Manila Times

1. No winner in Grand, Megalotto draws for April 2

   MANILA, Philippines — There were no winners in the Grand lotto 6/55 and Megalotto 6/45 draws on Wednesday night, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) said.

   The winning combination for Grand lotto 6/55 was 20-08-52-24-05-25 which had a jackpot prize of P178,398,282.80.

   There was also no winner for the Megalotto 6/45 draw, which drew a winning combination of 40-34-08-29-39-35 for a jackpot prize of P40,048,054.20.

2. Sara says ICC arrest led to reconciliation

   (UPDATE) VICE President Sara Duterte on Wednesday said she and her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, mended fences after his arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC), and she thanked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for his role in bringing them together again.

   The elder Duterte faces charges of crimes against humanity before the ICC in The Hague, the Netherlands, in connection with his bloody war on drugs in which thousands of suspects were killed without the benefit of a trial.

   The father and daughter had been at odds after Sara decided to run as Marcos' vice president under the "UniTeam" banner in the 2022 elections.

   The former president wanted Sara to run as president, with Sen. Bong Go as her running mate, but she did not heed her father's call and instead joined Marcos under the Lakas party of Speaker Martin Romualdez.

   "It is ironic, but I have to thank Bongbong Marcos because there was forgiveness between me and PRD (president Rodrigo Duterte) for all that has happened in our lives, and we have a father-daughter relationship," Sara Duterte told reporters and supporters outside the Scheveningen Prison on Tuesday afternoon (local time).

   Sara also said her father never scolded her for teaming up with Marcos, saying that he respected her decision to run for vice president.

   "You answer to your decisions. He does not blame anyone for his decisions," Sara said.

   She said that this was "one of the longest meetings" that she had with the former leader, as growing up, she was busy and now, during his detention, they are talking about life.

   "He is already 80, he is already retired, but if he becomes mayor, he will get busy, so we were given this time to talk as father and daughter," Sara said in Filipino and English. The former president is running for mayor in his bailiwick, Davao City.

   Sara also said that her father was happy to see both her and her half sister, Veronica Duterte, visiting him in detention.

   "I was updating him with the situation with our families, and he is happy to hear [that we are] doing well, that we are all OK, that we are continuing to pray for him. Only positive things that would uplift his spirit," Veronica, Duterte's daughter with his current partner, Honeylet Avancena, said.

   Sara also said that she was "blessed" as she gained a sister after numerous attacks against her, including accusations of the abuse of confidential funds and her upcoming impeachment trial.

   Sara said she is only waiting for one more document before heading back to the Philippines to attend to her job as vice president, while Veronica said they are now arranging all of the dates for the visit of their brothers, Davao City Rep. Paolo and Davao Mayor Sebastian Duterte.

   The elder Duterte urged his supporters to vote straight PDP-Laban in the midterm elections. Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa, who is running for reelection under the PDP-Laban banner, said he hopes the former president's message reaches everyone who loves and supports him.

   Meanwhile, Sen. Imee Marcos urged Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin to reconsider his decision preventing Cabinet members from attending the Senate inquiry on the arrest of former president Duterte. Bersamin wrote the senator on March 31 saying members of the Cabinet would not be attending the next hearing by her panel, saying their further participation may no longer be necessary because they have "candidly provided all information" elicited by the committee during the first hearing and that Senator Marcos had already publicly relayed her "comprehensive findings."

   WITH JAVIER JOE ISMAEL AND BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO

3. US author: I'm not Duterte's lawyer!

   (UPDATE) AN American author on Tuesday night said he had been receiving messages from Filipinos who think he was the lawyer of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

   In a Facebook post, Nicholas Kaufmann, who is a thriller and horror book author, said there were messages thinking he was Duterte's counsel, Nicholas Kaufman.

   "I am being absolutely flooded today with followers and commenters from the Philippines who I guess don't believe I'm not Duterte's lawyer. Our names aren't even spelled the same (he's Kaufman with one N). It's insane!" Kaufmann wrote.

   On top of his Facebook page was an angry post from the author, saying he and Kaufman are not the same people.

   "People of the Philippines, I am not the [International Criminal Court] lawyer Nicholas Kaufman who is representing President Duterte! Please stop messaging me!" Kaufmann wrote in a post dated March 21.

   He explained in the more recent post he was swarmed by pro-Duterte commenters.

   "They started out pro-Duterte, but lately I'm getting some anti-Duterte commenters from the Philippines who are apologizing for the others and calling many of them bots," the author said.

   "Nearly 700 people reacted to my pinned post explaining that I am not Duterte's ICC defense lawyer and yet I'm still getting hundreds of followers from the Philippines every hour!" he added in another Facebook comment.

   Human Rights Watch senior researcher Carlos Conde asked why Duterte supporters should even care about the spelling of the name.

   "They don't care that Duterte killed thousands — why should they care about the extra N?" he asked on Wednesday.

   Kaufmann is known for his horror novels, including "The Stone Serpent," "Die and Stay Dead," and "The Mind Worms."

   Three of Kaufmann's novels were nominees for certain book awards, "Chasing the Dragon" was nominated for the Shirley Jackson Award and the International Thriller Writers Award, while "100 Fathoms Below" was a nominee for the Dragon Award, and "General Slocum's Gold" was a nominee for the Bram Stoker Award.

4. Marcos trust, approval ratings plummet

   (UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s approval and trust ratings dropped to their lowest in his three years in office, plunging to 19 percent and 14 percent, respectively, the Pahayag First Quarter Survey showed.

   The survey, conducted from March 15 to 20 by PUBLiCUS Asia Inc., showed a significant shift in public sentiment, with approval and trust ratings of most national leaders declining alongside worsening perceptions of the country's state.

   "The approval ratings of key government officials continue to reflect broader national sentiment, with most leaders experiencing a decline in public support," PUBLiCUS Asia said.

   "However, Vice President Sara Duterte stands out as the only top official to see an improvement in her approval ratings this quarter, suggesting a deeper public divide in the ongoing political rift between President Marcos and the Duterte faction," it added.

   In the survey, Marcos saw his approval rating drop from 33 percent to 19 percent, with disapproval reaching 57 percent.

   Vice President Duterte, on the other hand, improved her approval rating from 37 percent to 42 percent, while her disapproval remained at 37 percent.

   Senate President Francis Escudero also saw a decline in approval from 37 percent to 31 percent, with a disapproval rating of 33 percent.

   Meanwhile, House Speaker Martin Romualdez experienced a decline, dropping from 20 percent to 14 percent, while Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo also saw a slight dip in approval, from 25 percent to 20 percent.

   In the same survey, PUBLiCUS Asia said trust ratings followed a similar trend to approval ratings, with most national leaders experiencing a decline — except for Vice President Duterte, whose trust ratings rose against the overall negative trend.

   Marcos' trust rating fell from 23 percent to 14 percent, with 63 percent of respondents expressing distrust.

   Duterte saw an increase in trust from 31 percent to 39 percent, while her distrust rating remained at 39 percent.

   Escudero's trust rating dipped slightly from 26 percent to 22 percent, while Romualdez's trust rating also dropped from 13 percent to 10 percent.

   Gesmundo's trust rating remained stable at 16 percent.

   Among the issues affecting Marcos' performance this quarter, aside from persistent concerns over corruption (15 percent) and inflation (13 percent), his decision to assist in serving the International Criminal Court's (ICC) warrant against his predecessor, former president Rodrigo Duterte (16 percent), "appears to have significantly impacted public perception, particularly in Mindanao, where disapproval was strongest," PUBLiCUS Asia said.

   Duterte, despite her improved approval ratings, was not immune to the fallout from the ICC's actions against her father, the polling firm said.

   In the survey, 17 percent of respondents cited the warrant as a factor affecting their perception of her, possibly due to her perceived complicity or association.

   Other key issues that negatively influenced the vice president's ratings include her threats against Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and Romualdez (15 percent), as well as controversies surrounding the Office of the Vice President's budget cuts (15 percent) and impeachment complaints (14 percent).

   Meanwhile, PUBLiCUS Asia said that the overall performance of the Marcos administration also continues to decline, with 1 in 2 registered Filipino voters expressing disapproval.

   "The downward trend is evident across all regions, with the highest disapproval recorded in Mindanao (63 percent) and Visayas (54 percent)," it said.

   Among senators elected in 2022, Sen. Risa Hontiveros emerged as the most favored senator, with 20 percent of respondents supporting her, followed closely by Sen. Raffy Tulfo at 17 percent, the survey showed.

   Despite having one of the highest unfavorability ratings (30 percent), Sen. Robinhood Padilla secured the third spot as a highly favored senator (12 percent), demonstrating his strong and loyal support base in Mindanao.

   "The survey findings highlight a growing dissatisfaction with the country's leadership, reflecting deeper political divides and increasing concerns over governance, trust and economic stability," PUBLICUS Asia said.

   The Pahayag First Quarter Survey, an independent and noncommissioned survey, was conducted using a purposive sampling composed of 1,500 respondents.

   The respondents were randomly selected from a research panel of over 200,000 maintained by the Singapore office of PureSpectrum, a US-based panel marketplace with a multinational presence.

   The survey divided respondents across five regions: the National Capital Region with 238 participants, North-Central Luzon with 327, South Luzon with 354, the Visayas with 287 and Mindanao with 294. The national margin of error is ±3 percent.

5. US approves $5.58B fighter jet sale to PH

   (UPDATE) THE United States said Tuesday it has approved the possible sale of $5.58 billion in F-16 fighter jets to the Philippines, as Washington backs its ally in rising tensions over China.

   The State Department said it was green-lighting a sale that includes 20 F-16 jets and related equipment to the Philippines, a treaty-bound ally of the United States.

   The sale would "improve the security of a strategic partner that continues to be an important force for political stability, peace and economic progress in Southeast Asia," a State Department statement said.

   It would also boost "the Philippine Air Force's ability to conduct maritime domain awareness" and "enhance its suppression of enemy air defenses," the statement said.

   The news follows months of increasing confrontations between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety despite an international ruling that its assertion has no merit.

   A State Department spokesman said Wednesday that the deal would be final only after "a signed Letter of Offer and Acceptance" was received from the "purchasing partner."

   Defense Department spokesman Arsenio Andolong said he had "not received any official notice of such a decision."

   But China warned Manila against the purchase, saying the Philippines was "threatening" regional peace.

   "The Philippines' defense and security cooperation with other countries should not target any third party or harm the interests of a third party. Nor should it threaten regional peace and security or exacerbate regional tensions," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

   Manila and Washington have deepened their defense cooperation since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in 2022 and began pushing back on Beijing's sweeping South China Sea claims.

   In December, the Philippines angered China when it said it planned to acquire the US mid-range Typhon missile system in a push to secure its maritime interests.

   Beijing warned such a purchase could spark a regional arms race.

   'Inevitably' involved

   President Donald Trump's administration has sought to redirect US military efforts to Asia to face a rising China, especially as tensions rise over Taiwan, and to lessen involvement in Europe despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

   On Tuesday, as Chinese ships and warplanes surrounded Taiwan in a simulated blockade, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner said his country would "inevitably" be involved should the self-ruled island be invaded.

   "Start planning for actions in case there is an invasion of Taiwan," he told troops in Northern Luzon island, without naming the potential invader.

   "Because if something happens to Taiwan, inevitably we will be involved."

   He also said that the bulk of this month's joint military exercises would be conducted in Northern Luzon, the part of the Philippines nearest Taiwan.

   "These are the areas where we perceive the possibility of an attack. I do not want to sound alarmist, but we have to prepare," he added.

   Asked about Brawner's comments, Beijing foreign ministry spokesman Guo said resolving "the Taiwan issue is a matter for the Chinese people."

   "We advise certain individuals in the Philippines not to play with fire or make provocations on the Taiwan issue — those who play with fire will only get burned," he said.

   On a visit to Manila last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to "reestablish deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region" in light of "threats from the Communist Chinese."

   Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also reiterated US defense commitments to the Philippines, a contrast to the Trump administration's frequent talk of "freeloading" off the United States by allies in Europe.

   The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the Philippines will have no difficulty absorbing the fighter jets into its armed forces. "The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region," the DSCA added.

6. US-based Filipinos new targets of online scammers

   OVERSEAS scam hub operators are not only trafficking Filipino workers but also targeting unsuspecting US-based Filipino migrants by persuading them to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency accounts, often promising high returns with little to no risk.

   Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado raised the alarm on Wednesday following a disclosure from Filipino trafficking victims repatriated from Myawaddy, Myanmar, that Filipinos in the United States were now among the targets of scammers.

   "This is the new trend in scam hub operations," added Viado. "I am raising the alarm to ensure that Filipinos are protected from scams."

   Scammers, he added, employ various tactics, including contacting Fil-Ams via social media messages to lure investors.

   Once the victims transfer their money, the scammers may manipulate account balances to show fake profits, convincing them to invest even more. Eventually, the fraudsters disappear with the funds, leaving the victims unable to withdraw their supposed earnings.

   Earlier, Viado hailed the arrest of alias "Jon Jon" by the National Bureau of Investigation operatives who were among the individuals repatriated on March 26.

   Alias "Jon Jon" claimed to have been victimized by the syndicate abroad, but was later tagged by his colleagues as one of the recruiters who offered work in Thailand but ended up transporting them to Myanmar, where they were abused and forced to work as scammers.

   Repatriates pointed to alias "Jon Jon," who allegedly volunteered to develop the new module targeting Fil-Ams. One repatriate even stated that "Jon Jon" pretended to be a victim, despite having recruited numerous illegal workers.

7. Villar, 13 other Filipinos in Forbes world's richest

   FORMER senator Manny Villar leads the list of 14 Filipinos who cracked the Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires list.

   His profile on the magazine lists him having a net worth of $17 billion and is ranked 115th in the world, as of Wednesday.

   "Villar has been involved in politics and held positions including congressman, speaker of the House of Representatives, senator and Senate president," Forbes said.

   The former politician is the chairman of property developer Vista Land & Lifescapes, which is also run by his son, Manuel Paolo.

   "Villar's biggest asset is his stake in Golden MV Holdings (formerly Golden Bria), a property developer which is building Villar City, a 3,500-hectare master-planned community south of Manila," Forbes said.

   "He also has five other listed entities including mall operator Vistamalls, property landlord VistaREIT, home improvement chain AllHome, supermarket chain AllDay Marts and Premiere Island Power REIT," it added.

   Other Filipinos on the list included International Container Terminal Services Inc. Chairman Enrique Razon Jr. (232nd, $10.7 billion) and Lucio Tan (1,197th, $3 billion).

   The Sy siblings also made the list, with Henry Sy Jr. (1,523rd, $2.3 billion) leading them, followed by Hans Sy (1,657th, $2.1 billion), Herbert Sy (1,731st, $2 billion), Harley Sy (1,832nd, $1.9 billion), Teresita Sy-Coson (1,864th, $1.8 billion) and Elizabeth Sy (2,007th, $1.6 billion).

   Alliance Global chairman Andrew Tan (2,157th, $1.5 billion), Puregold owners Lucio and Susan Co (2,327th and 2,416th: $1.3 billion each), and Jollibee founder Tony Tan Caktiong (2,510th, $1.2 billion) round up the Filipinos on the list.

   Tesla and SpaceX co-founder Elon Musk topped the list with a net worth of $342 billion, followed by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg ($216 billion) and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos ($215 billion).

   "Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires rankings track the daily ups and downs of the world's richest people. The wealth-tracking platform provides ongoing updates on the net worth and ranking of each individual confirmed by Forbes to be a billionaire. The value of individuals' public holdings are updated every five minutes when respective stock markets are open (there will be a 15-minute delay for stock prices). Individuals whose fortunes are significantly tied to private companies will have their net worths updated once a day," Forbes said.

   "In cases where an individual owns a stake in a private company that accounts for 20 percent or more of his or her net worth, the value of the company will be adjusted according to an industry- or region-specific market index provided by our partners at FactSet Research Systems when available. A rotating cast of the five biggest winners and losers throughout the day is featured at the top of the page, followed by the complete list of billionaires ranked in order of net worth," the publication added.

8. Comelec guarantees equal access to all voters

   THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday said that equal access would be guaranteed to all voters in the May midterm polls.

   Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said senior citizens, persons with disabilities and heavily pregnant women will be allowed to vote between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. on the ground floor of all precincts for their convenience.

   "Everyone is involved in the election, not just for a few. The election is for the poor, the rich, the elderly and the youth. Whether they are educated or not, we have to ensure that nobody is left behind," Garcia said during the general meeting of Management Association of the Philippines in Taguig City.

   Garcia added that to enhance transparency, the Comelec, for the first time, would disclose transmission records, audit logs, hash codes and IP addresses.

   The contributions received by each candidate, as well as their expenses would be posted on Comele's website.

   "We are hoping that people will look into these documents, it is high time under the principles of transparency to do everything — all of these things because the people deserve no less," he said.

   Garcia said that in order to preserve democracy, people should continue to have faith in the election process.

   "We shouldn't allow a child, especially a Filipino child, to grow up and say, 'I'll just sell my vote because they'll just buy it.' Because those kids would grow up to be the future generation, what do we expect from Philippine democracy? It is time, and it is a wake-up call to everyone," he added.

   Meanwhile, the Comelec said Filipinos in Myanmar would revert to postal voting from online voting, because of the damage to infrastructure caused by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake that hit the country and nearby Thailand last week.

   The Comelec was preparing to ship ballots and automated counting machines to Myanmar.

   "In Myanmar, we will have postal voting. We will send ballots to Filipinos there," Garcia said.

   He added that there are around 320 Filipinos in Myanmar and more than 8,000 in Thailand.

   Internet voting would be used by Filipinos in Thailand, he added.

   Garcia called on overseas Filipinos to vote during the one-month overseas absentee voting from April 11 to May 12.

   "To our countrymen, please enroll now," he said, adding that a little over 17,000 out of the 1.2 million registered overseas Filipino voters, have so far enrolled for internet voting.

   A total of 77 Philippine embassies and consulates worldwide will implement internet voting in the May midterm elections, while several other countries, like China, Russia, Turkey, Israel and Libya, disallowed the use of internet voting for security reasons.

9. Go thankful for Nora Aunor's support

   SEN. Bong Go thanked National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Nora Aunor for a social media post, endorsing his reelection bid in the May midterm polls.

   Aunor said Go has a genuine love for public service.

   "Who is Senator Bong Go? He is a modest individual who prefers not to boast how he helped millions of Filipinos through his brainchild, the Malasakit Centers. For him, being a senator is simply a job," she said in a Facebook post in Filipino.

   "He is a true person who serves with a personal touch — face-to-face — with care, not just for publicity... Let's bring our Mr. Malasakit (Mr. Care) of the Senate back to the Senate," Aunor added.

   The senator said Aunor's endorsement boosted his zeal to serve his compatriots.

   "Thank you very much, Ate Guy (Aunor's moniker). You honor me with your words. They inspired me even more to provide caring service for our countrymen," said Go in Filipino.

   "I will not stop. I will do everything I can to serve every Filipino — from Luzon, Visayas, to Mindanao," he added.

10. Filipino woman cited for marine conservation

    THE US Department of State recognized Angelique Songco, also known as "Mama Ranger," for her contribution to marine conservation during the 2025 International Women of Courage (IWOC) awards night in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.

    Songco is the leader of a small team of rangers protecting the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, from illegal fishing and poaching.

    "Ms. Songco fuses maritime law enforcement with a passion for rehabilitation. Her leadership, for over two decades, has resulted in a dramatic decrease in trespassers per month in the protected area. As the reef flourishes, Ms. Songco and her rangers have become an example of what is possible when a strategic leader successfully merges conservation and anti-corruption efforts," State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce said in a speech during the event.

    Songco received the award from US first lady Melania Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

    A message recognizing Songco's achievement was posted on the official Facebook page of the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park.

    Other awardees were human rights defender Henriette Da of Burkina Faso, women's advocate Maj. Velena Iga of Papua New Guinea, persons with disabilities advocate Georgiana Pascu of Romania, women's rights leader Zabib Musa Loro Bakhit of South Sudan, investigative journalist Namini Wijedasa of Sri Lanka, Abductees' Mothers Association founder-president Amat Al-Salam Abdullah Abdo Al-Hajj of Yemen and Israeli lawyer Amit Soussana, who was among the hostages recently released by Hamas.

    Meanwhile, the Women Student Protest Leaders of Bangladesh, an active participant in protests in the South Asian country in July and August last year, received the 2025 Madeleine Albright Honorary Group IWOC Award.