Covering the week’s most noteworthy news stories in Metro-Manila for the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
Senator Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday, January 8, said the Philippine National Police (PNP) should focus their time and energy on monitoring expelled police and military personnel, not on teachers regarded as critical by the government. He made the suggestion when the police force faced backlash over the inventory of members of Alliance on Concerned Teachers…
President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, January 8, joked about kidnapping and torturing the Commission on Audit (COA) personnel who make life hard for local government officials. “Ah, p**t**g**a COA yan, letse. Yung COA, every time, may mali talaga. Ano ba itong COA na ito? Mag kidnap tayo ng taga COA, lagay natin dito, torture natin…
The Supreme Court justices decided to hold its oral arguments on the third extension of martial law in Mindanao on January 22 and 23 in response to the petition filed last week by the group led by Albay Representative Edcel Lagman. The opposition group led by Lagman included lawmakers who challenged the necessity of extending…
Malacañang has answered the Psychological Association of the Philippines’ (PAP) objection to the administration’s drive to curb drug addiction. Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo remained firm in his belief that the criminalization of drug addiction by the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte is an effective strategy to ultimately eliminate the drug problem in the country. “Ineffective…
Malacañang on Monday, January 7, urged the lawmakers to expedite the approval process of the the 2019 budget noting that any further delay in the passing is not a feat acceptable to the Filipino public. Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that the “unreasonable delays” of the legislation in the approval of the General Appropriations Bill…
Malacañang on Monday, January 7, assured the public that erring officials will be held accountable for their actions. This is after the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) announced that it is investigating three officials accused of irregularities. The three officials namely Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, former Customs commissioner and now Technical Education and Skills Development…
The Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150 on Monday, January 7, reaffirmed its decision to reopen the rebellion case of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV as it denied the senator’s plea to reverse the ruling. In a six-page decision dated December 18 of last year, Makati RTC Judge Elmo Alameda explained that the senator failed to…
A Bureau of Customs (BOC) official on Wednesday, January 2 issued a statement to South Korean authorities to take a total of 6,500 tons of garbage illegally shipped to the Philippines back to their country by next week. Mindanao International Container Terminal (MICT) BOC port collector John Simon stated that the South Korean authorities have…
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte’s story about an incident of a supposed encounter between him and a household help was “made up,” according to presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo. Panelo, in a statement on Sunday, December 30, said the “laughable anecdote” was made by the president to “dramatize the fact of sexual abuse that was inflicted on him…
Manila, Philippines — A security guard of Duty Free Philippines (DFP) was lauded for returning 600 USD (Php 31,200) worth of items left behind by an unknown Chinese woman at the parking area of the Fiestamall. Leoncio Laylo, 37 years old, was the guard on duty on February 17, when he spotted an unattended push…
IN light of Ako, Bicol Representative Rodel Batocabe’s murder this week, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the increase of the reward from P30 million to P50 million for any information. “The reward is at this time P30 million. I’m raising the ante. I’m putting it at plus P20 to P50,” Duterte said during a chance…
Malacañang said on Friday, December 28 that the Philippine government is prioritizing the implementation of tougher security measures after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that aviation security at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) was not up to par with international security standards. Philippine Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said on Friday that…
Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana admitted that the country’s issues with China over the West Philippine Sea will be best resolved through President Rodrigo Duterte’s strategy of not provoking China. “China is on my mind every day because of what they are doing in the West Philippine Sea. I wish I could…
The communist insurgency in the country is dismissed by Malacañang as a “failed rebellion” on Wednesday, December 26, as the the rebel group celebrated its 50th founding anniversary. The statement was made by presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo who criticized leader Jose Maria “Joma” Sison’s previous comment about the Philippines’ deterioration under President Rodrigo Duterte. “The…
THE Philippine transportation department said it was committed to improving airport security measures after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a travel advisory on Wednesday, December 26, because aviation security at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) was not up to par with international security standards. “Aviation security at Ninoy Aquino International Airport…
Malacanang responded to the statement of the United Nations Special Rapporteur Michel Forst on Tuesday, December 18, claiming that the report is “reckless and irresponsible” for urging the government to stop the stigma against human rights defenders. According to The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that the report the Special Rapporteur released…
AFTER 117 years in the United States’ possession, the Balangiga bells made their way home to Balangiga, Eastern Samar. President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday, December 15, witnessed the turnover of the Transfer Certificate of the Balangiga Bells from U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission John Law to Philippine Department of National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. The…
Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has reportedly left the country for trips to the United States and Europe on Tuesday, December 11, via an EVA Air flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1. The senator presented all the necessary documents before the immigration officers at the airport as he proceed to his flight….
The House of Representatives on Wednesday, December 12, adopted a resolution calling for the resignation of Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno to quit his post. This is a day after he was summoned for a “question hour” on the irregularities of the proposed 2019 budget. Minority Leader Danilo Suarez filed Resolution 2365 that “urged the office…
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Tuesday, December 12, called the list of people allegedly conniving to unseat President Rodrigo Duterte posted by former Davao City vice mayor Paolo “Pulong” Duterte as “fake news.” “The first time I saw that posting: I said it’s fake news. I still maintain that is fake news,” he told reporters…
Senator Manny Pacquiao on Wednesday, December 12, reiterated his call to increase the excise tax on tobacco products to P60 per pack as he pushed for the Senate Bill No. 1599 to aid in the universal health care (UHC) bill. According to Pacquiao, the increase in the excise tax will help reduce the number of…
A REPORT from Gallup’s “The World’s Most Generous” index revealed that Filipinos are among the least generous people in Southeast Asia in terms of donating money to a charity, volunteering their time to an organization, or helping a stranger or those in need. According to the report involving 146 countries, the Philippines had a score…
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday, December 13, alluded to the awarding of Rappler’s CEO Maria Ressa as TIME Magazine’s “Person of the Year” during the birthday celebration of former Senator Manny Villar. “Time of the what, Time of the magazine, Time – ‘Woman of the Century’ and all, inyo na ‘yan (you can have it),”…
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, December 9, promised to continue his campaign against illegal drugs, crime, corruption, terrorism and insurgency campaign despite being labeled as the “biggest threat to human rights” by activists and human rights group. Presidential Human Rights Committee and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea issued a statement on the 70th anniversary of…
The House of Representatives on Monday, December 10, approved on third and final reading the Expanded Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children (E-VAWC), a measure that criminalizes electronic violence and involves the use of information and communication technology. With 207 affirmative votes, lawmakers unanimously approved House Bill 8655, which seeks to amend Republic Act 9262…
THE plunder trial of former Senator Juan Ponce Enrile for allegedly receiving P172.8 million in kickbacks from projects funded by his office’s pork barrel will finally start in 2019 by the Sandiganbayan Third Division. It is set to begin on February 19, 2019 by the anti-graft court’s third division. Due to the Supreme Court granting…
The assessment of President Rodrigo Duterte’s alleged crimes against humanity will be continued by the International Criminal Court despite the Philippines’ withdrawal of its ratification from the Rome Statute. The ICC confirmed this in an annual report released this week months after a preliminary examination into the situation was opened by ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda….
ACCORDING to Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez, it would be more appropriate for President Rodrigo Duterte to visit the U.S. once the Balangiga bells have been returned to the Philippines. Taken by American soldiers as war booty in 1901, the Balangiga bells are expected to arrive in Manila at Villamor Airbase…
The House of Representatives approved House Bill 8541 otherwise known as the Philippine Space Development Act on its third and final reading on Tuesday, December 4. The HB 8541 served as “an act establishing the Philippine space development and utilization policy and creating the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), defining the purpose and scope of…
The House of Representatives on Tuesday, December 4, approved the Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) 15, a proposal to shift to a federal government, on its second reading. “Many provisions of the 1987 Constitution have already served, if not outlived, their purpose, hence the sustained clamor over the years for amendments to or revision of…
