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Budgetary allocations for select government offices, commonly termed “intelligence” and “confidential” funds, are typically exempt from standard auditing procedures in order to preserve the secrecy of the operations they support. While such exemptions may be justifiable for safeguarding national security and law enforcement objectives, their application to civilian agencies without clear security functions is harder to defend. The secrecy surrounding these funds creates a fertile ground for misuse. The legislative challenge lies in establishing stricter oversight mechanisms to prevent fraud and ensure that these funds serve their intended purposes effectively. This is the apparent aim of the ongoing hearings in the House of Representatives, focusing on the use of confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) during Vice President Sara Duterte’s tenure as education secretary. The first critical question is whether the OVP and DepEd—both civilian agencies entities—require confidential funds at all. If they do, what level of auditing and oversight is appropriate? Under normal circumstances, such issues might not capture much public attention. However, the current inquiry is complicated by its political undertones. The spotlight is on Sara Duterte’s use of confidential funds both as incumbent vice president and as former education secretary, even though hers is not the only office with such allocations. The timing of the investigation—coinciding with Sara Duterte’s public break from the Marcos administration, of which she was a key member—raises suspicions about the real motive behind these hearings. Her supporters allege this is part of a calculated move to discredit her as a contender in the 2028 presidential elections. Regardless of political motivations, the separate Senate and House inquiries into Sara Duterte’s budgets are exposing glaring systemic weaknesses in our governance system. These hearings highlight how populist leaders like Sara Duterte exploit these dysfunctions to gain enormous power and maintain it. The crux of the problem appears to be the unrestricted access to public funds with minimal accountability. These funds are often used to distribute political patronage, secure compliance with illegal directives, or sustain an ecosystem of political operators, troll farms, loyal media, bodyguards, and even assassins. Those who resist can be intimidated, coerced, or silenced. This is governance at its darkest—a form of criminal politics. While such practices are not unique to one administration, the Vice President’s father and former president Rodrigo Duterte’s tenure arguably made them the cornerstone of his rule. Enabled by obsequious politicians, a complicit police force, a subdued judiciary, a silenced press, and a fearful bureaucracy, his brazen and whimsical presidency found no need for transparency and accountability. The people seemed satisfied so long as he appeared to deliver results. Yet, all presidencies end. Without a political party to anchor his influence, Rodrigo Duterte’s power quickly vanished after his term, though his popularity persisted for some time. The Marcos administration rode to power in part by recruiting Sara Duterte to be the vice president. Now, the fallout from the collapse of their dynastic alliance has thrust the government into a situation that tests the Marcos administration’s seriousness about strengthening the rule of law and reforming governance. The breakup has been ugly—marked by accusations of betrayal, broken promises, and incendiary rhetoric. In her latest outburst on Nov. 23, a defiant Sara Duterte unleashed a torrent of expletives and threats against the President, the First Lady, and the Speaker of the House during an impromptu press conference at her brother, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte’s office. If words could kill, there would be decimation in the upper echelons of government. This is no longer mere political theater. As the saying goes, when elephants fight, it’s the grass that suffers. The public’s growing frustration with their leaders drains the energy needed for national progress. Calls for people power are already surfacing on social media. While another Edsa revolution seems unlikely, the current climate of distrust and disillusionment only deepens the country’s political malaise. —————– [email protected] Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy .The stink from the Nuggets’ performance Monday might linger in Ball Arena for a while. “We’re not flushing,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said of quickly moving on after Monday’s 145-118 loss to the Knicks. “You don’t flush when you get embarrassed. You don’t flush when you gave up 145 points. You don’t flush when you didn’t play hard, you didn’t play with effort, you didn’t play with physicality. I’m not flushing anything.” Maybe it’s a good thing the Nuggets didn’t formally hold practice before departing for Wednesday’s game in Utah. The Knicks came to Denver after a surprising loss to a Jazz team that took a 4-12 record into their game Tuesday. Denver returned home Sunday after spending Saturday night in Los Angeles following a win that moved Malone past Doug Moe for the franchise record. Jamal Murray confident consistency is coming | NBA Insider “Regardless of who’s in, who’s out, who do we want to be as a team? Leadership would be great. Toughness would be great. Physicality would be great. Playing like you actually care would be great. We didn’t do that tonight,” Malone said. “We played like we won a game in LA, and we could just show up tonight.” Malone pointed to two other recent performances that raised concerns. First was a 15-point loss to a Memphis team without Ja Morant on Nov. 17, a game that Nikola Jokic also missed. Then, there was the first half of Friday’s game against Dallas where the Mavericks led by 20 at halftime. Monday, the issue spanned all four quarters, resulting in Denver’s fourth home loss in nine games at Ball Arena to start the season. Last season, the Nuggets lost a total of eight games at home. “We didn’t show up tonight,” Jokic said. “It was one team today playing basketball.” There was no disputing the source of Monday’s struggles, as Jamal Murray and Jokic agreed there was nothing the coaches could do with that kind of effort from the players. Next the Nuggets go to Utah with plans of leaving Monday’s odorous performance in the past. “They just lost. They come back and win considerably. It’s the same thing we’re going to do next game,” Murray said. “It’s energy. It’s effort. It’s discipline. It’s how much you want it. It’s how much you care. We didn’t have that tonight.” Michael Malone leads Nuggets past Lakers, moves atop Denver's win list Monday’s loss dropped Denver into the play-in spots if the postseason started Tuesday. Fortunately for the Nuggets, there’s plenty of time to turn things around, but they’re clearly behind schedule. “Sixteen games in, and we’re talking about effort. We’re talking about toughness. We’re talking about physicality,” Malone said. “We’re just fooling ourselves. Yes, they’re a good team, but if that’s the effort we’re going to give forth, we won’t even be close to being a playoff team.” Nuggets' injury report Peyton Watson - probable (right adductor strain) Aaron Gordon - out (right calf strain) Vlatko Cancar - out (left knee sprain) DaRon Holmes II - out (right Achilles tendon repair) Jalen Pickett - out (G League) Spencer Jones - out (G League)
Saquon Barkley is the NFL's version of Shohei Ohtani: Analysis
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Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels rushed for 127 yards, throwing for another 227 and for three touchdowns, including the game-winning touchdown pass to Zach Ertz. The Commanders staged a dramatic comeback from a 10-point deficit at half-time, sending them to the play-offs for the first time in four years. PLAYOFF BOUND!!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/djmqZv3kH6 — Washington Commanders (@Commanders) December 30, 2024 The win was enough to give the Los Angeles Rams the NFC West title as it ended the Seattle Seahawks hopes ahead of their meeting in the final week of the season. The Falcons need other results to go their way along with a win over the Carolina Panthers in their final game. Saquon Barkley became the ninth running back in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season as the Philadelphia Eagles clinched the NFC East title with a victory over the Dallas Cowboys. The 27-year-old achieved the feat with a 23-yard run during the fourth quarter of the Eagles’ crushing 41-7 success at Lincoln Financial Field. Barkley is 100 yards short of Eric Dickerson’s record of 2,105 yards, set in 1984 for the Los Angeles Rams, ahead of next week’s regular season finale against the New York Giants. Single-season rushing record in reach. @saquon @Eagles pic.twitter.com/iSHyXeMLv1 — NFL (@NFL) December 29, 2024 However, he could be rested for that game in order to protect him from injury ahead of the play-offs. The Minnesota Vikings scored their ninth consecutive win after hanging on to beat the Green Bay Packers 27-25. Sam Darnold threw touchdowns to Cam Akers, Jordan Addison and Jalen Nailer, pushing his total for the season to 35. The victory set up a final-week showdown with the Detroit Lions for both the division title and top seed in the NFC. The Miami Dolphins kept themselves in the play-off race with a 20-3 victory over the Cleveland Browns. With Dolphins’ quarterback Tua Tagovailoa out with a hip injury, replacement Tyler Huntly threw for 225 yards and a touchdown. he BAKED today 👨🍳 pic.twitter.com/eFX9fd1w5P — NFL (@NFL) December 29, 2024 Miami will need to beat the New York Jets and hope the Denver Broncos lose to the Kansas City Chiefs to clinch the final AFC wildcard berth. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers kept alive their dreams of reaching the play-offs by overcoming the Carolina Panthers 48-14. Veteran quarterback Baker Mayfield produced a dominant performance at Raymond James Stadium, registering five passing touchdowns to equal a Buccaneers franchise record. The Buffalo Bills clinched the AFC conference number two seed for the post season with a 40-14 success over the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium. Josh Allen passed for 182 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for another. Buffalo finish the 2024 regular season undefeated at home, with eight wins from as many games. The Indianapolis Colts’ hopes of reaching the play-offs were ended by a 45-33 defeat to the Giants. FINAL: Drew Lock accounts for 5 TDs in the @Giants victory! #INDvsNYG pic.twitter.com/N8HJYth09F — NFL (@NFL) December 29, 2024 Malik Nabers exploded for 171 yards and two touchdowns and Ihmir Smith-Marsette broke a 100-yard kick-off return to give the Giants their highest-scoring output under head coach Brian Daboll. Quarterback Drew Lock threw four touchdown passes and accounted for a fifth on the ground to seal the win. Elsewhere, Mac Jones threw two touchdowns to help the Jacksonville Jaguars defeat the Tennessee Titans 20-13, while the Las Vegas Raiders beat the New Orleans Saints 25-10.
Stormont minister Maurice Morrow told an official he would not raise the issue with the Northern Ireland Executive, despite similar measures being considered in England and Wales. A file on planning arrangements for the jubilee celebrations reveals a series of civil service correspondences on how Northern Ireland would mark the occasion. It includes a letter sent on January 11 2001 from an official in the Office of the First Minister/Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) to the Department of Social Development, advising that a committee had been set up in London to consider a programme of celebrations. The correspondence says: “One of the issues the committee is currently considering is the possibility of deregulating liquor licensing laws during the golden jubilee celebrations on the same lines as the arrangements made for the millennium. “It is felt that the golden jubilee bank holiday on Monday 3 June 2002 is likely to be an occasion on which many public houses and similar licensed premises would wish to stay open beyond normal closing time.” The letter said a paper had been prepared on the issue of extending opening hours. It adds: “You will note that paragraph seven of the paper indicates that the devolved administrations ‘would need to consider deregulation separately within their own jurisdictions’. “I thought that you would wish to be aware that this issue is receiving active consideration for England and Wales and to consider whether anything needs to be done for Northern Ireland.” Some months later a “progress report” was sent between officials in OFMDFM, which again raised the issue of licensing laws. It says: “I spoke to Gordon Gibson, DSD, about Terry Smith’s letter of 12 January 2001 about licensing laws: the matter was put to their minister Maurice Morrow (DUP) who indicated that he would not be asking the NIE (Northern Ireland Executive) to approve any change to current licensing laws in NI to allow for either 24 hour opening (as at the millennium) nor a blanket approval for extended opening hours as is being considered in GB. “In both cases, primary legislation would be required here and would necessitate consultation and the minister has ruled out any consultation process.” The correspondence says individual licensees could still apply for an extension to opening hours on an ad hoc basis, adding “there the matter rests”. It goes on: “DSD await further pronouncements from the Home Office and Gibson and I have agreed to notify each other of any developments we become aware of and he will copy me to any (existing) relevant papers. “Ministers may well come under pressure in due course for a relaxation and/or parity with GB.” The document concludes “That’s it so far...making haste slowly?” Emails sent between officials in the department the same month said that lord lieutenants in Northern Ireland had been approached about local events to mark the jubilee. One message says: “Lord lieutenants have not shown any enthusiasm for encouraging GJ celebrations at a local level. “Lady Carswell in particular believes that it would be difficult for LLs to encourage such activities without appearing political.”Car Dealers Offer Promotions as Vehicle Supply Climbs
A new electric ferry allows commuters in one of Europe 's prettiest capitals to zoom through its waterways using special wings. Nova, a hydrofoil ferry powered by electric motors, began operating in Stockholm late last month, offering an energy efficient new way to travel into the Swedish city, which is built on more than a dozen islands. The ferry, built by boat manufacturer Candela, skims as much as a metre above the water. In October, it took passengers on the nine-mile journey from Ekero, a suburb in Stockholm county, to the capital's city hall in just half an hour as it opened to the public for the first time, AP reported. The morning commute via an old-style diesel-powered ferry line takes 15 minutes longer without stops. It's taking to the waves in a nine-month pilot which Gustav Hemming, the city councilor in charge of climate and infrastructure, says it intended to “make more people park their cars and buy a (public transportation) card instead.” Hemming said the city introduced the service “to show the way in the green transition at sea". Candela's chief executive and co-founder Gustav Hasselskog told Zag Daily that the ferries "not only speed up the commute in Stockholm, and will do so elsewhere, but they also cut emissions drastically". “Stockholm’s public transport is largely emission-free except for the city’s vessels which use the bulk of fossil fuels used by the public transport system. They are also very costly to run,” he added. The city's 70-odd public transport vessels reporedly consume more fossil fuels than all of its trains and buses combined. Nova was the first of the firm's new P-12 model to enter service, Hasselskog said. Using computer-controlled hydrofoil wings, the vessel lifts its hull above water, which is said to cut energy consumption by 80% compared to conventional vessels. The boats, which are designed to carry 25 passengers, are operated by the city's public transport provider SL. Part of the route is subject to speed limits, but on open water the hydrofoil is free to reach impressive speeds. Nova cruises at around 25 knots (29 mph) but is capable of reaching 30 knots (35 mph) putting it some way beyond what other electric passenger ferries are capable of. Another thing going for the vessel, which can operate in waves of up to two metres, is that it's exempt from the 12-knot speed limit in Stockholm due to the fact that it leaves no wake. The restriction, with other boats are subject to, prevent waves swamping other vessels or causing erosion the shoreline, as per the news agency. Candela, which hopes waterborne transport will be also championed in other major cities like New York and Venice, says the technology cuts the energy per passenger-kilometer by 95% compared with the diesel ferries operating in the archipelago. The year 2022 saw some 6.2 million public transport boat journeys in the Stockholm region, and though these types of journey remain a small part of the public transit system as a whole, it's the fastest-growing mode of public transport following the pandemic .
Nittany Lions share the holiday with parents, teammates and coaches