The risks in Marcos’ 2027 P7.2-trillion ‘people-centered’ spending bet

Blessed Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen once visited Baguio City to direct a retreat for Filipino bishops more than 50 years ago.

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) have lifted the temporary ban on Discord. That is after the messaging platform committed to implementing stronger child safety protocols and counter-extremism measures. The decision followed a meeting between Philippine officials and senior Discord executives, including

MANILA, Philippines — Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro has admitted that the ideal scenario for the prosecution in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte is to get 16 or more conviction votes. She expressed her hope as the Senate Impeachment Court allowed a lower minimum vote requirement to convict the vice president, if some senator-judges

CITY OF ILAGAN, Isabela — Workers in Cagayan Valley are seeking a P100 increase in the basic daily wage, while employers are pushing to keep the current P500 minimum wage for private-sector workers. The competing positions were laid out during a Sept. 24 public hearing at the Isabela provincial capitol, where employee representatives said the

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. JV Ejercito has pledged full support for efforts by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to combat cybercrime, cyber fraud and other online scams, including securing adequate funding to strengthen their capabilities. Ejercito, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance and the Committee on Justice,

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is asking Congress for an almost P229-million budget for the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Program (EVIDP) for 2027 as the country further reduces its dependence on imported fossil fuel and transitions to cleaner transportation. The DBM’s request for a P228.92 million proposed funding for EVIDP

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is proposing institutional amendments worth around P20 billion to its proposed P643.95-billion budget for 2027, a House lawmaker said Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Population and Development (CPD) and its partners on Thursday called for wider access to family planning and contraception as the Philippines records its lowest fertility rate yet, while many women still face difficulty obtaining the reproductive health services and methods they need. The call came as the country

MANILA, Philippines — Out of the estimated 288,000 people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the Philippines in the first quarter of 2026, only 56 percent had been diagnosed as of June, according to the latest figures from the Department of Health (DOH). The DOH recorded 159,997 people living with HIV who had been diagnosed or

MANILA, Philippines — About P311 billion in state funding for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) remains unreleased, Bataan Rep. Albert Garcia said Thursday. Garcia revealed this while sponsoring the health sector’s spending plan for 2027 during a congressional budget debate. He said P199.44 billion in obligatory funding from sin tax collections, revenues from the

MANILA, Philippines — Government information and technology officials have appealed to critics to understand that protecting people’s lives takes precedence over the continuous availability of social networking sites. The plea comes as the ban on the messaging apps Reddit and Discord is lifted. Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda and Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC)

MANILA, Philippines — Questions surrounding alleged unidentified or inadequately documented beneficiaries in the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) ₱168-million disaster-relief operations have revived comparisons to controversial names previously linked to the office’s confidential fund records. During a press briefing on Wednesday, House prosecution panel adviser and spokesperson Robert Ace Barbers highlighted a Commission on