Gary Manalo

Capitalist. Activist. Evangelist.

[Ambassador of Japan in the Philippines @AmbJPNinPH]

Seriously concerned about the repeated dangerous actions by CCG, including collision and use of water cannon against the 🇵🇭 BFAR vessel. 🇯🇵 upholds the rule of law and opposes any actions which increase tensions. #FOIP

[Richard Heydarian @RichHeydarian]

Grabe!!! Bully!!!

[Sky News @SkyNews]

A giant photo of US President Donald Trump and paedophile Jeffrey Epstein has been unfurled outside Windsor Castle.

Follow our live blog on Donald Trump's second state visit to the UK 🔗 https://t.co/fNAgKoQckP

[Pari Koy @pads_nosi]

Let’s talk about poverty in the Philippines, dear Honorable Senators.

20% of the national budget every year is lost to corruption. That’s roughly ₱1 trillion gone; not to education, not to hospitals, not to farmers, not to livelihood, but to pockets already full.

korap=hirap

[Leila de Lima @manayleila]

The fight goes on. Hindi pa tapos ang laban. Kapit lang.

[Fr. Ranhilio Aquino @RanhilioAquino]

Chiz Escudero asks: Are you for accountability, or are you simply anti-Duterte?

We ask: Are you really for discharging your bounden duty or are you simply positioning yourself for the 2028 elections?

That is what happens when you ignore the issue...in the terms of

[Richard Heydarian @RichHeydarian]

QUESTION: should we shift to a PARLIAMENTARY form para just a SINGLE LEGISLATIVE body na?

[Sen. Bernie Sanders @SenSanders]

18,500 children have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza.

Despite these war crimes, the US has provided more than $22 BILLION for the war.

Our taxpayer dollars are being used to starve children, bomb schools & gun down hungry people as they wait for aid.

[Antonio J. Montalván II @AntonMonta2]

The new symbol of protest against the senate and the supreme court

[Leila de Lima @manayleila]

WALANG NABURANG KASALANAN. WALANG NALINIS NA PANGALAN.

To those discouraged: I understand your dismay. But let me assure you: this is not vindication. This is not exoneration.

Walang naburang kasalanan. Walang nalinis na pangalan.

Teknikal ang desisyon. Ang mga alegasyon ay nananatiling totoo, malubha, at hindi pa nasasagot.

We must not let this ruling numb our sense of justice. Hindi tayo dapat masanay sa mga lider na hindi napapanagot. Hindi pa tapos ang laban.

Kaya sa lahat ng nagmamalasakit, sa lahat ng nagtatanong:
Patuloy tayong manindigan. Patuloy tayong magbantay. Patuloy tayong manindigan para sa isang gobyernong totoo ang pananagutan.

[Gary Manalo @1garymanalo]

Pambansang Pinky 🤙

[Inquirer @inquirerdotnet]

Baste Duterte wants to reset Sunday bout: I have other things to do https://t.co/8E3wPOhiwT

[Michael Caine @themichaelcaine]

Feed the Children of Gaza, no child should be starving.

[Bernie Sanders @BernieSanders]

Having already killed or wounded 200,000 Palestinians, the extremist Israeli government is using mass starvation to engineer the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.

Despite these crimes, the US has provided $22 billion to Israeli military operations since the war began.

Enough is enough.

[Sen. Bernie Sanders @SenSanders]

The Netanyahu government’s extermination of Gaza intensifies. Malnutrition is rampant, children are starving to death, people are shot while waiting for meager food rations — and US weapons allow it to happen.

Trump and Congress must act NOW. Stop the slaughter. Feed the people.

[António Guterres @antonioguterres]

Gaza is more than a humanitarian crisis – it is a moral crisis that challenges the global conscience.

We will continue to speak out.

But words don’t feed hungry children.

The @UN stands ready to make the most of a ceasefire to dramatically scale up humanitarian operations.

[Amnesty International @amnesty]

Israel is continuing to use starvation as a method of warfare, a war crime, and as a tool to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip.

The harrowing suffering of starving Palestinians in Gaza, including our own colleagues, on an hourly basis, is exacerbated by Israel’s cruel and devastating militarised non-neutral ‘aid distribution’ system. Over 800 people have been killed trying to access aid. This must stop now.

Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza must end now. Israel must immediately lift all restrictions on the entry of aid, reinstate the UN system of aid distribution and allow unfettered, safe, and dignified access to humanitarian aid throughout Gaza immediately. States must stop their inertia and urgently act to ensure Israel fully complies with international law.

[Ursula von der Leyen @vonderleyen]

Civilians cannot be targets. Never.

The images from Gaza are unbearable.

The EU reiterates its call for the free, safe and swift flow of humanitarian aid.

And for the full respect of international and humanitarian law.

Civilians in Gaza have suffered too much, for too long. It must stop now.

Israel must deliver on its pledges.

[António Guterres @antonioguterres]

Over the weekend in Gaza, we saw yet more mass shootings & killings of people seeking @UN aid – an atrocious & inhumane act which I utterly condemn.

We need an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages & unimpeded humanitarian access.

[Gary Manalo @1garymanalo]

@ABSCBNNews Wala na'ng bago diyan sa sinasabi niyo DPWH. Pero hanggang ngayon walang bago kayong solusyon.

[Gary Manalo @1garymanalo]

Your taxes... #sayangbuwis

[Jesus Falcis 🇵🇭 @jesusfalcis]

Ang kapal ng mukha ni Chiz Escudero na pagalitan ang House of Representatives for budget insertions and pork barrel pero siya pala mismo, hitik na hitik ang insertions!

Kaya pala many Senators are salivating to join Chiz’ majority bloc.

What an eye-popping article to read!

———

“Senate President Francis Escudero wielded his budgetary influence to insert a staggering ₱142.7 billion into the proposed ₱6.3-trillion 2025 national budget, channeling funds into infrastructure and flood control projects riddled with red flags—ranging from overlapping roadworks to questionable flood mitigation efforts.

A summary of insertions obtained by Politiko reveals how Escudero funneled billions into what appear to be politically motivated allocations, raising serious concerns over transparency, duplication, and backdoor dealmaking masquerading as development.

Escudero’s budgetary maneuvering came at the expense of core government priorities. According to GlobalSource Partners, a New York-based think tank, allocations for social services and economic programs dropped by 33.4% and 29.2%, respectively, compared to the 2024 budget—a steep price paid for pork.

The lion’s share of Escudero’s insertions went to political allies and home turfs. Bulacan, the stronghold of Senator Joel Villanueva, received the single largest chunk with ₱12.08 billion. Villanueva, a close ally of Escudero, is reportedly poised to reclaim the post of Senate Majority Leader if Escudero formally assumes Senate leadership on July 28.

Sorsogon, Escudero’s own province, came in second with ₱9.1 billion.

Flood control projects got a sizeable share of the insertions in the top 10 areas that received allocations from Escudero at P17 billion. While flooding remains a chronic problem in the Philippines, particularly during typhoon season, the manner in which these projects were listed raised eyebrows.

In General Nakar, Quezon, for instance, Escudero inserted five flood control projects along the Agos River, each worth ₱150 million, and labeled them as “phases” despite seemingly referring to the same area and waterway. Collectively, these flood control phases amount to ₱750 million, raising suspicions of “budget layering”—a practice where the same or similar projects are listed in parts to bypass scrutiny and inflate allocations.

Even more concerning, the entries lack engineering detail, geographic coordinates, or references to previous feasibility studies. In some cases, they simply state: “Construction of flood mitigation structure along Agos River, General Nakar, Phase X.”

In Bulacan, Escudero’s second most favored province after his own Sorsogon, multiple line items reveal near-identical road projects repeated under slightly altered titles or segmented kilometer markings.

The Sta. Rita–Biak Na Bato Road in San Miguel, Bulacan was listed multiple times, under names such as Segment A, Segment B, Segment C, and Packages A through E. Each of these entries had a uniform cost of ₱100 million, adding up to ₱500 million for what essentially appears to be one road corridor.

Another road, the San Miguel–Sibul Road, also appeared four times—again split into “Package A” to “Package D”—with identical ₱100-million allocations. That’s ₱400 million for the same route.

These patterns suggest a deliberate attempt to slice projects into smaller chunks, each remaining under thresholds that typically trigger closer scrutiny by the Department of Budget and Management or the Commission on Audit.

Multiple entries for the same road sections or with overlapping kilometer markers (especially in Bulacan and Quezon) suggest possible duplication of funding or budget padding.

Another red flag is the series of solar street lighting projects across Eastern Bulacan Road, General Alejo Santos Highway, Plaridel Access Road, and stretches of the Maharlika Highway. These were all marked at ₱100 million each, regardless of actual road length or vehicle/pedestrian traffic volume.”