Good day. Here are the stories of The Manila Times for Monday, September 8, 2025.

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READ: Lacson: DPWH exec sought ‘insertions’

SEN. Panfilo Lacson named an official of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) as the one who called up a senator’s staff to request insertions in the proposed national budget for 2026. Lacson on Sunday said an “Undersecretary Cabral” from DPWH phoned a staff member of Senate Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III shortly after the May elections. “Undersecretary Cabral” told Sotto’s staff “to insert what they wanted to insert [in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2026],” Lacson said in a radio interview.

READ: 4 of 15 contractors on Marcos list have clean records – DPWH

ONLY four out of the 15 top contractors President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. listed with anomalous projects have no derogatory records, based on the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) Contractors’ Performance Evaluation (CPE). The contractors’ CPE came up following Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon’s directive to suspend all locally funded flood control projects awarded to the leading contractors, in preparation for the creation of an Independent Commission. The commission will investigate non-existent and flawed flood control projects separately from the ongoing inquiry of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee and the House tri-panel infrastructure committee.

READ: Eala writes another historic chapter in Philippine tennis, This news data comes from:http://wst.yamato-syokunin.com

ALEXANDRA “Alex” Eala made history again as the first Filipino to win a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tournament. Eala claimed the Philippines’ first tour title after turning back Hungarian Panna Udvardy, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, at the Guadalajara 125 Open (Abierto Zapopan) at the Centro Panamericano de Tenis in Mexico early Sunday morning in Manila. World No. 75 Eala shook off a sluggish first set to snatch the second set from Udvardy, where the world No. 134 threatened to come back at 5-5 after trailing at 1-4.

READ: President Marcos Jr. visits Cambodia to strengthen ties

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. left on Sunday for a three-day state visit to Cambodia. The President was invited by King Norodom Sihamoni, and his trip serves as a reciprocal visit following Prime Minister Hun Manet’s visit to Manila last February. He said he will “discuss ways to further diversify our cooperation and strengthen our intra-Asean relationships and exchanges by capitalizing on our complementary strengths in the face of global economic headwinds.”

BUSINESS: Upside inflation risks loom

INFLATION could have bottomed out and accelerated further in the coming months, a Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) economist said. Consumer price growth “will likely remain manageable for the rest of the year,” BPI senior economist Emilio Neri said, adding that “the latest print confirms that inflation has most likely reached the bottom.” Inflation rose to 1.5 percent last month from July’s near six-year low of 0.9 percent as bad weather led to higher prices for key food items, particularly vegetables and fish.

HEADLINES: Lacson: DPWH exec sought ‘insertions’ | Sept. 8, 2025

SPORTS: Mikee Mojdeh captures 2 golds in Asian Open

SWIM League Philippines-Behrouz Elite Swimming Team (SLP-BEST) standout Mikhael Jasper Mikee Mojdeh had his moment to shine, claiming two gold medals on the second day of the 2025 Asian Open School Invitational (AOSI) Short Course Age Group Swimming Championship at the Assumption University Aquatic Center in Bangkok, Thailand. Mojdeh secured the gold medal in the boys’ 10-year 50m backstroke event with a time of 37.76 seconds, edging out Anand Badamsed of Mongolia, who settled for silver with a time of 37.83 seconds. This victory was sweet for Mojdeh, marking a triumphant comeback against Badamsed, who had bested him in the 200m IM event during the opening day.

READ: Opinion and editorial

HEADLINES: Lacson: DPWH exec sought ‘insertions’ | Sept. 8, 2025

Rigoberto Tiglao, Francisco Tatad and Fr. Ranhillo Callangan Aquino are today’s front page columnists. Tiglao says 45,000 government officials need to be dismissed for a war vs corruption. Tatad, meanwhile, says that we need a clean bill of health, but we first need to earn it. Fr. Aquino’s column is about the canonization of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati.

Today’s editorial talks about the suffering people in Gaza.

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