Good day. Here are the stories of The Manila Times for Wednesday, December 17, 2025. Today’s episode is brought to you by Wilcon Depot, The Philippines’ leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer—your Trusted Building Partner. READ: DPWH impasse risks reenacted budget SENATE leaders on Tuesday warned that the government may be forced to operate under a reenacted budget in 2026 if a standoff over the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) funding is not resolved, as bicameral negotiations on the national budget remain deadlocked. At the center of the dispute is the Senate’s P54-billion cut to the DPWH’s proposed 2026 budget, based on updated Construction Materials Price Data (CMPD). The goal was to eliminate overpricing and kickbacks that were reportedly built into original project estimates. Senate President Vicente III Sotto said the chamber would not reconsider the reduction unless the DPWH admits that the CMPD figures it submitted, and which the Senate relied upon, were erroneous. Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon earlier faulted the Senate for errors in its computation of the budget cuts, but Sotto rejected the claim, saying that the figures used by senators came directly from the DPWH and were intended to address what lawmakers described as across-the-board overpricing that could lead to kickbacks. Sotto said he had been informed through a Senate group chat that Dizon is drafting a letter acknowledging the error. Without such an admission, Sotto warned, bicameral talks could collapse. READ: Lacson seeks budget safeguards vs abuse, corruption SENATE President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson on late Monday pressed for clear and “foolproof” safeguards to prevent abuse, corruption, and political patronage in the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026, warning that he may refuse to ratify the spending measure if these concerns are not adequately addressed. Lacson said his objections center on at least three contentious areas: the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (Maifip), funding for farm-to-market roads, and the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) request to restore budget cuts imposed by the Senate. READ: Bondi Beach shooters spent a month in Philippines before their deadly attack THE father and son who carried out one of Australia’s deadliest mass shootings spent the entire November in the Philippines, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) confirmed Tuesday. BI spokesman Dana Sandoval said that Sajid and Naveed Akram arrived in the country last November 1 from Sydney and reported Davao City as their final destination. Both left the country on November 28 on a connecting flight from Davao to Manila with Sydney as their final destination. The Australian police said on Tuesday the father and son traveled to the Philippines last month but the intent of the trip is under investigation. The pair, who killed 16 people and wounded dozens of others at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, entered the country on Nov. 1 with the southern province of Davao listed as their final destination. The province on the southern island of Mindanao has a long history of Islamist insurgencies against central government rule. READ: Major DPWH reshuffle set for early next year A MAJOR reshuffle will be carried out at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) early next year at the regional and district engineering levels to infuse young blood in the agency's structure in line with the ongoing sweeping reform directive from President Marcos aimed at curbing rampant corruption. Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon confirmed this on Tuesday, saying that the reshuffle is likely to be implemented between January and February 2026 as the DPWH starts fresh with a fat-free 2026 national budget. READ: Philippine rowers deliver gold, bronze at SEA Games Paris Olympic rower Joanie Delgaco and partner Kristine Paraon, as well as substitute Feiza Jane Lenton, topped the 33rd Southeast Asian Games women's double sculls Tuesday morning, to spearhead the Philippine campaign on Day 7 of the biennial meet with a gold medal at the Royal Thai Navy Rowing and Canoeing Training Center in Rayong Province, Bang Phai Reservoir. Delgaco and Paraon clocked eight minutes and 16.976 seconds, defeating home bets Sukkaew Rawiwan and Chaempudsa Parisa by almost five seconds (8:21.634) for the gold. Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Van Anh and Pham Thi Bich Ngoc took the bronze with a clocking of 8:26.447. It's a two-medal spurt for the Philippine rowing team after Tokyo Olympian Cris Nievarez pocketed the bronze in the men’s single sculls with a time of 8:22.121. SPORTS: Manglicmot wins SEA Games bronze SABINO Czar Manglicmot IV claimed the bronze medal in the endurance open jet ski competition at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games held in Thailand, as part of the Philippines’ medal-winning jet ski team. He is the son of Czar Cloma-Manglicmot II, president of the Philippine Association of Maritime Institutions (PAMI), and the great grandson of maritime pioneer Tomas Cloma, widely recognized as the father of Philippine maritime education and the discoverer of Freedom land, now known as the Spratly Islands. BUSINESS: Anti-corruption drive seen affecting growth EFFORTS to combat corruption will continue to weigh on Philippine growth, Pantheon Macroeconomics said, exacerbating current weaknesses in household demand and private investment. In a research note, Pantheon said the ongoing crackdown, while supportive of long-term governance reforms, would have near-term economic costs. Public infrastructure spending has historically been a key driver of Philippine growth, supporting employment, household incomes and private-sector confidence. READ: Opinion and editorial Rigoberto Tiglao, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino, and Francisco Tatad are today’s front page columnists. Tiglao asks if the President “rope” the central bank into a so-called “insertion scheme”, Fr. Aquino talks about a constitutional reset, while Tatad weighs in on the arrest of certain senators over the flood control scandal. Today’s editorial calls to drop the value added tax on electricity. Read the full version in the paper’s opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times. For more news and information, read The Manila Times on print, subscribe to its digital edition or log on to www.manilatimes.net. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and LinkedIn; and be part of our communities on Viber, Telegram, and Mastodon.