00:00A pleasant Tuesday evening greetings. Gabrielle Lopez here and pleased to bring you PTV News Now, kicking off our stories for tonight.
00:10The government is steadily building its case against suspects responsible for the missing cockfighting enthusiasts believed to have been abducted and forever silenced for their shenanigans in the online cockfighting and wagering that thrived during the pandemic.
00:24So said Acting PNP Chief Lieutenant General Jose Melenche Nortates Jr. earlier today after the PNP's criminal investigation and detection group turned over additional files and documents to the Justice Department to bolster its claim of criminal acts perpetrated by the suspect against at least 34 cockfighting fans who forever went under the radar since they were reported missing back then.
00:48Five flash drives and a stack of new witness affidavits form the latest set of evidence gathered by the police and sent to the Department of Justice for evaluation and inclusion to its prosecutorial material under the respondents or defendants in the case.
01:03The current PNP probe into the missing cockfighters covers murder, kidnapping and illegal detention charges filed by the PNP and surviving loved ones of the abducted against businessman slash cockfighting kingpin Charlie Atong Ang, actress Gretchen Barreto and others.
01:20Last month, the Justice Department filed charges of multiple murder and serious illegal detention against Ang over the disappearance of those missing cockfighting aficionados.
01:30Bicol, party-less Salon and former House Appropriations Committee Chairperson Elizalde Co is officially under Interpol watch after the Philippine government formally requested the international law enforcement body for a blue notice on Co's whereabouts.
01:46Under a blue notice request by the Philippine government, the Interpol will provide from time to time Co's whereabouts short of placing him under arrest.
01:54This after erstwhile Salon from Bicol and tagged as the whale or shark among the big fishes in the flood control scam, failed to show up at work in the lower house today after his 10-day deadline to return to the country lapsed.
02:08No lawmaker has put in more insertions on flood control projects in the bloated and highly irregular 2025 national budget, allegedly than Co, who is also founder or owner of SunWest and Hightone Inc., contractors slash construction companies which bagged hundreds of government contracts on flood control, tune of 15 billion since 2022.
02:29Co has not appeared for legislative work since the opening session of the 20th Congress in July 28.
02:35His travel clearance was revoked by newly minted House Speaker Faustino D. III on September 19, thus compelling him to return to the country within 10 days to answer the swirl of charges against him of legislative, impropriety, and skimming billions of the tough kickbacks on government flood control projects.
02:54America, the land of the free, democracy's most famous home, her greatness in large part because of an arboree of civil liberties ordained by her founding fathers and enshrined in its Constitutional Bill of Rights.
03:10With the Trump 2.0 presidency firmly in power, there is a noticeable shift toward a conservative and religious Christian advocacy or mindset.
03:18Now withstanding America having no official religion as its policy, U.S. vice president just recently shared his views on the protection of religious freedom.
03:34Religious freedom is the freedom to practice one's own faith and act according to one's own conscience.
03:40And it's the bedrock of civil society in the United States of America and across the world.
03:49In America, our founding fathers rightly recognized this, listing freedom of religion first among the liberties enshrined in our great Constitution.
03:58We remain the world's largest majority Christian country, and the right to religious freedom is protected by the people for everybody, whether you're a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, or no faith at all.
04:14But religious liberty is not simply, as we all know, about legal safeguards.
04:21It is also about fostering a culture in which faith can thrive, so that men and women can fully appreciate and respect the God-given rights of their fellow citizens.
04:31The first Trump administration took critical steps to protect the rights of the faithful, whether that was by rescuing pastors who were persecuted by foreign regimes or bringing relief to the Yazidis, Christians, and other faith communities facing genocidal terror from ISIS.
04:51This administration is intent on not just restoring, but on expanding the achievements of the first four years.
05:01Part of our Protecting Religious Freedom initiatives means recognizing in our foreign policy the difference between regimes that respect religious freedom and those that do not.
05:12Now, this administration stands ready to do so, but both at home and abroad, we have much more to do to more fully secure religious liberty for all people of faith.
05:28I pray that together we will be able to better protect the dignity of all peoples, as well as the rights of all believers to practice their faith according to the dictates of their conscience.
05:42And that's a wrap for this evening's show. Join us a new tomorrow for another set of major stories breaking at the hour in our evening news break edition.
05:53And always stay connected by catching the news right here.
05:56This is Gabby Lopez wishing you a restful night ahead and thank you for watching PTV News Now.