Archive - Editor's Pick

Presiding Judge Joanna Korner stressed that while Duterte’s waiver of appearance was approved for the status conference, his attendance would be expected once the trial proper begins.

The transition to the first elected Bangsamoro Parliament on Oct. 30 marks the culmination of the political track's transition phase, but it does not complete the broader peace agreement.

The challenge for lawmakers is to build protections that work in practice, not merely impose restrictions that are difficult to enforce or easy to evade.

The Supreme Court’s latest ruling on Unprogrammed Appropriations is an important step toward restoring discipline and accountability in the national budget. It does not abolish UA. But it makes clear that this budgetary device cannot be used to circumvent constitutional limits or give the Executive virtually unrestricted discretion over public spending.

Duterte’s co-perpetrators named in the prosecution’s trial brief are senators Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa and Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, former national police chiefs Oscar Albayalde and Camilo Cascolan, former director of the National Bureau of Investigation Dante Gierran, former head of drug enforcement agency Isidro Lapeña, former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and former Manila Police District director Vicente Danao.

The Oct. 13 withdrawal left the Senate impeachment court to decide only whether Duterte amassed unexplained wealth, inaccurately declared her assets and failed to divest herself of business interests.

The next test will be whether prosecutors can demonstrate how the figures were calculated, establish which assets legally belonged to Duterte, and show that any omissions or discrepancies violated disclosure or other laws.

Salmon in the Philippines is considered food for rich people. It’s nutritious but since it’s imported (mostly from Chile and Norway), it’s expensive for ordinary Filipinos. Chinese food technology research offers the enticing prospect of making affordable salmon prices. But it’s not that simple, as the research by Washington-based journalist Ian Urbina shows.

China is marketing fish from Xinjiang as a triumph of technology and frontier development. But behind the sales pitch lies a deeper struggle over fraud, trust, and the political remaking of a heavily scrutinized region.

Eighty-four percent of Filipino adults encountered a scam this year, up from 77% in 2025, according to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance’s State of Scams Philippines 2026 report.

The International Criminal Court Trial Chamber III released Thursday, Oct.8, its decision made on Sept. 28 that former president Rodrigo Duterte is fit to stand trial.

Five Chinese companies highlighted during the Senate impeachment trial as remitters to CALE88 Foods Corp., the banana chip exporter in which Vice  President Sara Duterte's husband, Manases Carpio, was a shareholder, reveal a  striking contrast in corporate profiles. 

Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Friday alleged that a company owned by Manases Carpio, the husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, received more than P319 million from China-linked sources, while members of the Duterte family received millions of pesos in manager’s checks from a man he identified as a Davao drug lord.

The week’s most prominent witness was Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, who was subjected to searching questions by prosecution counsel Theodore “Ted” Te over 19 city government contracts worth about P33.2 million awarded to GenCorp Industries Inc., a company his sister had declared as a business interest in her SALNs.

More than two decades after the death of her four sons, Alia continues to seek accountability: “Ngayon, nakatindig ako, nandito ako sa harap para sabihin ko sa mga anak ko,kahit mawala kayo, patuloy ako maghahanap ng hustisya hangga’t buhay ako.”

Clutching a copy of the absolute pardon that President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr granted her, 41-year-old Mary Jane Veloso walked out of the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City Friday to freedom in tears.

On day 29, Sept. 23, after oral arguments from the prosecution and defense, the impeachment court voted 13-1 to reverse Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero’s July 6 ruling that 16 votes—two-thirds of the 24-member Senate—were required to convict Duterte.

The impeachment trial took an unexpected turn on Day 26, when the Senate heard four retired Supreme Court justices on a separate but potentially crucial question: whether the two-thirds vote required to convict Duterte should always mean 16 votes in the 24-member Senate.