Daily Tribune (Philippines)
NEP ‘wish list’ conjures 20% Pork
In Disney’s animated Aladdin, the villain Jafar tells his equally wicked parrot, Iago, “I love the way your foul little mind works” — an oblique compliment that could just as easily apply to members of the House of Representatives and their ingenuity...
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9.7% POVERTY LOW RAISED DOUBTS
Amid weakening economic momentum, the government announced yesterday a sharp improvement in the share of the poor in the population, with poverty incidence falling to a historic low of 9.7 percent last year, or about 6 million people lifted out of...
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Taiwan eyes Phl role in Pax Silica chip, AI push
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan sees the Philippines’ planned Pax Silica hub in New Clark City as a potential platform for cooperation in semiconductors, artificial intelligence and other strategic technologies, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said. Lin...
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Who owns the other gun?
Authorities are investigating the ownership and custody of the second firearm used in Tuesday’s shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University, after the Bureau of Customs (BoC) clarified that only one of the two guns was owned by the suspect’s...
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2 A STUDENT. GUNS. 2 DEAD IN ZAMBO
Two students, including the alleged gunman, died in a shooting at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University Junior High School campus on Tuesday morning, less than two months after a school shooting in Tacloban City left three students dead. Police received...
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Flood paralyzes MM: Where did billions go?
A three-hour journey home for a student in Manila on Monday became a slow crawl through flooded roads and jammed traffic, offering a stark reminder of the vulnerability of the Philippine capital as the government investigates alleged corruption in...
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Senate not scrapping UAs
Unprogrammed Appropriations (UAs), which have been marred by corruption allegations in recent years, will remain in the proposed 2027 national budget unless the Supreme Court (SC) issues a temporary restraining order (TRO), Senate President Win...
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‘No ill-gotten wealth, no way’
A coalition associated with the slain former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of repeating what it called a decades-old pattern of deception after the Chief Executive rejected allegations that his family’s...
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COLD WAR SCALES UP
While President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday rejected suggestions the Philippines had a special “arrangement” with China over the West Philippine Sea (WPS), an apparent tit-for-tat has emerged over the treatment of nationals of both...
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MARCOS’ EDSA PROJECT FACES PERFECT STORM
“The question is no longer what happened. It is who allowed it.” Good governance advocate Dr. Tony Leachon posed that question on Thursday in connection with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s much-touted EDSA rehabilitation project as it faces a Senate...
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Bonoan: All senators got ‘leadership funds’
Former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan testified Wednesday that all the senators availed themselves of “leadership fund” insertions in the 2025 national budget, with each lawmaker receiving at least P500 million in allocations while chairpersons...
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Garbage crisis
As river warriors or the so-called ‘estero’ rangers from the Department of Public Works and Highways, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Parañaque City attempt to clear tons of garbage trapped...
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P6-B EDSA rehab marred by potholes
The P6-billion EDSA rehabilitation project has encountered an early setback after heavy rains caused water to accumulate and potholes to emerge on the newly repaired EDSA Busway by Estrella Street in Makati City. Public Works and Highways Secretary...
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Deadly habagat exposes Marcos’ Floodgate mess
As the ghosts of alleged nonexistent, substandard and overpriced floodcontrol projects haunt the Marcos government, at least seven Filipinos were killed and more than 382,000 were displaced Sunday as relentless habagat rains triggered floods and...
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Eala rallies past McNally, enters R16
The effects of playing consecutive matches with little time to rest finally caught up with Alex Eala. But the 21-year-old still emerged victorious over world No. 70 Caty McNally of the United States, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, in the Round of 32 of the Canadian...
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AYUNGIN DEAL MAY SPARK PBBM IMPEACH
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. can be held liable and removed from office as a result of the provisional understanding between the Philippines and China over resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal, which is a reversal of the 2016 arbitral award...
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EXPLAIN CHINA DEAL, MARCOS GOV’T TOLD
Retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio has challenged the Marcos administration to explain why it entered into a provisional understanding with China on Ayungin Shoal that, he said, effectively surrendered Philippine sovereign...
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Carpio slams DFA ‘deal’ with China
Retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio on Wednesday warned that the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) “provisional understanding” with China on resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal could weaken the...
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Nation hails Eala’s historic win
The Philippines erupted in celebration Tuesday after Alexandra “Alex” Eala became the country’s, and Southeast Asia’s, first Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles champion, completing a fairy tale run at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington, D.C. with...
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Court blocks Bonoan bid to be state witness
The Sandiganbayan Second Division has denied the prosecution’s bid to drop former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan as a coaccused in the graft case against Senator Jinggoy Estrada, ruling that doing so after...
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Sara asset probe may snag spouse
The Senate impeachment court’s examination of Vice President Sara Duterte’s finances could inevitably extend to the assets of her husband, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, because Philippine law generally treats property acquired during marriage as...
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ERC orders loss inventory MERALCO PUSHES BACK
Power distributors were ordered to lay bare one of the most contentious charges on consumers’ electricity bills, with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) demanding five years’ worth of system loss records as pressure builds to scrap or overhaul the...
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DIZON CLEARED AHEAD OF SEA GAMES PROBE
THE 2019 SEA GAMES CONTROVERSY FIRST SURFACED THROUGH DAILY TRIBUNE’S INVESTIGATIONS, WHICH LATER DREW 46 CYBER LIBEL CHARGES — ALL ULTIMATELY DISMISSED. The Department of Justice (DoJ) on Thursday defended the National Bureau of Investigation’s probe...
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Sara camp opposes ‘fishing expedition’
Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team and the House prosecutors laid out sharply contrasting views on the Senate impeachment court’s subpoena powers on Wednesday, with one side arguing that an impeachment cannot override constitutional rights and...
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DEFENSE TURNS PALACE DENIAL AGAINST NBI
Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense on Tuesday invoked the Marcos administration’s own public denials of any destabilization plot while attacking the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) investigative methods, seeking to weaken the prosecution’s...
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Defense puts NBI probe on trial
The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday challenged both the integrity of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) case records and the impartiality of the bureau’s investigation into her alleged threats against President Ferdinand...
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13 Phl allies reject China’s sea claims
Thirteen countries allied with the Philippines collectively urged China to abide by the 2016 arbitral ruling, which they declared “final, legally binding and definitive.” The call came as Manila marked the 10th anniversary on Sunday of the historic...
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SC MUST RULE SOONER, NOT LATER
Legal experts have called on the Supreme Court (SC) to settle the dispute over the number of votes required for the conviction of an impeached official before the current Senate trial reaches a verdict. The vote that could determine whether Vice...
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SC won’t slice into Chiz query
The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition seeking to overturn a Commission on Elections (Comelec) ruling clearing Senator Francis Escudero of a P30-million campaign contribution from a government contractor, saying the case was filed under the wrong...
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‘TYPHOON SARA’ AWAITS SUMMONS
“Prepare for typhoon Inday.” This was the cryptic message delivered by Atty. Zuleika Lopez, the chief of staff of Vice President Sara Duterte, as she left the Senate Thursday, just days before her scheduled testimony before the impeachment...
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Defense: No proof Sara hired assassin
Lawyers for Vice President Sara Duterte said Wednesday that House prosecutors failed to prove she had hired an assassin to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., arguing that the impeachment case rests on Duterte’s controversial 23 November 2024 press...
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SARA VIDEO IGNITES COURTROOM CLASH
The first major courtroom clash in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial erupted Tuesday over the authenticity of her controversial livestream, with prosecutors seeking to establish the integrity of their digital evidence while the defense...
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Sara’s conviction needs 16 votes
The senator-judges on Monday elected Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero to preside over the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, with the former stressing that the conviction of the latter would require the votes of at least 16...
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Sara trial opens, history unfolds
The Senate impeachment court opens the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, 6 July, setting in motion a constitutional process that will test not only the evidence against her but also the political resolve of the senatorjudges who will...
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Targeted solon will don robe
He is still entitled to due process and has the opportunity to present his defense before the court. Senator Rodante Marcoleta will be on the roster of senator-judges despite the Office of the Ombudsman filing a non-bailable plunder case and three...
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Marcoleta: Charges fabricated Plunder raps include Defensor, 2 others
As expected, the Office of the Ombudsman filed a plunder case yesterday in the Sandiganbayan against Senator Rodante Marcoleta linked to his receipt of P75 million in campaign donations before the 2025 elections. Before the foreign media, Marcoleta...
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ROBIN NEXT IN GOV’T CROSSHAIRS?
With the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte set to begin Monday, legal pressure on several senators perceived to be her allies has intensified, raising fresh questions over the rapidly shifting political dynamics within the chamber that...
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Group ask: Why no congressman arrested?
The Taumbayan Ayaw sa Magnanakaw at Abusado Network Alliance (TAMA NA) on Wednesday questioned why not a single member of the House of Representatives has been arrested in the government’s ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in...
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INC FLOODS EDSA; HITS SELECTIVE JUSTICE
Thousands of Iglesia ni Cristo members staged a surprise rally beginning very early on Tuesday morning, clogging major roads, including EDSA, in Metro Manila in protest over the looming arrest of Senator Rodante Marcoleta and what church leaders...
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BONOAN AS ‘STATE WITNESS’ QUESTIONED
The Office of the Ombudsman has moved to drop plunder and graft charges against former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan in exchange for his testimony in the government’s multibillion-peso floodcontrol scandal. The...
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EDSA protest tags BBM, Sara ‘corrupt’
Organizers of Sunday’s White Ribbon March demanded that both President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte be held accountable for alleged corruption. The White Ribbon Movement (WRM), in a statement issued before the march to the EDSA...
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VP Sara: Junk biased impeach
Since her detractors in the House of Representatives have long intended to oust her, Vice President Sara Duterte asked the Senate impeachment court to dismiss the Articles of Impeachment against her, saying the complaint is constitutionally...
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HOSTILITIES START OVER SEALED BOX
The Senate impeachment court has entered the next phase of the trial proceedings as it is set to release the pre-trial order on Monday, even as the fireworks has started over the sealed Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) box containing the tax papers of...
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Sara camp unfazed by plan calling ‘Mary Grace’ as witness
The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday shrugged off the House prosecution panel’s plan to call “Mary Grace Piattos” as a witness in the impeachment trial, saying it is prepared to cross-examine anyone who may appear when the...
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15-year-old charged, 14-year-old exempt
Criminal complaints have been filed against the 15-year-old student in connection with the shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City that left three students dead and others wounded on 22 June, authorities said. Investigators said...
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TEENS PLANNED TACLOBAN SHOOTING
The two minors believed behind the deadly school shooting in Tacloban City that left three students dead and 13 others injured appeared to have carefully planned the attack, police said Tuesday, as investigators looked into bullying and the suspects’...
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3 dead, 7 wounded in school shooting
TACLOBAN CITY — Warning signs had been flashing online days before gunfire shattered the halls of San Jose National High School on Monday. In the days leading to the campus carnage, a 15-year-old student had been posting disturbing images of firearms,...
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Survey ‘slap’ hits Marcos apologists
‘Sweet words and coming up with alibis cannot excuse the plummeting net satisfaction rating of the President.’ The precipitous decline in the Marcos administration’s satisfaction rating reflects growing public frustration over stagnant wages, rising...
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MARCOS GOV’T RATING HITS ROCK BOTTOM
Public satisfaction with the Marcos administration plunged to a record low negative 13 net rating in March 2026, marking the sharpest downturn in public sentiment since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assumed office and the lowest administration rating...
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Bye ‘Floodgate’ probe?
Senate President Win Gatchalian has pushed back against the claim of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano that the recent leadership change in the upper chamber was backed by Malacañang and intended to cover up the so-called “Floodgate” scandal. As of Friday,...
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GO LEAVES FATE TO GOD AMID ICC WARRANT CLAIM
Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go on Thursday said he was leaving his fate to God following a claim that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued a warrant for his arrest. The claim was made by Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte who said on...
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Win voted SP, deadlock ends
After a two-week leadership deadlock, Senator Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian got his 13th vote and was finally installed to the chamber’s top post on Wednesday after Senator Joel Villanueva switched camps from the rival faction of Senator Alan...
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SC traCkS P500-B Padding in BiCam
The Supreme Court (SC) put its foot down on the shadowy Bicameral Conference Committee (Bicam) yesterday as it directed the House of Representatives and the Senate to submit supporting documents to explain hundreds of billions of pesos in changes...
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A CHINESE research vessel,
identified by the Philippine Coast Guard, is seen towing a floating structure near Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Monday, raising fresh concerns over continued Chinese activity in waters claimed by the Philippines. (See story on...
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Villanueva sparks Senate shift buzz
Senator Joel Villanueva vowed Sunday to attend a special session if one is called by the President to advance stalled legislation, even as pundits see it as an avenue for a complete takeover of the Senate leadership by the bloc of Senator Sherwin...
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BRICK RICE, SLOW RESPONSE RAPPED
A grim scenario is emerging in southern Mindanao — which was devastated by a magnitude-7.8 earthquake last Monday — where the desperate victims are demanding a faster response from the national government. As of yesterday, 61 people have died, more...
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PBBM ENDORSES WIN, CALLS HIM SP
Freedom Day took on a decidedly political dimension yesterday, beyond the street clashes between rallyists and anti-riot police, as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. publicly addressed Senator Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian as Senate President for the first...
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GATCHALIAN BLOC COURTS MORE SENATE DEFECTORS
Senator Erwin Tulfo revealed Thursday that members of the Gatchalian-led bloc were actively courting some of their colleagues in the Cayetano faction to finally put an end to the persistent leadership dispute in the upper chamber. Tulfo stopped short...
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Sen. Joel may Jump bloc, end Stalemate
As the battle for control of the Senate rages on, lawyer and political analyst Edward Chico believes the camp of Sen. Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian is only one senator away from securing what he described as an absolute and uncontestable majority capable of...
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Erwin Tulfo eats crow, says sorry
Senator Erwin Tulfo, a member of a family long known for made-fortelevision tough talk, found himself walking back his own rhetoric on Sunday after threatening to have political rivals arrested and dragged out of the Senate. Tulfo apologized to Sen....
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apc: Lacson plots with Malacañang
Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, who is engaged in a battle for leadership of the chamber against Senate Pro Tempore Win Gatchalian, accused Senator Panfilo Lacson of using the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee he headed as a political weapon in...
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DEFENSOR PUTS TULFO FLOOD PROBE IN DOUBT
The Senate’s rival flood control investigations hurtled toward a showdown on Monday, 8 June, as the so-called 18 ex-Marines withheld a commitment to appear before the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing to be chaired by Senator Erwin Tulfo, one of the...
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