Covering the week’s most noteworthy news stories in the Philippines for the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
Impeachment complaints against Philippine Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno and Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chief Andres Bautista have been passed on to the House Committee on Rules. Earlier this week, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez referred the complaints to the committee headed by Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas. The speaker has ten days from receipt to refer an…
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, September 5 ordered the police to allow journalists to join law enforcers in their anti-illegal drug operations. Duterte issued the order to disprove the growing allegations of state-sanctioned killings in his heavily-criticized campaign against illegal drugs. “Now, this is an order: Bring the media and let them go first…
The camp of former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. remains confident in winning its bid against Philippine Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo despite a recent court decision affirming the authenticity of the 2016 elections. The Supreme Court (SC), sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), earlier dismissed Marcos’ first cause of action in his…
MANILA — Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Tuesday, September 5, said he will also file an ethics complaint against Senator Richard Gordon and further expose the latter’s supposed “corrupt acts” as chairman of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC). A day before, Gordon filed an ethics case against Trillanes. This was after Trillanes called Gordon’s panel…
THE Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed the authenticity of the Automated Election System (AES) in the 2016 elections, dismissing former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s first cause of action in his poll protest against Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo. In his first cause of action, Marcos called on the SC, sitting as the Presidential Electoral…
THE United States has donated P730 million ($14.3 million) for the ongoing relief operations and rehabilitation of Marawi City, according to U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim. In a press briefing on Tuesday, September 5, Kim announced that Washington will provide humanitarian aid to the victims of the besieged city in Mindanao through its…
The House of Representatives is going to study the request to grant Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte the authority to start negotiations with the Marcos family on their offer to return their alleged ill-gotten wealth to the government. House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Tuesday, September 5, said that Congress should first into the specifics of the…
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is studying “how best to proceed” on the reported offer of former President Ferdinand Marcos’ family to return portion of their alleged ill-gotten wealth back to the government. Malacañang, on Friday, September 1, assured the public that Duterte will put the nation’s interest first in any possible agreements with the Marcos…
UNITED Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions Agnes Callamard rejected anew Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s invitation for her to visit and assess the current situation in the country. In a series of social media posts, Callamard reiterated that the preconditions on her official visit to investigate the alleged state-sanctioned killings and rights abuses linked…
Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chairman Jose Luis “Chito” Gascon met with the country’s top police official on Tuesday, August 29 to discuss the alleged extrajudicial killings in connection with President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-illegal drugs campaign. Describing his discussion with Philippine National Police Chief Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa as “cordial and open,”…
The family of former President Ferdinand Marcos has expressed willingness to return their alleged ill-gotten wealth back to government, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday, August 29. Citing an unnamed spokesman, Duterte claimed that the family is willing to “open everything” and return the wealth—including a few gold bars—which were accumulated during the two-decade…
MANILA – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is the most loving, caring, and decisive among the country’s top five government officials, according to a recent survey conducted by by political management and lobbying firm Publicus Asia. Publicus Asia’s pilot Pahayag survey tested the people’s perception on Duterte, Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo, Chief Justice Lourdes…
The detained father of brothers Abdullah and Omar Maute, who led the attack on Marawi City, passed away on Sunday, August 27, according to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP). BJMP spokesperson and Senior Insp. Xavier Solda said Cayamora Maute, 67, died past 3:00 p.m. in a government hospital after his blood pressure…
“Mr. President, lock me in jail for as long as you want but please just stop the killings.” This was the bargain Senator Leila De Lima is willing to make with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Fr. Robert Reyes told the Inquirer. De Lima celebrated her 58th birthday on Sunday, August 27 while in detention at…
Malacañang has denied the claim of an opposition lawmaker that China has planted its flag on a sand cay seven nautical miles off a Philippine-controlled island in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). Citing a “very reliable source,” Palace Spokesperson Ernesto Abella affirmed that no Chinese flag has been mounted near Kota Island, which…
Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa dismissed claims that the rise of death toll in connection with the government’s campaign against illegal drugs are causing fear among the public. During a Senate hearing on the controversial killing of a 17-year-old student Kian Loyd Delos Santos, the country’s top cop remarked that…
PHILIPPINE Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno on Thursday, August 24, shrugged off threats to remove her from the office, saying that the impeachment case build up against her does not affect her at all. Breaking her silence on the issue, the chief justice expressed confidence that efforts to oust her will not prosper. “Nothing can…
Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) will no longer pursue the plan to construct the heavily-opposed Nickelodeon theme park in an island considered as the Philippines’ “last ecological frontier.” In a statement released Tuesday, August 22, VIMN said it has reached an agreement with Coral World Park to discontinue the licensing agreement for the attraction in…
MANILA – An impeachment complaint has been filed against Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Andres Bautista for alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust. Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio and former Congressman Jacinto Paras filed the complaint before the House of Representatives on Wednesday, August 23. The complaint stemmed from allegations of the…
THE Philippine government maintained that it will not hand over any part of the country’s territory and will continue to assert its maritime claims in the disputed South China Sea. Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano made the assurance on Tuesday, August 22, amid reports that Chinese vessels have been recently spotted near Pag-asa Island…
THE Supreme Court (SC), sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), has formed a retrieval team to secure ballot boxes being questioned in connection with former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s electoral protest against Philippine Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo. According to the court’s resolution dated August 8, the retrieval team is tasked to…
The Philippine Court of Appeals (CA) has upheld with finality its earlier decision convicting United States Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton for killing Filipino transgender woman Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude in October 2014. In a resolution issued on Tuesday, August 15, the appellate court’s former Special 16th Division dismissed the appeal filed by Pemberton seeking…
Malacañang on Tuesday, August 22 assured that President Rodrigo Duterte remains “in full control” of the Philippine National Police (PNP)’s enforcement of the administration’s crackdown on illegal drugs. In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella refuted accusations that Duterte has lost control of the police amid the controversial killing spree—particularly of the recent killing…
MANILA – Any conditions on assistance the Philippines may receive from a foreign aid agency must be aligned with the policies of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, a Palace official said. Malacañang issued the statement on Sunday, August 20 after Washington-based Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC) announced that the Philippines is among the candidate countries to receive…
DFA: 4 Irish citizens of Filipino descent among injured The Philippine government on Friday, August 18 condemned the terrorist attack in Barcelona, Spain that left at least 13 people dead and dozens injured. “The Philippines condemns in the strongest terms this disturbing act of terror perpetrated by extremists against innocent men, women and children in Barcelona,”…
MANILA – The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 6.5 percent in the second quarter of 2017, according to the data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday, August 17. While the figure is lower compared to the 7.1 percent growth in the same period last year, it is higher than the…
MANILA – Senators Richard Gordon and Vicente “Tito” Sotto III claimed there is no sufficient evidence proving the involvement of President Rodrigo Duterte’s son Paolo in the smuggling of P6.4-billion worth of shabu from China. Photos showing the younger Duterte together with Kenneth Dong—the alleged middleman of the smuggled shipment—were presented during the resumption of…
The drug menace in the country cannot be fixed in a single term, Philippine President Rodrigo admitted, saying that even the competent United States has been struggling against it. Duterte won the May 2016 presidential elections with a vow to completely crush the illegal drugs trade in the country. In a forum last week, the…
MANILA – Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon had a heated exchange during the resumption of Senate inquiry into the entry of P6.4-billion worth of smuggled shabu from China. During the Senate’s third hearing on Tuesday, August 15, Trillanes, who was the first interpellate, asked Faeldon if there is…
The Philippine government on Monday, August 14 called on the United States and North Korea to “desist from threats and military action” that may escalate nuclear tensions between countries. In a media conference, Philippine Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella also urged Washington and Pyongyang to conduct talks and put an end to any further missile tests…
