Windows26: Weekend Roundup: Sara and Bongbong's word war, Leni and Bongbong's meeting

Hi there, reader!

This week, we covered an explosive testimony about cash rewards in Duterte's drug war, VP Sara's latest word war with the President, and the Marcos-Robredo meeting in Sorsogon.

This is your Weekend Roundup, your weekly fix for everything you need to catch up.

REWARD 'PER KILL'

Garma's exposé

A former police official has dropped what could be the biggest bombshell in the ongoing House quad committee hearings when she told lawmakers that former President Rodrigo Duterte offered cash rewards for every drug suspect killed in his administration's brutal war on drugs.

In an emotional tell-all testimony, a tearful retired Police Col. Royina Garma said it took her a week to "make reflections" that supposedly helped her realize that it was time for her to "speak the truth" about the bloody antinarcotics campaign of her former boss.

Some cases related to the drug war "are now being reopened" following Garma's testimony linking former President Duterte and other government officials to the killings, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said.

Despite Garma's drug war exposé, the Philippines will not rejoin the ICC, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin clarified, amid calls for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to submit the House probe findings to aid the ICC's case against Duterte.

Meanwhile in the Senate, Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, regarded as the chief architect of Duterte's bloody war on drugs, expressed plans to lead the probe as the head of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs.

However, for Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero, it will be better if Dela Rosa will not lead the investigation to avoid charges of bias. Sen. Risa Hontiveros sought for a Senate committee of the whole instead.

INQFOCUS

Shunning the circus

The filing of certificates of candidacy by some celebrities raised eyebrows among the public. Some popular figures, however, are staying away from the political circus. "Not because you can win, you will run," said a famous TV host. Learn more in this special story by Kurt dela Peña.

INQFOCUS

Waste-to-energy fix?

Relentless rains and cyclones in past months have submerged various parts of the country in floods, prompting the President to promote waste-to-energy (WTE) as a fix. Environmentalists, however, aren't convinced. Here's a special report by Cristina Eloisa Baclig.

ON MY RADAR

Must-reads