The government’s outstanding debt soared to a new all-time high of P10.32 trillion at end-January on bigger domestic obligations, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr). Treasury data showed on Tuesday that the amount was a 5.4-percent or P532.45-billion increase from P9.79 trillion at end-December. Of the figure, 29 percent was generated from foreign […]

THE Philippines on Tuesday called for the release of Myanmar leaders, including State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, and a dialog among concerned parties to address the worsening political tension in Myanmar. The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) held a special meeting through videoconferencing to seek peaceful solution to the […]

Shaquille O’Neal may again absorb some intentional hits in his tag team match this week. The 7-foot-1 basketball Hall of Famer gets his chance to dish out retribution — maybe a slam, a side headlock or a clothesline — when he steps into the ring for his first match with All Elite Wrestling. “Oh, I’m […]

RYAN Garcia said his “dream fight” against Filipino boxing Sen. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao will not be realized anymore or, at least, in the near future. “To all my fans and supporters, my fight with Manny Pacquiao is not happening right now,” captioned Garcia on an Instagram post on Tuesday. “I tried my best after getting […]

Singer and rapper KZ Tandingan made history Tuesday afternoon when Disney Studios Philippines named her as their choice to sing what is to become the very first Filipino language Disney song. Titled “Gabay,” the song is a track from the upcoming animated film “Raya and the Last Dragon,” which in turn is inspired by the […]

VICE President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo has an angel’s face but a devil’s mind, President Rodrigo Duterte said as he accused the former of “baiting him.” The President was referring to Robredo’s suggestion that he should get jabbed with the Sinovac vaccine to encourage Filipinos to get vaccinated. “You are baiting me. Alam mo kung bakit? Nagdududa […]

MEDAN, Indonesia: An Indonesian volcano erupted on Tuesday morning spewing a spectacular column of ash thousands of meters (feet) into a powder blue sky. Vulcanologists recorded 13 separate blasts as Mount Sinabung leapt to life, belching debris up to 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) above Sumatra. There was no immediate danger to life or property, authorities […]

Thirty new cases of the B117, or the so-called United Kingdom variant of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) have been detected in the country, alongside the first six cases of the B1351 or the South African variant and two cases with mutations of interest, the Department of Health said on Tuesday. The new cases were […]

ELK GROVE, California: The majority of California’s 6.1 million public school students could be back in the classroom by April under new legislation announced Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders. Critics panned the plan as inadequate. Most students in the nation’s most populous state have been learning from home for the past year […]

From the vaccine issue to the matter of cinema reopening, Megastar Sharon Cuenta did not back down with her opinions during her latest catch up with media last weekend. Squeezing in a virtual Q&A even as she was busy with the story conference for her comeback movie with Viva, “Revirginized,” Mega was definitely in her […]

NEW YORK: Glam was back for the Golden Globes virtual, bicoastal awards night Sunday (Monday in Manila) as nominees Zoomed in from around the world and, for Leslie Odom Jr., from his front porch in Los Angeles not far from the action in Beverly Hills. And they were ready, style wise, as the Globes split […]

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union: The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) served the order of this Sandiganbayan to suspend the mayor of this city for 90 days, starting March 1, 2021. According to San Fernando City Interior and Local Government Officer Lily Ann Colisao, the 90-day preventive suspension order was served at the Office […]

EIGHT months after imposing a national security law on Hong Kong, Beijing is moving to tighten its grip over the supposedly highly autonomous region, with China’s National People’s Congress expected to review legislation next week that would ensure that anyone elected to any office — from district councilors who deal with garbage disposal to the […]

Residents of Cerritos Heights, Cerritos Terraces, and Cerritos Hills are demanding better service from their internet provider and are seeking for the installation of fiber-optic connection and landline facility in their subdivision in Molino 4, Bacoor City, Cavite. The residents filed a petition before the office of the Bacoor City mayor and said that Planet […]

THE Senate on Monday adopted two resolutions honoring Pasig City Mayor Victor Ma. Regis “Vico” Sotto for being chosen as one of the international “anti-corruption champions” by the United States government. The senators adopted Senate Resolution (SR) 659 filed by Sen. Manuel Lapid, and SR 660 authored Sen. Panfilo Lacson and Senate President Vicente Sotto […]

As the country rolled out its vaccination program, the Department of Health logged 2,037 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, the fourth straight day that daily cases reached more than 2,000. This pushed the total number of cases at 578,381. Most of the 31,708 active cases were mild and asymptomatic. Eighty-six individuals recovered from the virus, […]

Amid recent attacks from violent extremist groups and incidents of conflict exacerbated by Covid-19 and the ongoing recession in the Philippines, a program funded by the European Union (EU) and supported by the Kofi Annan Foundation (KAF) was launched with the aim of training young Filipinos to promote peace and prevent violent extremism (PVE). Entitled […]

SEN. Emmanuel Pacquiao believes that the insurgency problem is rooted on widespread corruption that has denied rural areas the necessary basic services. The senator said the decades-old insurgency problem and corruption had prevented the government from bringing needed infrastructure, quality education and livelihood in affected areas. An Army colonel reservist, Pacquiao said many rural folks, […]

Navotas City Mayor Tobias Tiangco has issued an executive order directing the closure of all public markets, flea markets, grocery stores and supermarkets every Monday to give way for massive cleaning and disinfection. He told The Manila Times that he decided to issue the order after receiving reports from the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit […]

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Sunday that travel authority from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and medical certificate from local government units (LGUs)’ are no longer required for domestic travel via air, sea or land. DILG spokesman Jonathan Malaya said the new protocol set by the Inter-Agency Task Force […]

The Philippine government received the 600,000 doses of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines donated by Chinese government on Sunday. President Rodrigo Duterte led the turnover ceremony at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City. From Villamor Air Base, the Sinovac vaccine will be transported in at least six 40-footer trucks to cold chain storage facilities […]

The Philippine Navy will decommission four of its ships on Monday in compliance with the military’s modernization program. Navy chief Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo said the four ships — BRP Quezon (PS70), BRP Pangasinan (PS31), BRP Emilio Liwanag (PC118) and BRP Salvador Abcede (PC114) — can no longer attain the desired operational speed and […]

THE Department of Health reported 2,113 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, for a total of 576,352. It said that 29,763 cases were active. Twenty-nine more patients succumbed to the virus, bringing the death toll to 12,318. Meanwhile, 9,418 patients recovered, pushing the number of recoveries to 534,271. The global cases of the respiratory disease reached 113.7 million, with 2.5 million deaths.

SEN. Christopher “Bong” Go said the government will expedite the Covid-19 mass inoculation program which will be rolled out in March. He gave assurances on the equitable distribution of vaccines nationwide. The first batch of vaccines is set to arrive on Monday, March 1. “This is just the start. We need to do more. We need to accelerate […]

ONLY 180 out of the more than a thousand personnel of the Dr. Jose N Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in Caloocan City, also known as Tala Hospital, are willing to be vaccinated with the Sinovac-made vaccine, a nurse said on Sunday. Julie Anne Talimban-Soler, a nurse at the hospital, said the 180 health workers will be […]

Quezon City 5th District Rep. Alfred Vargas called on the media to help the government in its vaccine information campaign. Vargas said that the dissemination of correct information is crucial in reversing vaccine hesitancy. “I call on the members of the KBP (Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas) and print organizations to join hands with […]

PENNSYLVANIA: A US panel of independent experts voted unanimously on Friday (Saturday in Manila) in favor of recommending Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose Covid-19 shot for emergency approval, clearing the way for a third vaccine to soon begin shipping in the world’s hardest hit country. The committee’s 22 members were convened by the Food and Drug […]

HEALTH workers will not lose their priority status even if they refuse to be inoculated with the vaccine for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) that will be arriving from China this Sunday, Malacañang spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said. Speaking in Filipino during an interview with state-run PTV 4 on Saturday, Roque said the “change in […]

This plucky entrepreneur traveled to different destinations as a flight attendant, which allowed her to observe the latest fashion trends. She parlayed that experience into a lucrative career as a personal shopper. “Material things truly make me giddy, but what is most important for me is that my clients have thought of me, and that […]

MALACANANG on Saturday announced that it was no longer mandatory for travelers to undergo coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) testing and quarantine. This, after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) approved on Friday the uniform travel protocols for land, air, and sea that need to be observed by all local […]

THE House Committee on Dangerous Drugs will “temporarily suspend” its investigation into the shootout incident between the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), its Chairman Robert Ace Barbers said on Saturday. Barbers’ announcement came after President Rodrigo Duterte designated the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) as the sole agency to […]

SAN FRANCISCO: Warriors G League guard Jeremy Lin shared on social media that he experienced an act of racism on the court. Golden State coach Steve Kerr said he will support Lin and denounced any discriminatory act that caused Lin to speak out about racism targeting Asian Americans. In a heartfelt social media post, Lin […]

METRO Manila and nine other areas in the country will remain under general community quarantine (GCQ) status for the entire month of March, Malacañang announced on Saturday. Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said Duterte on Friday retained the GCQ classification of the National Capital Region, Baguio City and Davao City until March 31. Also under […]

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has amended the list of holidays for 2021, declaring three special working days as part of efforts to minimize work disruption and boost economic activity while the country deals with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. Under Proclamation 1107, Duterte declared All Souls’ Day, (November 2, Tuesday), Christmas Eve (December 24, Friday), […]