Rappler CEO Maria Ressa faces third cyber libel charge
RAPPLER co-founder and chief executive officer Maria Ressa has been charged with cyber libel anew over an article about an alleged thesis-for-sale scheme by a professor of the De La…
Category: Across the Islands
Covering the week’s most noteworthy news stories throughout the Philippines for the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
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PH reports first case of new COVID-19 variant
THE new and more infectious variant of COVID-19 first reported in the United Kingdom has reached the Philippines. The Philippine Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Genome Center (PGC)…
Infrastructures Like Skyway 3 And Bulacan Airport Will Stimulate Economic Recovery – Ramon S. Ang
This year is another challenging year for the country as it moves toward economic recovery. Among the factors that will fuel economic recovery is infrastructure—the physical foundation of progress. While…
PH gov’t targets vaccinations for up to 70-M Filipinos in 2021
Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine rollout to start in February THE Philippine government is aiming to vaccinate 50 to 70 million Filipinos in 2021, with up to 200,000 individuals receiving jabs every…
PH has worst traffic in ASEAN, 9th in the world
THE Philippines has the worst traffic among six members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and is ranked the ninth-worst in the world, according to a new report….
Moody’s Analytics: Philippines last to recover in Asia
THE Philippines is expected to lag behind Asian neighbors in recovering from the pandemic-induced recession, according to international think tank Moody’s Analytics. In a recent report, Moody’s Analytics chief economist…
PH Senate to probe govt’s vaccine campaign
THE Philippine Senate will continue with its inquiry into the government’s vaccination program, despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s threat of a “little crisis” should the senators insist on investigating the unauthorized…
After US, PH bans 7 more countries due to new COVID-19 variant
China not included in travel restrictions FOLLOWING a recent ban on foreign travelers from the United States, the Philippines has expanded the restrictions to seven more countries to prevent the…
DFA sees new spike in infections among overseas Filipinos
THE Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday, January 6 recorded five new confirmed COVID-19 cases among Filipinos abroad. The day before, the agency reported observed another spike as…
Vilma Santos-Recto to refile bill seeking new ABS-CBN franchise
PHILIPPINE Deputy Speaker Vilma Santos-Recto on Monday, January 4, said that she will refile a bill seeking to give broadcast giant ABS-CBN a fresh 25-year franchise. “I am refiling the…
PH bans entry from US amid new COVID-19 variant
THE Philippines is barring the entry of foreign travelers from the United States to prevent the transmission of the new COVID-19 variant. The move comes after the new variant of…
Lorenzana: Vaccines used by Duterte’s security ‘smuggled’
PHILIPPINE Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Wednesday, December 30, 2020, confirmed that the COVID-19 vaccines administered to some members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) were smuggled, since they have…
Palace: US not included in PH’s travel ban
PH gov’t halts entry from 20 countries IN an attempt to prevent the new COVID-19 variant from entering the Philippines, the national government imposed travel restrictions from countries where its…
PH internet speed ranks 110th out of 139 countries worldwide
THE Philippines’ internet connection saw a slight improvement in November this year, according to a global speed test. In Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index, the Philippines ranked 110th out of 139…
PH expands travel ban to more countries over new COVID-19 variant
THE Philippines has expanded its travel ban to 19 more countries in an effort to address the threat of the new COVID-19 variant. In a memorandum signed by Executive Secretary…
Duterte warns US: No vaccine, no VFA
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte has warned that he will terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) if the United States fails to provide the country with COVID-19 vaccines. In a meeting…
PH ranks third with most journalists killed in 2020, new report finds
THE Philippines ranks among the countries with the most retaliatory killings of journalists in 2020, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a new report. Globally, at…
Año: Nuezca will ‘rot in jail’ after deadly viral incident
PHILIPPINE Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Wednesday, December 23, assured that Police Senior M/Sgt. Jonel Nuezca would face the full force of the law for shooting a mother and son…
Duterte on Tarlac shooter: Lock him up
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte has condemned the police officer who shot a mother and son dead in Paniqui, Tarlac. In a taped speech, Duterte said Police Senior M/Sgt. Jonel Nuezca…
PH to raise age of consent from 12 to 16
THE Philippines is set to raise the age of sexual consent from 12 years old to 16 years old. According to a recent report by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the country…
DFA sees spike in COVID-19 infections among Filipinos around the globe
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is observing another spike in COVID-19 infections among overseas Filipinos as 198 more individuals have contracted the virus. The new infections reported on…
IATF allows foreigners to re-enter PH
THE Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has approved the re-entry of foreigners who left the Philippines on December 17 and onwards, Malacañang announced Friday,…
Duque: No promise of 10M vaccine doses in Pfizer deal
PHILIPPINE Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Friday, December 18, maintained that the discussions with Pfizer reportedly didn’t include supplying the country with 10 million doses of its vaccine. “I…
Lacson blames Duque for missed Pfizer deal
PHILIPPINE Senator Panfilo Lacson has named Health Secretary Francisco Duque III as the Cabinet member who “dropped the ball” in securing 10 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine as early…
PH 2021 budget to prioritize COVID-19 vaccines
NECESSARY adjustments in the proposed 2021 national budget have been made to prioritize the country’s procurement of vaccines against COVID-19, Majority Leader Martin Romualdez said on Wednesday, December 16. “We…
Locsin: ‘Somebody dropped the ball’ on Pfizer vaccine deal
PHILIPPINE Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Tuesday, December 15, said the country was supposed to receive 10 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine as early as January, but a…
Palace rejects ICC report on drug war
THE assessment of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecutor on the Philippines’ war against drugs is “legally erroneous,” Malacañang said on Tuesday, December 15. “Obviously, we do not agree with…
Report: Record hunger in the PH as COVID-19 continues
AS the coronavirus pandemic persists, the Philippines is experiencing record levels of hunger, according to a recent report by Agence France-Presse (AFP). Due to COVID-19 restrictions and job losses, Filipinos…
Drug board: PH may not be drug-free by 2022
ELIMINATING illegal drugs in the Philippines may not be achieved by 2022, the country’s Dangerous Drugs Board admitted this week. “Ang ginawa nating optimistic target doon sa ating campaign was…
World Bank: PH economy to bounce back in 2021
THE World Bank expects the Philippine economy to start recovering in the next two years as the country eases quarantine restrictions, allowing more industries to resume operations. The multilateral lender…