Philippines

MANILA: Several decades of work have culminated with the swearing-in of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as president of the Philippines on Thursday (Jun 30). Following his father’s overthrow in a popular uprising in 1986, his son Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. won last month’s elections by an overwhelming margin. Duterte, who acquired worldwide notoriety for his lethal drug war and has promised …

MANILA: For Samsung, this world is an incredibly huge canvas waiting to be filled. Short films of five minutes or less were sought, with the only requirement being that they be shot with the new Samsung Galaxy S22 camera, during last year’s “Untold Stories at Night” film festival on June 17. A 4nm processor, the most powerful in a Samsung …

MANILA: President Rodrigo Duterte, a longtime foe of the Philippine news site co-founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa, has ordered to shut it down, the firm announced on Wednesday (Jun 29). Duterte and the allegedly murderous drug campaign he unleashed in 2016 have drawn Ressa’s ire, and she and Rappler have been subjected to a slew of legal …

MANILA: The disqualification and cancellation of Marcos’ certificate of candidacy (COC) cases were thrown down by the Supreme Court. Those two cases were combined into a single one by the court. According to the Public Information Office, the Court ruled 13-0 on Tuesday, June 28, to allow Marcos to proceed in the en banc session. In the end, just two …

PHILIPPINES: What does it look like when you try to homogenize several voices into a single and stereotypical narrative?  It is like walking into a room, only to face the caustic mass of people that already defined who you are from head to toe. No need for introductions or chirpy biddings because no matter what you do, you’ll always be …

PHILIPPINES: Duterte stated on Saturday that he was “exasperated” with International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan and his intention to resume an inquest into the deaths during the government’s campaign on drugs. Khan stated on Friday that delaying the ICC investigation, as requested by Manila, was unwarranted and that the investigation should resume as soon as possible. Andanar said the …

PHILIPPINES: What accounts for real progress? Think of Louisa Alcott’s famous novel Little Women; it is no secret that it is a powerful anecdote that celebrated Feminism, but the book tackled real-world injustices as well. Amy March, one of the book’s protagonists, was questioned about her marriage view, and she replied with a matter-of-fact tone that she is “just” a …

MANILA: Considering the challenges that the global economy is facing, the Philippine central bank said that it expects the country’s current account deficits to be larger in 2022 and 2023 than they originally had predicted. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) revised its balance of payments (BOP) projections and had estimated a current account deficit of over 19.1 billion dollars …

METRO MANILA: On Sunday night, the Philippine Consulate General in New York and the family of a visiting Filipino lawyer who was wounded in a random act of violence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA confirmed that the lawyer, Atty. John Laylo, is still struggling for his life and begged for prayers. Laylo had already been fatally shot. He and his mother …

PHILIPPINES: Sara’s inauguration was place near significant Davao City monuments, including the city hall, where she served as mayor for three times, the legislative building, and the Davao Cathedral. By Friday, June 17, preparations in the area were well underway, with most of San Pedro Street and parts of Bolton Street closed to traffic. Between talks with diplomats and supporters, …