00:01The Public Works Department announces it's stopped reclamation activities in a portion of Laguna, Dubai, in Taguig City.
00:08The Marcos administration declares all critical mineral projects a national priority.
00:13The Ombudsman files new malversation and graft cases against fugitive Zaldico.
00:18Nepali officials express concern over insufficient information from China despite calls for improved data sharing.
00:25And Filipino pole vaulter Ije Obiena claims his ninth gold medal of this year.
00:39The Public Works Department announces it has stopped reclamation activities in a portion of Laguna, Dubai, in Taguig City.
00:45The DPWH only publicly announces the cease and desist over a week after Public Works Chief Vince Dizon responded to
00:53the letter of Philippine Reclamation Authority General Manager and CEO Cesar Ciador Jr.
00:59In his letter to the DPWH dated August 17, Ciador directed the DPWH to suspend reclamation activities in Laguna, Dubai.
01:07The PRA also directed the DPWH to submit proof of its authority to undertake the project's reclamation component.
01:15Senator Ping Laxon had flagged the reclamation of a portion of Laguna, Dubai, in Taguig City, the bailiwick of Senator
01:21Alan Peter Cayetano, over the lack of permits.
01:24Laxon said in a social media post that,
01:28Based on official records and our investigation, the total cost of identified, completed, ongoing, and suspended DPWH flood control and
01:36multipurpose projects along the illegal Laguna Lakeshore reclamation areas in Taguig City has so far reached P3.713 billion.
01:45Laxon also said PRA officials told him Cayetano supposedly harassed them during budget deliberations in November 2025.
01:53Laguna, Dubai is the largest lake in the country, surrounded by cities in the southeast of Metro Manila, Laguna, and
02:00Rizal.
02:02The Philippines declares all critical mineral projects as national priority to boost its domestic industry in response to global demand
02:10for minerals.
02:11The Marcos administration wants the domestic critical minerals industry boosted as the world shifts to clean energy and responds to
02:18the artificial intelligence boom.
02:20These require critical minerals such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt.
02:24President Fernando Marcos Jr. signs Executive Order 122 that directs its cabinet to focus on finding more critical mineral reservations
02:33that can be developed and establish the downstream industries that create value and jobs.
02:37This means creating firms that engage in refining, processing, and manufacturing of electronic and renewable energy components.
02:46This includes PAC Silica, its proposed semiconductor plants, critical mineral processing centers, and data centers.
02:53The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau are central to this state endeavor.
03:01Some environmental advocates are skeptical of the policy.
03:04The Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center says it opens up a potential 1,000% increase of mining land
03:11area compared to the present total hectareage of approved mining projects.
03:17The Office of the Ombudsman files new malversation and graft cases before the Sindigan Bayan against fugitive former Acobico representative
03:25Zaldico and several Department of Public Works and Highways officials.
03:29The case stems from an allegedly anomalous P77 million flood control project in Balagtas, Bulacan.
03:36The Ombudsman says it found probable cause to charge the respondents with malversation of public funds through falsification of public
03:43documents and violation of the Anti-Grafts and Corrupt Practices Act.
03:48The respondents include Bryce Hernandez, RJ Domasig, JP Mendoza, Nino Morales, Juanito Mendoza, Floralyn Simbulan, Cristina May Pineda, John Paul
03:59Estrada, and Mark Texay.
04:01Cor remains a fugitive and has been out of the country since 2025.
04:05He is already facing separate graft and malversation cases before the Sindigan Bayan over an allegedly anomalous P289 million flood
04:13control project in Oriental Mindoro.
04:18Nepali officials expressed concern over insufficient information from China despite calls for improved data sharing and risk reduction measures prior
04:26to deadly flash floods.
04:28Three months before flash floods killed hundreds when it hurtled down a Himalayan valley, experts and officials from both countries
04:35met in Kathmandu to discuss the risk of such disasters.
04:39At the May 27 meeting in Nepal's capital, 10 officials from Nepal and about a dozen from China discussed strengthening
04:46cooperation to monitor and respond to floods, weather, and glacier-related hazards.
04:51This according to an agenda prepared by the Nepali side and seen by Reuters.
04:56The participants called for joint risk reduction measures including inventories of glacial lakes and hazard mapping.
05:02But two Nepali officials tell Reuters they did not receive as much information as they wanted from China on glacier
05:09risks and water levels after the meeting.
05:11They fear insufficient data sharing could hamper their ability to anticipate and prepare for major disasters.
05:20Filipino pole vaulter E.J. Obiana claims his ninth gold medal of the year after ruling the Estaf Berlin at
05:26the Olympia Stadion in Germany on Monday, August 31, Manila time.
05:30Obiana clears 5.82m in a single attempt as he rediscovered his winning ways after failing to crack the podium
05:37in his last three meets.
05:38He attempts to clear 5.97m, hoping to improve on his season-best 5.91m, set in Poland earlier this
05:46August but failed in all three attempts.
05:48His recent performances move him up to number 12 in the world rankings, two spots higher than his number 14
05:54ranking in June.
05:56Obiana also earned his ticket to the 2027 World Athletics Championships following his fifth-place finish at the Weltklasse Zurich
06:03and Switzerland.
06:06And that's today's wrap. I'm June Reyes. Thank you for watching.
06:10Click the link below for the full story.
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