MANILA, Philippines — Megastar Sharon Cuneta on Thursday evening teased President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. over his “wrong” choice of vice presidential running mate in the 2022 elections. During her message before performing a song for the President and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos at an event in Manila, Cuneta said she “only has one vice president,” who was also her date for the night—her husband, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan. READ: Marcos on Duterte impeachment: Not my job, it’s the House’s She then added, “Mali your choice, no? Sorry, okay, okay, let’s move on.” Cuneta’s playful remark drew laughter from the audience. Pangilinan ran alongside then-Vice […]... Keep on reading: Sharon Cuneta teases Marcos over ‘wrong' choice of VP back in 2022

• Inquirer
• 1 gün, 12 saat, 15 dakika

MANILA, Philippines — The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has retained its 5.1 percent growth forecast for the Philippines for 2026, adding that the country’s recovery will hinge on maintaining prudent fiscal policy through stronger tax revenue mobilization and improved public investment. The Paris-based organization’s first Economic Survey of the Philippines also showed […]... Keep on reading: OECD keeps 5.1% PH GDP growth forecast for 2026

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• 1 gün, 13 saat, 5 dakika

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has eased reserve requirements on a variety of instruments banks use to raise funds, including bonds, in a move expected to encourage lenders to tap the local capital market and help deepen it. Under Circular No. 1229, issued Feb. 11, the central bank will lower the […]... Keep on reading: Reserve requirements for PH banks’ investment accounts cut

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• 1 gün, 13 saat, 7 dakika

MANILA, Philippines — AyalaLand Logistics Holdings Corp. (ALLHC) saw its 2025 net income tumble 71.5 percent to P200 million as industrial lot sales slowed during the year. In a disclosure on Thursday, the industrial parks and logistics arm of property giant Ayala Land, Inc. said it had booked consolidated revenues of P3.8 billion last year. […]... Keep on reading: AyalaLand Logistics profit falls 71.5%

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• 1 gün, 13 saat, 9 dakika

MANILA, Philippines — Pacific Online Systems Corp. is divesting from its 37.5-percent stake in HHR Philippines, Inc. (HHRPI) and unwinding its participation in the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s (PCSO) E-Lotto project amid a tougher regulatory regime. In a disclosure on Thursday, the lottery equipment provider led by businessman Willy Ocier said the firm and electronic […]... Keep on reading: Pacific Online drops online betting, E-Lotto plays

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• 1 gün, 13 saat, 11 dakika

MANILA, Philippines — MacroAsia Corp. of the Lucio Tan Group is undertaking an agricultural project in Cavite province to meet a portion of its vegetable supply needs. The firm’s subsidiary MacroAsia New Ventures, Inc. (MNVI) has started implementing the project to improve cost efficiency and protect margins across its inflight kitchens and food commissary operations. […]... Keep on reading: MacroAsia takes farm-to-kitchen path for veggie supply

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• 1 gün, 13 saat, 13 dakika

MANILA, Philippines — The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), which operates the country’s electricity grid system, expects to finish seven transmission assets worth P18.5 billion this year. NGCP said these projects include the P8.1-billion 500/230 kilovolt (kV) Substation Stage 1 or the Tuy-Dasmariñas 500kV transmission line component. This is intended to cater to […]... Keep on reading: NGCP to complete 7 major projects in 2026

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• 1 gün, 13 saat, 17 dakika

Collins Aerospace MANILA, Philippines — A unit of a US-based aerospace and defense company is expanding its manufacturing operations in the Philippines with a new 7,846-square-meter (sq m) facility at the First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP) in Santo Tomas, Batangas. Collins Aerospace, part of the aerospace conglomerate RTX Corp., will expand its existing footprint at […]... Keep on reading: US aerospace firm cues expansion in Batangas

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• 1 gün, 13 saat, 19 dakika

MANILA, Philippines — The share of problem loans in the Philippine banking system’s total lending portfolio fell in December 2025 to its lowest level in more than five years, as a graft-induced confidence shock rattled borrowers and led banks to tighten lending standards, curbing the accumulation of potentially troubled debt. New data from the Bangko […]... Keep on reading: Banks’ bad loans ease to over 5-yr low in December 2025

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• 1 gün, 13 saat, 21 dakika

MANILA, Philippines — Marketing columns usually focus on positioning, differentiation and shareholder value. This Valentine’s Day, I want to talk about brand equity, not in the marketplace, but at home.  It’s where I had learned the true meaning of trust long before I began teaching it. Before my wife, Chiqui, became my partner in life, […]... Keep on reading: ROI of grace: Building lifetime brand equity

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• 1 gün, 13 saat, 23 dakika

SINGAPORE—Unwanted and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven bots now account for a significant share of internet traffic across the Asia-Pacific region, as malicious actors capitalize on high levels of AI and technology adoption. This is according to the latest security research by US-listed cloud company Fastly Inc., unveiled here on Tuesday. Fastly’s threat insights report, generated from […]... Keep on reading: This extraordinary surge in web traffic? It’s probably driven by bots

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• 1 gün, 13 saat, 25 dakika

MANILA, Philippines — Generative artificial intelligence (or Gen AI) has become one of those tools people hear about everywhere, on social media, in meetings and even in casual office conversations. Most of the time, it’s associated with one thing: ChatGPT. You ask it a question and it answers. You type a message; it fixes the […]... Keep on reading: Beyond ChatGPT: How to use Gen AI to work smarter

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• 1 gün, 13 saat, 27 dakika

(UPDATE) THE government on Thursday announced that the bounty for information leading to the arrest of fugitive businessman Charlie “Atong” Ang has been raised to P20 million from the initial P10 million. Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the money came from confidential funds accorded to the Philippine National Police, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government for cases like this. “There’s no Chippy and Piattos here, we are going to pay real people,” Remulla said, taking a swipe at Vice President Sara Duterte, who had listed people with bogus names that incorporated popular snack brands as recipients of confidential funds. Despite information that Ang has already flown abroad, particularly to Cambodia, Remulla said authorities believe he is still in the country. This followed a statement from Cambodian agencies that Ang was not in their country and that they had no record of his entry or his exit. “We really believe he is still here in the Philippines,” Remulla said. He said he has also secured permission to purchase drones with lidar or light detection and ranging capability. “I’ve been given clearance to procure drones that can penetrate through canopies of trees so you can see what’s underneath trees,” Remulla said. The technology will be used in the all-out manhunt for fugitives such as Ang. Third arrest warrant Meanwhile, a regional trial court in San Pablo City, Laguna, issued a third arrest warrant against Ang in connection with the disappearance of dozens of cockfighting enthusiasts, as authorities intensified efforts to capture him. In an order dated Feb. 6, the San Pablo City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 29 ordered the arrest of Ang and five others for kidnapping and serious illegal detention, offenses for which no bail is available. Also named in the warrant were Ryan Jay Orapa, Alfredo Uy Andres, Philip Simborio Almendilla, Joey Natanauan Encarnacion and Aaron Ezrah Lagahit Cabillan. The latest warrant adds to earlier arrest orders issued by courts in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna Batangas, Rizal and Quezon). On Jan. 13, the Santa Cruz, Laguna RTC Branch 26 first ordered Ang’s arrest for the same case, followed by another warrant from the Lipa City RTC in Batangas on Jan. 15. The charges stem from complaints filed by the families of missing “sabungeros” on Aug. 1, 2025, over the disappearance of 34 cockfighting enthusiasts between 2021 and 2022. Ang has remained at large since the first warrants were issued.

• The Manila Times
• 1 gün, 15 saat, 21 dakika

(UPDATE) SEN. Raffy Tulfo and former senator Grace Poe emerged as the leading contenders in Tangere’s latest 2028 senatorial preference survey, conducted after survey front-runners Sen. Robinhood Padilla and Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto announced they would not seek Senate seats in the next elections. Tulfo ranked first with 49.8-percent voter preference, followed by Poe with 43.5 percent. Tangere said Tulfo remains a strong prospect for both a Senate bid and a possible higher executive post, while Poe continues to benefit from high name recall and support as a “returnee” candidate. Following Padilla’s withdrawal, support shifted significantly to members of the Duterte family. Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte posted 36.6-percent voter preference, while his brother, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, registered 37.1 percent. Both placed within the 3rd to 7th rank cluster, capturing much of Padilla’s former voter base, according to Tangere. The survey also showed increasing support for newer political figures, particularly among millennial and Generation Z voters. Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian placed seventh with 34.4 percent, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte ranked within the 8th to 14th bracket with 29.3 percent and San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora landed in the 16th to 27th range with 19.8 percent. Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong (15.1 percent), and Movie and Television Review and Classification Board Chairman Lala Sotto (14.7 percent) also gained ground, reflecting the same youth-driven demographic pattern that previously boosted Vico Sotto in earlier polls. Completing the projected top 12 were incumbent Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Loren Legarda, both at 38.0 percent and ranked 3rd to 7th; former senator Manny Pacquiao with 31.2 percent; Sen. Francis Escudero with 30.2 percent; media executive Ben Tulfo with 30.1 percent; and Education Secretary Sonny Angara with 28.4 percent. Tangere said the survey sample was distributed nationwide, with 12 percent of respondents from the National Capital Region (NCR), 23 percent from Northern Luzon, 22 percent from Southern Luzon, 20 percent from the Visayas and 23 percent from Mindanao. The survey, released on Feb. 12, has a margin of error of ±2 percent at the national level and higher margins of error for specific sub-national regions: NCR: ±5.7 percent; Visayas: ±4.6 percent; Mindanao: ±4.1 percent; and Rest of Luzon: ±3.0 percent.

• The Manila Times
• 1 gün, 15 saat, 22 dakika

(UPDATE) THE International Criminal Court (ICC) allowed both the defense and prosecution to expand their lists of evidence in the case against former president Rodrigo Duterte, even as the court received hundreds of additional applications from individuals seeking to participate as victims in the proceedings. In a decision issued on Wednesday, the Pre-Trial Chamber I granted separate requests by Duterte’s defense team and the Office of the Prosecutor to add new material to their respective evidence lists. The Chamber authorized the defense to submit 78 additional items and permitted the prosecution to include two more. The defense, in its application filed on Feb. 6, said the prosecution had reviewed the 78 items and confirmed that it did not oppose their admission. On the same day, the prosecution also filed its own request to add two items, noting that the defense had agreed not to object. The Common Legal Representatives of Victims informed the Chamber on Feb. 7 that they did not oppose either request. In granting the applications, the judges said there was “good cause,” citing the limited scope of the additional material, its relevance to the charges and the absence of objections from parties and participants. Both sides were ordered to submit updated lists of evidence by Feb. 13. The ruling was issued by Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc, together with Judges Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou and María del Socorro Flores Liera. Separately, the ICC disclosed that it had received 227 new victim applications in the same case, bringing the total number of applicants transmitted in the latest filing to 500. The court’s Registry submitted the applications to Pre-Trial Chamber I on Feb. 9, in compliance with a Jan. 28 order directing it to forward any additional Group A claims received within the initial deadline. The new batch followed a Jan. 26 decision by the Chamber authorizing 39 victims — 29 from an earlier Group A transmission and 10 from Group C — to participate in the pretrial proceedings. Under the Chamber’s definition, victims qualified if they were survivors or relatives of victims of murders or attempted murders committed from at least Nov. 1, 2011 to June 30, 2016, in and around Davao City, when Duterte was mayor, or from at least June 30, 2016 to March 16, 2019, across the Philippines, during his presidency. The newly submitted applications were contained in 227 annexes listed in a confidential Annex I. All annexes were classified as confidential ex parte and were accessible only to the Registry and the Common Legal Representatives of Victims, in line with procedures set out in the Chamber’s April 2025 order on confirmation proceedings. Duterte faces crimes against humanity charges before the ICC in connection with the killings linked to his antidrug campaign. His administration had previously rejected the court’s jurisdiction, but the ICC had ruled it could proceed with investigations into alleged crimes committed before the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019.

• The Manila Times
• 1 gün, 15 saat, 24 dakika

SEN. Rodante Marcoleta on Thursday welcomed the decision of retired associate justice Antonio Carpio to accept his challenge to debate the West Philippine Sea issue, but balked at his proposed two-part structure that would focus the discussion on specific legal and geographic questions. Marcoleta, who recently proposed ceding the Kalayaan Island Group, which is a part of Palawan province, to China, said limiting the scope of the exchange could unduly narrow what he described as a “complex, contested and far-reaching” issue. “The West Philippine Sea issue cannot be reduced to a binary legal inquiry on terminology or geographic inclusion,” he said. “This risks pre-framing the debate in favor of a particular narrative rather than enabling a genuine examination of all relevant discussions.” Marcoleta said the maritime dispute between the Philippines and China involves not only legal arguments but also historical claims, geopolitical dynamics and policy considerations affecting national sovereignty and regional stability. The West Philippine Sea refers to portions of the South China Sea within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, including areas near the Kalayaan Island Group and Scarborough Shoal. Tensions have persisted for years amid overlapping territorial claims by China and several Southeast Asian nations. In 2016, an international arbitral tribunal in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines, invalidating China’s expansive “nine-dash line” claim, an award that Carpio has consistently defended and publicly advocated. Carpio is regarded as one of the primary legal architects and most tireless advocates behind the Philippines’ victory at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. He was a member of the Philippine delegation to The Hague and provided critical legal expertise and guidance to the team led by then-Solicitor General Florin Hilbay and international counsel Paul Reichler. As of press time, details regarding the date, venue and format of the proposed debate have not yet been finalized. Observers say the exchange between the veteran jurist and the sitting senator could draw significant public interest, given the continuing national debate over how the Philippines should assert its rights in the contested waters. The anticipated discussion comes amid renewed tensions in the West Philippine Sea, where recent encounters between Philippine and Chinese vessels have once again brought maritime sovereignty and foreign policy to the forefront of national discourse.

• The Manila Times
• 1 gün, 15 saat, 25 dakika