China and the Philippines reached a deal this week aimed at ending confrontations over the Second Thomas Shoal reef in the contested South China Sea, a month after the navies of both countries clashed in the disputed territory, Sky News reported. On Sunday, the Philippines foreign...
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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday ordered the military to de-escalate tensions in the South China Sea while maintaining the nation’s maritime rights, a directive that comes amid ongoing disputes and recent confrontations between Philippine and Chinese forces, Bloomberg reported. The president’s remarks followed a...
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American Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo recently joined executives from GreenFire Energy, Google Asia Pacific, Visa, United Airlines and KKR to announce $1 billion in investments in the Philippines. It was the latest good news between friends. American and Philippine leaders signed a mutual defense treaty...
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The Philippine government and the country’s communist rebels agreed Tuesday to restart peace talks in an effort to end the decades-long civil conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people in the Southeast Asian nation, Al Jazeera reported. Authorities will re-engage with the New People’s...
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An unknown gunman shot and killed a radio host in the southern Philippines this week, an attack described as a “brazen killing” in a country considered one of the most dangerous in the world for journalists, Al Jazeera reported. Juan Jumalon, known professionally as “DJ Johnny...
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A Philippine court acquitted Nobel laureate Maria Ressa and her news site Rappler on Tuesday of tax fraud charges, a ruling seen as another legal victory for the embattled journalist and the state of press freedom in the Southeast Asian nation, Reuters reported. Ressa, CEO of...
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The International Criminal Court (ICC) rejected an appeal by the Philippines to prevent the court’s prosecutors from investigating former President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody “war on drugs,” CNN reported Tuesday. The court’s ruling came months after the ICC announced it would revive its investigation into possible “crimes...
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A new law requiring all citizens to register their SIM cards under their legal names before July is causing an uproar in the Philippines, while tech analysts worry that the legislation is encouraging identity theft and fraud, Al Jazeera reported. Last year, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr...
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The Philippines and the United States launched their largest-ever military drills across the South China Sea on Tuesday, an exercise aimed at deterring China’s ambitions in the disputed waters, Al Jazeera reported. Known as the annual Balikatan drills, the event will have more than 17,600 soldiers...
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The Philippines will sever contact with the International Criminal Court (ICC), the country’s president announced Tuesday, after the Netherlands-based tribunal rejected an appeal by the government to stop investigating former President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial war on drugs, Al Jazeera reported. The ICC resumed its investigation in...
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Philippine police on Sunday killed one suspect and arrested three others who are implicated in the murder of a provincial governor over the weekend, the latest attack targeting politicians and officials in the Southeast Asian nation in recent weeks, Agence France-Presse reported. On Saturday, at least...
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A mayor in the Philippines handed out extra pay to single employees during Valentine’s Day on Tuesday, in a show of gratitude for the extra hours they work and to say that “someone loves them,” Agence France Presse reported. Employees at General Luna town hall in...
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The United States reached an agreement with the Philippines on Thursday to receive access to additional military bases in the Southeast Asian country, the latest move by Washington to encircle China and counter its growing influence in the region, the Wall Street Journal reported. The agreement,...
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Controversially tough-on-crime Rodrigo Duterte is no longer president of the Philippines. But, in an echo of protests that occurred when Duterte was in power between June 2016 and June 2022, demonstrators recently took to the streets of the Filipino capital, Manila, to protest against violence...
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China and the Philippines agreed to strengthen their economic ties and restart talks on oil exploration, following a meeting between both countries’ leaders as they try to mend relations over contested areas in the South China Sea, CNN reported Thursday. Chinese President Xi Jinping met with...
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The Philippines lifted a ban on sending workers to Saudi Arabia this week after reaching an agreement with Saudi authorities to halt the exploitation of Filipino laborers in the oil-rich kingdom, the Associated Press reported. Last year, the Southeast Asian nation stopped sending workers to Saudi...
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A tropical storm forced schools in the northern Philippines to shutter their doors this week, shortly after students around the country returned to in-person classes following two years of COVID-19 lockdown and Zoom-based class sessions, CNN reported. Tropical storm Ma On – known as “Florita” in...
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The son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. won Philippine’s presidential elections this week, a victory that has raised questions about the future of the Southeast Asian nation’s democratic values and its stance against China’s increasing influence in the region, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. Ferdinand...
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Boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, a senator in the Philippines who is now running for the president, recently called on authorities to release Filipino Senator Leila de Lima from jail. As the Philippine Daily Inquirer explained, de Lima is one of many of current President Rodrigo Duterte’s...
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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte banned online cockfighting amid an outcry over the industry following the disappearance of dozens of workers and concerns over the social impact of the betting sport, CNN Philippines reported Tuesday. Duterte said during an address that “e-sabong will end tonight” – referring...
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