and begin in February. — Reuters
South Korea ruling party introduces bill to create fund to finance $350-B US investment
SEOUL — South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party introduced a bill on Wednesday to establish a special fund to finance $350 billion of investment in the US committed under a deal with Washington to cut US tariffs on its exports, the Industry Ministry said.
The bill, which was written in consultation with the government, fulfills the condition for the US to lower tariffs on South Korean autos and automobile parts retroactively to Nov. 1, the ministry said in a statement.
The two countries this month unveiled details of the agreement reached by their presidents, capping more than three months of intense negotiations on how to structure the massive investment in a way that would not sharply weaken and destabilize the South Korean won currency.
Under a special act to be legislated, South Korea will establish a fund financed by income from the country’s foreign assets and government-backed bonds issued in offshore markets, according to the bill.
South Korea has pledged $250 billion to be invested in strategic US industries and $150 billion in projects to modernize the American shipbuilding industry.
South Korea’s Industry Ministry has sent a letter to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick informing him about the introduction of the bill on Wednesday and requested the implementation of the tariff cuts on autos and automobile parts, the statement said. — Reuters
Create your future with smart choices
Success is not about luck. It is the result of smart, conscious decisions. And when it comes to your future, few choices matter more than the ones you make about money.
Every peso you will save, spend, or invest will shape your future. Any other choice that deviates from the smart ones can lead to debt and stress. The smart choices will open doors. Doors to your freedom, to more options, and to better peace of mind.
Think of decisions on money as building blocks. Each stack represents each of your goals — graduate from college, start a business, buy a house, travel to your heart’s delight, or even retire early. Choosing to save and spend wisely might seem simple and small now, but it is how success begins.
When it comes to money matters, you do not need to be a finance expert. You just need to be informed. Understanding the basics of money management gives you control and helps you see opportunities instead of missing them. The key is to gain smart money management habits early. Hence, start the habit now.
Start by setting clear goals by knowing and taking to heart what you are saving for. Ask questions and learn about your available options. Think before you spend by weighing your rewards, your options, and your priorities. Keep on learning by staying updated on financial information. When at a crossroad in making decisions, you can never go wrong when you always go back to your goals.
Saving in a bank is a solid first decision. Not only is it safe and secure. It is also protected, thanks to the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC), the government instrumentality mandated to protect depositors and promote financial stability. Through the protection provided by the PDIC, bank deposits are insured up to ₱1 million per depositor, per bank. Not only will savings in a bank help you prepare for big moments from emergencies to other life goals, maintaining a bank deposit also helps build discipline — the discipline of making saving a habit. In short, keeping your money safe in the bank means keeping your goals safe, too.
American author, coach and motivational speaker Tony Robbins said it best: “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” So, start the learning process today, as we observe the Economic and Financial Literacy Week. Learn, save, and make smart choices that will support your goals. Because your goal, your future is not something that will just happen. It is something you need to create.
Spotlight is BusinessWorld’s sponsored section that allows advertisers to amplify their brand and connect with BusinessWorld’s audience by publishing their stories on the BusinessWorld Web site. For more information, send an email to online@bworldonline.com.
Join us on Viber at https://bit.ly/3hv6bLA to get more updates and subscribe to BusinessWorld’s titles and get exclusive content through www.bworld-x.com.
PSE names 2 new directors
The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Wednesday elected Cecile L. Ang as its nonbroker director representing investors, and Jaime J. Bautista as an independent director following recent resignations from both posts.
Ms. Ang, daughter of San Miguel Corp. Chairman Ramon S. Ang, was nominated by the San Miguel Corp. Retirement Plan. She will fill the vacancy left by Ferdinand K. Constantino, who stepped down effective Nov. 27, the bourse said in a disclosure.
She will assume the role on the PSE board held by Mr. Constantino, who served on the Audit and Related Party Transactions Committee and the Corporate Governance Committee.
In the same board meeting, the PSE appointed Mr. Bautista as an independent director, replacing Andrew Jerome T. Gan, who resigned on Nov. 5. Mr. Bautista is a former Transportation secretary and was president and chief operating officer at Philippine Airlines, Inc.
The appointments follow established procedures under the PSE’s corporate governance framework, which mandates board representation for investors and independent directors to safeguard stakeholder interests. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno
Marcos seeks charges vs 8 lawmakers in flood-control scandal
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said the government would endorse to the Office of the Ombudsman plunder, graft, bribery and conflict-of-interest charges against eight lawmakers who allegedly own construction firms with government contracts — escalating his administration’s crackdown on the multibillion-peso flood-control scandal.
The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) would submit evidence to the Office of the Ombudsman to bolster the charges, he said in a video message released on Wednesday.
“This is only the beginning,” Mr. Marcos said, adding that more assets would be frozen as the government seeks to recover public funds.
The statement came as the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) secured two more freeze orders, bringing the total value of assets locked in the controversy to about P12 billion.
The freeze orders covered some P4 billion worth of air assets linked to former Party-list Rep. Elizaldy S. Co, as well as 3,566 bank accounts, 198 insurance policies, 247 motor vehicles, 178 real properties and 16 e-wallet accounts.
Mr. Marcos separately accused Mr. Co’s camp of trying to blackmail the government into stopping the cancellation of his passport.
He said a lawyer of the resigned congressman, who is overseas, had approached officials with an offer to withhold a planned video unless authorities reversed the move.
“I do not negotiate with criminals,” he said in mixed English and Filipino. “Even if you release your video of lies to destabilize the government, your passport will still be canceled. You cannot escape justice.”
Mr. Co has posted a series of videos accusing Mr. Marcos and senior officials of graft after the administration launched a sweeping probe into alleged anomalies in flood-control contracts.
His accusations preceded the departure of former Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin and former Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman.
The Ombudsman is expected to assess the charges once the ICI and DPWH submit their findings, a step that would formally place the implicated lawmakers under the chief graft buster’s investigation. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana
Filipino migrant fisher’s death shows industry abuses
TUKA, Philippines/MANILA — When the body of 25-year-old Filipino fisherman Sam Dela Cruz was returned to his shipmates after his sudden death in Somalia, they placed his body in the ship’s freezer to take him home to his family.
Their mourning was cut short the next day when armed Somali officers took Dela Cruz’s remains to bury him in a public cemetery in the port city of Bosaso, where their Chinese-flagged fishing vessel, the Han Rong 355, was docked in 2018, according to Gilbert, another Filipino on the ship who used a pseudonym due to safety concerns.
Dela Cruz was one of the 66,000 or more Filipinos deployed on foreign fishing vessels over the past decade, according to the Philippines’ Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), part of a global business worth $140 billion.
Official data showed more than 40% of Filipino migrant fishers are repatriated by the government when their contracts expire or they are subject to ship abandonment or mistreatment.
But deaths like Dela Cruz’s are under-documented, and researchers said it is difficult to determine how many perish in an industry they call poorly regulated and rife with abuse.
SICK AT SEA
Seven years after this death, Dela Cruz’s parents are still waiting for his remains in the village of Tuka in Sultan Kudarat province in the Philippines.
“I really cannot sleep, and I feel like I’m going crazy. I can’t eat much, because my mind is still with Sam,” his mother Roselyn said.
Dela Cruz applied for overseas work in 2017 with the recruitment agency GMM Global Maritime Manila and, in early 2018, flew to Singapore, where ship-management services firm GMH Global Maritime Holding was based. He was quickly deployed onto the Han Rong 355.
Attempts to contact GMH Global Maritime were unsuccessful. A Singapore online business directory lists it as “struck off” the registry.
Medical records from 2013 to 2017 showed Dela Cruz was healthy and certified fit for sea duty. But after reaching Somalia in June, he began limping and complained of pain in his stomach and thigh.
A month later, he was rushed to the National Hospital Bosaso and died there on July 28, 2018, succumbing to cardiac arrest due to septic shock and multiple organ failure, hospital records showed.
A Han Rong 355 agent filed a burial request with a Somali court the day after Dela Cruz’s death, and he was buried the same day, according to documents analysed by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, which was unable to determine and contact the owner of the Han Rong 355.
GMM Manila took three days to report Dela Cruz’s death to the government, which may have delayed official efforts to claim the body.
“The repatriation of remains is a deeply humanitarian issue reflecting our shared respect for the deceased and their grieving family,” said Robert Ferrer Jr., assistant secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of Migrant Workers Affairs.
The Philippine Embassy in Nairobi in July revived negotiations with Somali authorities to bring Dela Cruz’s remains home after GMM Manila’s efforts ended in 2019.
GMM Manila did not respond to requests for comment.
But Marlon Martija, a former welfare officer at GMM Manila who handled Dela Cruz’s case, said the company understood the matter was resolved when the family signed a settlement agreement with compensation of about $35,000.
‘NEFARIOUS OPERATORS’
Dominic Thomson, deputy director and project manager for Southeast Asia with the Britain-based human rights group Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), said burials on land or at sea are a practice by “nefarious operators.
“It’s almost up to the discretion of the captain whether they go back to port or take a detour from the fishing grounds to make sure that a fisher can get home or get to a hospital in time,” he said.
A Chinese fisher on the ship died about a month after Dela Cruz, Gilbert said. He was buried beside Dela Cruz’s grave in Somalia, documents showed.
Then Gilbert and other crew members on the Han Rong 355 began exhibiting symptoms after they were given “murky water” he said “tasted like metal.”
Nante Maglangit, 35, worked on board other vessels called Han Rong. Like Gilbert, he described an illness in which his legs swelled, coupled with vomiting.
Neither was diagnosed nor received medical attention. A doctor shown Dela Cruz’s hospital records was unable to determine what had caused his death.
GAPS IN PROTECTION
Maglangit fished on Chinese vessels for two years without adequate meals and water, nor full payment of his salary. He and his crewmates were abandoned at sea in 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic prevented their boat from docking.
In 2022, a Philippine court ordered Maglangit’s recruiter and a China-based shipping company to pay him about $5,000 for contract violations.
Hussein Macarambom, national coordinator for the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Ship to Shore Rights Southeast Asia project, said “a mix of patchy or overlapping jurisdictions” among countries in the fishing industry makes enforcing worker protections difficult.
The EJF, which has interviewed more than 200 Filipino migrant fishers, compared recruitment practices in the Philippines and Indonesia to a “black market.”
Four fishermen who worked on Chinese vessels told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that they were forced to work for up to 18 hours a day fishing, freezing and packing their catch that included squid, tuna and mackerel.
“It’s akin to human trafficking,” said Thomson. “It’s a completely unregulated industry in a lot of aspects.”
Labour activists have called on the Philippines to join the ILO’s Work in Fishing Convention that sets basic labour standards for the industry.
But Dela Cruz’s family just wants to bury their son.
“Our only wish is for Sam’s bones to come home,” his father Samson said. “So his mother can move on. She cannot have closure if her son isn’t here.” — Thomson Reuters Foundation
BDO raises $500 million from offshore bond offer
BDO UNIBANK, Inc. has raised $500 million from its sale of five-year dollar-denominated bonds that marked its return to the offshore debt market after over three years, it said on Wednesday.
The offering was more than 3.2 times oversubscribed, with tenders reaching $1.6 billion following a series of investor calls that started on Monday, the Sy-led bank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.
The notes were priced at a coupon rate of 4.375%.
The transaction is scheduled to be settled on Dec. 3.
BDO’s attributable net income rose 6.1% year on year to P22.47 billion in the third quarter, bringing its nine-month profit to P63.09 billion, 4.07% higher than a year earlier. — Aaron Michael C. Sy
More assets of officials linked to flood control mess frozen
ASSETS worth billions that belong to public officials behind the flood control scandal have been frozen as the Court of Appeals issued two new freeze orders on Tuesday, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said.
The assets belong to an incumbent high-ranking official from an independent constitutional body and a former elected government official, the AMLC said, but did not identify the individuals.
These were frozen as they were determined to be linked to breaches of the Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act as well as the Malversation of Public Funds and Property under Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended.
The two recent orders froze 230 bank accounts and 15 insurance policies. It also covered two helicopters and one airplane valued at around P3.9 billion.
This brought the total value of all frozen assets linked to the flood control mess to P11.7 billion, including 3,566 bank accounts, 198 insurance policies, 247 motor vehicles, 178 real properties and 16 e-wallet accounts.
The AMLC said the value will continue to rise following the issuance of the new freeze orders.
“The issuance of the freeze orders will enable AMLC to pursue a more extensive financial investigation to uncover any possible money laundering scheme linked to the flood control projects,” AMLC Executive Director Matthew M. David said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The public can be assured that the AMLC will continue to pursue all possible legal remedies to ensure that those involved in the misuse of public funds are held accountable,” he added. — Katherine K. Chan
Camp of ex-Rep. Zaldy Co attempted to blackmail gov’t, Marcos says
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Wednesday accused the camp of former lawmaker Elizaldy S. Co of attempting to blackmail the government to stop the cancellation of his passport, saying he would not yield to intimidation amid a widening probe into the alleged multibillion-peso flood control scam.
In a video statement, Mr. Marcos said Mr. Co’s lawyer had approached officials with an offer to withhold a planned video unless authorities reversed the move to cancel his travel document.
“I do not negotiate with criminals,” the President said in mixed English and Filipino. “Even if you release your video of lies to destabilize the government, your passport will still be canceled. You cannot escape justice.”
Mr. Co’s legal counsel Ruy Albert S. Rondain denied the president’s accusation, saying it is “completely untrue.”
“I have not spoken with anyone from the government to negotiate the stoppage of the videos for the passport. As I have always maintained, I have no control over the release of the videos,” he said in a statement.
Mr. Marcos’ video statement followed Mr. Co’s accusation against presidential son, House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” A. Marcos III, who allegedly slipped in billions of pesos to anomalous construction projects during the budget bill’s finalization at the bicameral conference committee level.
The president’s disclosure also came as the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) secured two additional freeze orders, bringing the total value of assets frozen in the controversy to about P12 billion.
The assets included about P4 billion in air assets linked to the former Ako Bicol Partylist representative, as well as 3,566 bank accounts, 198 insurance policies, 247 motor vehicles, 178 real properties and 16 e-wallet accounts.
Mr. Marcos said the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will also submit evidence to the Office of the Ombudsman recommending plunder, graft, bribery and conflict-of-interest charges against eight lawmakers who allegedly own construction firms with DPWH contracts.
“This is only the beginning,” the President said, adding that more assets would be frozen as the government moves to recover public funds. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana
Marcos to dissolve investment affairs office
Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. will dissolve the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (OSAPIEA) following the appointment of Secretary Frederick D. Go to the Department of Finance (DoF), Malacañang said on Wednesday.
“Since Secretary Go came from the OSAPIEA and will now move to DoF, the collaboration remains intact,” Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro told a briefing in Filipino, noting that no timeline has been set for the dissolution.
Asked if this move will affect trade negotiations, Ms. Castro quoted Mr. Go as saying there will be no operational disruptions on current negotiations as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has long handled the technical and substantive work related to trade deals.
Mr. Marcos created the post for Mr. Go when he assumed the presidency in 2022.
Asked why the President created OSAPIEA in the first place, Ms. Castro said the office was established to enhance inter-agency coordination.
However, with Mr. Go’s transition to the DoF — an agency that already works closely with DTI and the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development in the Philippines (DEPDev)— Ms. Castro said maintaining a separate office is no longer practical.
Mr. Go replaced Ralph G. Recto as the head of the DoF. Mr. Recto, in turn, was appointed as Executive Secretary. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana