MANILA: The Philippines accused Chinese maritime forces of using water cannon and ramming a Filipino vessel near the Philippine-occupied Thitu Island, calling the actions a “clear threat” that escalates tensions in contested South China Sea waters. The Philippines Coast Guard said three Filipino vessels, including the BRP Datu Pagbuaya, were anchored near Thitu Island, locally […]
Read MoreTHE HAGUE: Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte will remain in the custody of the International Criminal Court after judges Friday rejected a request from his defense team for release on medical grounds. “The Chamber finds that Mr.Duterte’s detention continues to remain necessary,” the ICC said in its ruling. ICC prosecutors have charged Duterte with three […]
Read MoreBy Alan Robles A wave of fake news and conspiracy theories has taken aim at the Philippine military, with viral claims of coup plots, foreign interference and high-level defections spreading rapidly on social media. Observers warn the campaign is fuelling political instability by exploiting public outrage over recent major corruption scandals. Several trace the effort […]
Read MoreBy Raissa Robles The Philippine military is now 3D-printing drones in preparation for future warfare and strengthening foreign partnerships, with Manila recently being recognised by Indo-Pacific defence ministers as a “frontliner” in keeping the region “free and open”. Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff General Romeo Brawner Jnr told the Foreign Correspondents Association on Friday that the 3D […]
Read MoreBOGO, Philippines: Philippine authorities said on Thursday that search and rescue operations in quake-hit Cebu province have ended, as the current death toll of 72 was not expected to go much higher and missing people had been accounted for. Attention has now turned to delivering aid to survivors of the 6.9-magnitude quake that has become […]
Read MoreBy Jeoffrey Maitem The Philippines is among Asian nations to be covered by a US$55 million maritime defence funding from the United States, but Manila is not expected to buy any significant game-changing security assets with its share. Analysts say while the funding signals Washington’s focus on pulling mid-sized states into its orbit to counter […]
Read MoreBy Geela Garcia In a country where LGBTQ rights remain politically contentious and progress is often stalled by deep-rooted conservatism, a small clinic in Quezon City has become a quiet symbol of change. Tucked inside a car park north of Manila, Klinika Eastwood is now offering free gender-affirming health consultations – a direct result of […]
Read MoreBy Alan Robles Half a century after his father declared martial law, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr is confronting his own crisis: a corruption scandal of dizzying scale, coup rumours in the air and tens of thousands of Filipinos preparing to march on the streets of Manila. Adding to the pressure, Beijing has signalled a […]
Read MorePhilippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said no one will be exempt from an independent investigation into alleged anomalies in infrastructure projects, as he vowed to rebuild public trust as protests over corruption loom. Marcos assured the graft-weary public that the probe would break from past efforts, calling it an “inflection point” in how the government […]
Read MoreBy Sam Beltran A growing wave of anger in the Philippines over corruption-tainted flood control projects is spurring activism among university students and other Filipinos that observers say evokes the spirit of past political uprisings. At the University of the Philippines’ main campus in Quezon City, over 3,000 students and lecturers left their classrooms to rally […]
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