Manila Standard
Water flow cut; Palace girds for ‘super’ El Niño
WATER authorities have reduced Metro Manila’s water allocation as the government steps up preparations for a potentially stronger El Niño, Malacañang said Thursday, warning the public against panic-buying and hoarding bottled water. The weather...
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SC dismisses petitions to nix threshold ruling
THE Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed three separate petitions challenging the Senate impeachment court’s interpretation of the twothirds voting requirement for convicting Vice President Sara Duterte, clearing the way for the impeachment trial to...
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‘Trillanes must wait for papers to be presented’
THE Senate Impeachment Court on Tuesday cautioned House prosecutors against calling former senator Antonio Trillanes IV before presenting the documents and testimony needed to establish the financial records he is expected to discuss in Vice President...
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‘Probe Gracioso’s VP claims’
GOVERNMENT officials and House prosecutors called for a thorough investigation into former police corporal Rodulfo Gracioso Jr.’s allegations that he delivered more than P2 billion in cash to Vice President Sara Duterte and members of her family. The...
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‘Nefarious activities’ of foreigners probed
Locals and tourists alike ocked to Baguio City’s Session road to witness high-energy Wushu demonstrations and graceful Chinese music and dance performances, especially the spirited Dragon and Lion dances in celebration of the midAutumn...
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SEA OF CLOUDS.
Like floating islands, mountain peaks jut out of low lying clouds in Kapangan, Benguet.
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Defense team of ex-Speaker eyes presenting 40 witnesses
MARY Jane Veloso went free last night after 16 years in prison, several hours after President Ferdinand R. Marcos announced granting her an absolute pardon. “Pinirmahan ko na ‘yung pardon niya kahapon (I signed her pardon yesterday),” Marcos confirmed...
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COA ags P168m in OVP’s relief operations in '25
THE Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged major documentation and accountability gaps in the Office of the Vice President’s P168-million relief operations in 2025. The gaps include P84.12 million in distributions covered by Mission Orders that did not...
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Votes to convict VP lowered
THE Senate on Wednesday approved a lower threshold of votes needed to find Vice President Sara Duterte guilty in her impeachment trial, ruling that senators who are unable to participate in the proceedings should not be counted in determining the...
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‘VP Sara a shareholder of firm that got P35.87m in gov’t deals’
VICE President Sara Duterte declared herself a shareholder of Gencorp Industries Inc., which allegedly received P35.9 million in government contracts while she was serving as Vice President, House lead prosecutor Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro told the...
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Conflict of interest? SEC confirms VP stayed as company director
VICE President Sara Duterte remained a director of Metro City Chow Foods Corp. during her vice presidency, raising questions about a possible conflict of interest even though prosecution records presented before the Senate impeachimpeach ment court...
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Senate sets caucus today over threshold vote issue
SENATOR-JUDGES are scheduled to hold a caucus today to discuss the voting threshold needed to convict or acquit Vice President Sara Duterte, with Sen. JV Ejercito saying he hopes members of the Senate impeachment court will be given time to study the...
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‘Shooter influenced by deep dark web’
THE Grade 9 student who opened re at the Banga National High School in South Cotabato Friday before killing himself had been accessing the “deep dark web,” the Department of the Interior and Local Government said Saturday. “Upon investigation, he was...
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3 die in new school shooting
AT LEAST three students were killed and several others were injured following a school shooting in Banga, South Cotabato on Friday—the country's third deadly campus incident since June Governor Reynaldo Sucayan Tamayo Jr. confirmed there were three...
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NUTRITION ASSURED.
MALACAÑANG on Thursday backed the Supreme Court’s directive for Congress to enact an anti-political dynasty law, saying President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants the measure passed during his administration after the high court ruled that the lawmakers’...
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‘Amici curiae’ split 3-1 over conviction vote
THREE retired Supreme Court chief justices told the Senate impeachment court Wednesday that the 16 votes currently required to convict Vice President Sara Duterte are not necessarily fixed, while retired SC Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna maintained...
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Ex-Speaker at infirmary ward for medical monitoring—DILG
THE former Speaker of the House of Representatives has now been placed in the infirmary ward of the New Quezon City Jail for medical monitoring. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the health status of Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez shall be monitored...
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‘Peaceful’ BARMM polls leave 4 dead
COTABATO CITY— Officials called the parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro region on Monday “peaceful,” but the situation quickly devolved into four shooting deaths, firefights, an explosion, ballot irregularities, and reports of gunfire,...
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Coron town digs temporary mass grave for ferry fatalities
THE local government of Coron, Palawan has dug a mass grave at the San Nicolas Public Cemetery to temporarily bury unidentified victims from the fire-stricken ferry MV June Aster, as the confirmed death toll climbed to 76. Authorities also set up a...
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‘Ferry fire toll surges to 76, may still go up’
THE death toll from the burned passenger vessel M/ V June Aster surged to 76 yesterday with 41 more remains recovered, the Philippine Coast Guard said, adding that it was also trying to locate the captain of the illfated ship. The 30 bodies of...
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Senate to change 16-vote rule—VP
VICE President Sara Duterte on Friday said the 16-vote threshold for her conviction in the impeachment trial had “already been settled,” as the Senate impeachment court prepares to hear legal experts and decide whether to uphold or overturn the ruling...
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FIERY TRAGEDY.
This handout photo taken and received from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on September 10, 2026 shows the ruins of a ferry that caught fire off Palawan. Inset shows casualties in body bags in a barangay in Coron, Palawan.
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Trillanes, 24 others to take stand
THE House prosecution is preparing up to 25 witnesses, including former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and representatives of key government agencies, for next week’s presentation of evidence on Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte’s alleged unexplained...
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SENDOFF.
Bar examinees are sent off to their exams by relatives and school supporters who gathered early Sunday at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Campus in Manila, one of the testing centers for the 2026 Philippine Bar Examinations. The Supreme Court...
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Palace: Paying witnesses to target people alarming
ATTEMPTS to pay to make false accusations and implicate specific people in the flood control mess are alarming as this erodes trust in the justice system, Malacañang on Thursday said. “This is concerning because this will erode the justice system and...
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‘Underground water-retention facilities eyed to ease flooding’
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Wednesday the government is considering digging underground water-retention facilities beneath existing public spaces, including football fields and open areas, as part of efforts to strengthen Metro Manila’s...
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2 dead in Zambo school shooting
AHIGH school student livestreamed himself shooting another schoolmate dead before taking his own life at a high school in Zamboanga City on Tuesday, authorities said. The school shooting, the country’s second in as many months, took place at the...
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Severe floods inundate NCR
THE streets of Metro Manila stood still yesterday as thousands of students, workers, and motorists endured heavy “habagat” rains that dumped 201.7 millimeters of rainfall in just five hours from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. – extending a grueling stretch of...
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Palace, military, police blast Macacua ambush
COTABATO CITY— Authorities recovered empty bullet shells from a grassy, uninhabited area near the highway in Barangay Dulangan, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, as reactions continued to pour in Sunday following the ambush of Bangsamoro...
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BARMM chief’s convoy ambushed
COTABATO CITY — Gunmen fired at the convoy of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua on Saturday, less than a month before the first-ever Bangsamoro Parliament election. Macacua and his team were...
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PBBM: Hold accountable flood control perpetrators
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. yesterday vowed to continue the fight against corruption and hold accountable all those re-re sponsiblesponsible for the flood control mess. During a luncheon hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the...
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Ping: Worst form of ‘pork’
THE controversial “Leadership Fund” implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways from 2024 to 2025 was the worst version” of the pork barrel funds, Senator Panfilo Lacson said. Lacson said the mechanism, which he also called...
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‘2024 senators got leadership fund’
ALL senators in 2024 received a so-called “leadership fund” – a minimum of P500 million per senator and up to P1 billion for those who have committee chairmanships, former Public Works secretary Manuel Bonoan testified before the Sandiganbayan...
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Marcos orders Las Piñas spillway project revived
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways to revive and complete a long-delayed spillway in Las Piñas City, saying the project could significantly improve Metro Manila’s ability to drain floodwaters. Mr. Marcos...
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‘Habagat’ rains to last until Wednesday; death toll now at 15
RAINS due to the southwest monsoon or “habagat” will continue over parts of Luzon until Wednesday, the state weather bureau said, as the death toll from the continuing inclement weather rose to 15 according to the national police, while about 1.3...
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‘Habagat’ kills 10, affects 380k
AT LEAST 10 people have died, and more than 382,000 people have been affected by days of heavy rains brought by the enhanced southwest monsoon or “habagat” and tropical cyclones Luis and Maymay, according to government agencies. Meanwhile, the Office...
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‘Maleta Boys’ unreliable – NBI
THE former bodyguards of ex-Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co – known as the “Maleta Boys” — are unreliable witnesses, National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag said yesterday. This as four of them recanted their earlier sworn...
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4 ‘Maleta Boys’ recant flood control allegations
FOUR men who identified themselves as former bodyguards of ex-Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co have withdrawn their earlier sworn statements that implicated President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., former Speaker Martin Romualdez, Co, and other personalities...
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US asks PH to extradite Quiboloy on sex crimes
THE United States has formally requested the extradition of Filipino televangelist Apollo Quiboloy to face multiple charges, including child sex trafficking, engaging in sex with minors, fraud, and money laundering, the country’s ambassador to...
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SC junks pleas to stop VP trial
THE Supreme Court dismissed on Wednesday the consolidated petitions questioning the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte of the House of Representatives and its Committee on Justice. In its Resolution, the High Court dismissed...
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‘Eala mania’ takes tennis by storm
THE Washington Times called her “Alexandra the Great.” The WTA in a social media post said: “All aboard the Eala express.” For millions of her Filipino fans – including young girls “with ruffled socks, lightup shoes and chubby cheeks” – she has...
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Eala stuns Pegula, bags DC Open crown
ALEXANDRA “Alex” Eala etched another historic feat by clinching her first WTA Tourlevel title. The Filipina tennis star dismantled American top seed Jessica Pegula in the decider for a resounding 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory in the 2026 Mubadala DC Open...
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ERC orders Meralco to refund P9.5 billion
THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has ordered Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to refund P9.5 billion to consumers over six months under the actual weighted average tariff (AWAT) trueup mechanism, providing relief amid elevated electricity...
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WINNERS.
Ma. Katrina Llegado, upper right photo, beams after being crowned Miss Supranational during the finals of Miss Supranational 2026 at the Strzelecki Park Amphitheater in Nowy Sącz, Lesser Poland. Alexandra Eala, at left, lets out a roar after beating...
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DOLE to challenge wage hike suspension
THE labor department said it will challenge a Pasig court order temporarily halting the implementation of the P85 daily minimum wage increase in Metro Manila, while assuring workers they do not have to return wage adjustments already received. The...
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FOR UNBOXING.
The Clerk of Court of the Senate Impeachment Court receives the subpoenaed tax and bank records of Vice President Sara Duterte and husband, Atty. Mans Carpio, which were delivered yesterday to the Senate. Wendell Alinea, Joseph Vidal | Senate Social...
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‘Unusual’ withdrawals cited
TWO former managers of the Land Bank of the Philippines on Wednesday described large cash withdrawals totaling P612.5 million for Vice President Sara Duterte’s offices from 2022 to 2023 as “unusual” as her impeachment trial continued at the...
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PRIORITIZING HEALTH.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. checks out the zero-balance bill of a patient in the medical ward during his visit to Davao de Oro Provincial Hospital yesterday in Montevista, Davao de Oro. The President also gave P147.95-m for the rehabilitation of...
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PBBM’S 5TH SONA: ‘I’m not president of family or friends, but of nation’
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday highlighted efforts to hold accountable all those involved in anomalous flood control projects across the country in his penultimate State of the Nation Address. He also took a strong stance on external...
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Second-to-last SONA: Pinoys want solutions
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) today, his second-to-last before the end of his six-year term, with Filipinos expecting him to present concrete plans to address rising living costs, strengthen the...
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NEW FOODIE SPOT.
An amazing fireworks display lights up the night sky during the grand opening of the Muelle Hangout District in San Nicolas, Manila, transforming a once-neglected riverside site into a vibrant food park.
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US slaps 12.5% tariff on PH; biz groups fret
THE United States slapped a fresh 12.5-percent tariff on most Philippine exports, alarming local business groups that warned the move could undermine the country's competitiveness and disrupt trade and manufacturing as Manila moves to negotiate lower...
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China fires water cannon at PH ship
CHINA’S coast guard fired water cannon and used a “dangerous maneuver” against Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessels on a fuel subsidy mission for Filipino fisherfolk at Bajo de Masinloc (Panatag Shoal) on Thursday, the Philippine...
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NBI probes close to 20 names for VP ‘hitman’
THE National Bureau of Investigation has flagged close to 20 individuals whom Vice President Sara Duterte may have tapped to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., NBI director Melvin Matibag told the Senate impeachment court yesterday, adding that the...
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ASEAN ministers worried over escalating Middle East war
THE Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the rapidly changing situation in the Middle East, particularly the renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran. In a joint...
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Court subpoenas VP’s bank, tax, AMLC records
THE Senate impeachment court has approved the request of the House prosecution to subpoena the financial, tax, and anti-money laundering records of Vice President Sara Duterte. Presiding Officer Senator Francis Escudero ruled the requested documents...
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Cayetano’s brother Lino flags Taguig ‘ghost’ infra
SENATE Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano' brother Lino weighed in on allegations of "ghost projects" in Taguig City and asked the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to include these in its hearings as it resumes its probe into anomalous flood control...
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NBI eyes lapses in COA audit of SEA Games funds
THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said it is investigating alleged irregularities in the management of public funds for the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, including claims that billions of pesos used for the event were not properly audited...
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PH protests China’s racist monkey video
THE Philippine government on Friday lodged a formal diplomatic protest with China over an artificial intelligence-generated video posted on social media by state-sanctioned China Daily depicting Filipinos as monkeys. Government officials, lawmakers,...
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‘VP trial may bleed into 2027’
THE impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte may run until the first quarter of 2027, impeachment court spokesman Reginald Tongol said, even as House lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro said she was personally aiming for the proceedings to...
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