Vote for DACA fix, CHIP reauthorization pushed back to February 8 After receiving backlash for allowing the government to shut down on Friday, January 19, a bipartisan group of United States Congress members presented a bill on Monday, January 22 that would reopen the government and allow thousands of furloughed federal employees to return to…
Malacañang on Tuesday, January 23, has defended its earlier decision allowing China to carry out research in the Philippine Rise, formerly referred to as Benham Rise, which is located off Eastern Luzon. In a press briefing, Palace Spokesperson Harry Roque pointed out that “you do not need a permit for any Filipino corporation to conduct…
President Rodrigo Duterte has told the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to shoot him if he becomes a dictator or stays in power beyond his term expiration in 2022. The president made the remark in his speech during an army base visit on Monday, January 22, in Compostela…
Former Philippine President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has admitted that he made a “mistake” when he claimed that former Health Secretary Enrique Ona was present during his meeting with Sanofi Pasteur executives four years ago. During a Senate hearing last month, Aquino confirmed that Ona was present during his meeting with officials of Sanofi Pasteur,…
House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has dismissed his recent threat to cut the budget of lawmakers who will oppose the proposed shift to a federal form of government as a mere “joke.” In a television interview on Monday, January 22, Alvarez clarified that he was “not serious” when he previously warned solons that they may receive…
The Supreme Court (SC), sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), has begun the retrieval of ballot boxes in the province of Camarines Sur on Tuesday, January 23. Camarines Sur is among the three pilot provinces tagged by former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in his electoral protest against Philippine Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni”…
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has denied that he had anything to do with the allegations tagging Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon in the multibillion-peso Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), also known as the pork barrel scam. Speaking before his departure to India on Wednesday, January 24, Duterte said he would not plot against Drilon as…
NBI also investigating site’s reported violation of cybercrime law The Philippine Department of Justice (DOJ) has maintained that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)’s probe into the alleged foreign ownership of news website Rappler is neither a “fishing expedition” nor an attack on press freedom. Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said such an insinuation is…
The current human rights situation in the Philippines is at its “worst” since the dictatorship of late President Ferdinand Marcos, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has claimed. In its World Report 2018, HRW said that President Rodrigo Duterte has “plunged” the country into “its worst human rights crisis,” citing, in particular, the deaths of…
Fulfilling a campaign promise made by President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine government on Thursday, January 18 launched the new Overseas Filipino Bank (OFB)—a bank that caters specifically to Filipinos abroad. This comes about four months since Duterte signed Executive Order (EO) 44 on September 28, which approves the Land Bank of the Philippines’ (LBP) acquisition…
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte raised the possibility of a war in Mindanao should Congress fails to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL). In his speech during the launch of the Overseas Filipino Bank (OFB) in Manila on Thursday, January 18, the president stressed that it was about time to address what he called the “historical…
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, January 16 vowed to continue his drive to cleanse the government ranks from corruption by dismissing more corrupt officials. “I am on a purging spree. And I will continue to do this, I suppose, I’ll do it tomorrow. I’ll be firing more people from government,” Duterte said during a…
Two members of the Senate minority have expressed opposition against the possible abolition of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) under the proposed shift to a federal form of government. This was after a former lawmaker warned that Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo might be ousted before her term expires in 2022 as the…
It is legally possible for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to expand the scope of martial law nationwide, Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said on Wednesday, January 17. During the resumption of oral arguments on the consolidated petitions against the one-year extension of martial law in Mindanao, Carpio noted that the threat posed by…
After suffering a controversial defeat in July last year, Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao is likely to make a comeback this coming April. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he’s planning to include Pacquiao in the same card that will feature a WBO welterweight title showdown between champion Jeff Horn and Terence…
Three Supreme Court (SC) magistrates appeared before the House committee on justice on Monday, January 15 to testify in the impeachment hearing against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. They were Associate Justices Lucas Bersamin, Samuel Martires, and Diosdado Peralta. Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, meanwhile, declined to attend the hearing despite being invited, saying he…
More Filipinos are opposed to the idea of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declaring a revolutionary government, according to a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS). Based on the survey results released Friday, January 12, 39 percent of Filipinos opposed the proposal to establish a revolutionary government, while 31 percent supported it. The remaining…
Malacañang on Wednesday, October 4, welcomed the Commission on Appointments’ (CA) confirmation of the ad interim appointment of Roy Cimatu as the Philippines’ environment secretary. In a statement, Palace spokesman Ernesto Abella expressed confidence that Cimatu would keep a “delicate balance” between the country’s economic development and environmental protection. “We welcome the confirmation of the…
OMBUDSMAN Conchita Carpio-Morales refused to bend to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s dare for them to resign together, saying she “will not be baited into abandoning” her constitutional duties. In a statement, Morales said she is ready to answer all the president’s allegations against her. “I will not be baited into abandoning my constitutional duties,” the…
MANILA – Philippine Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Monday, October 2, filed a wiretapping complaint against Senator Risa Hontiveros in connection with the controversial capture of his phone message. In his complaint before the Pasay City prosecutor’s office, Aguirre said Hontiveros violated Republic Act 4200 or the Anti-Wiretapping Act when she publicized his exchange…
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, October 2, challenged Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno and Ombudsman Conchita Morales to join him and make their bank accounts public. In a speech before the government troops and displaced residents of Marawi City, the president maintained that he has never committed any corrupt practices as he denied anew…
The Philippine government on Friday, September 29 said it is open to accept help from its foreign allies in combating narcotics, corruption and criminality in the country, but not “dictation” on the process. Palace Spokesperson Ernesto Abella made the statement after 39 member-states of the United Nations (UN) recently expressed “serious concern” over Philippine President…
Philippine Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo said she is not a member of “Tindig Pilipinas,” a multi-sector coalition that calls for an end to the alleged spate of killings related to President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-illegal drugs campaign. Robredo made the clarification more than a week after attending a mass organized by the group during…
MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, September 26 urged the United States to work closely with his government against drug smuggling, saying international syndicates are using the Philippines as the transshipment point. In a speech, Duterte claimed that the so-called Taiwan-based Bamboo triad and Hong Kong-based 14-K triad were using the country as a…
MANILA – The House Justice Committee on Wednesday, September 19 dismissed the impeachment complaint against Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chief Andres Bautista. Twenty-six members of the committee voted on the complaint filed by lawyer Ferdinand Topacio and former Negros Occidental representative Jacinto Paras of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) to be insufficient in…
MANILA – The National Day of Protest is a “healthy exercise of democracy,” Malacañang said on Thursday, September 21, as various groups rallied against some policies of the administration of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and the dictatorship of late President Ferdinand Marcos. Earlier this week, Duterte signed Proclamation 316, declaring September 21 as a National…
President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, September 20, met with United States Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim and discussed various issues concerning some of the administration’s policies. A Palace statement released on Thursday, September 21, said among the issues tackled include the Philippine government’s “strong policies” against illegal drugs and terrorism in the country. During…
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it has not received any reports of Filipino casualties in the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that struck Mexico on Tuesday, September 19. More than 200 people were killed and a still undetermined number of individuals were injured in the powerful tremor that toppled buildings in the country, including…
MANILA – Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano is set to discuss the Philippine government’s campaign against illegal drugs before the United Nations (UN) on Saturday, September 23. Cayetano will represent Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at the upcoming 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly in New York. He is expected to deliver the chief…
MANILA – The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said the agency is not meant to oppose the administration of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte but instead, serves as the government’s conscience. In a television interview last week, Commissioner Gwen Pimentel-Gana maintained that the agency does not have any agenda of ousting Duterte despite being critical of…
