ICC urges PNP members to testify on drug warIn separate Facebook posts written in English, Tagalog and Bisaya, the ICC on Thursday re-shared the link to its witness appeals microsite. The platform was opened in late 2024, months before the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte. In separate Facebook posts written in English, Tagalog and Bisaya, the ICC on Thursday re-shared the link to its witness appeals microsite. The platform was opened in late 2024, months before the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte. The platform, which has English and Filipino language options, has a dropdown menu that classifies possible witnesses into six.

Marcos: ICI coming toward the endFile photo shows the Independent Commission for Infrastructure office at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. MANILA, Philippines — Four months after its creation to probe the multibillion-peso flood control scandal and other public works projects, the work of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) is “coming toward the end,” according to President Marcos. Marcos spoke yesterday on the fate of the ICI, now left with only one commissioner, retired Supreme Court associate justice Andres Reyes Jr. Asked in a chance interview in Mandaluyong about his plans for the ICI, Marcos replied: “It depends on how much work they still have left. On Friday, President Marcos gave mixed signals about what’s to become of the commission he himself conceived.

NUP: Impeach bid vs Marcos baselessMANILA, Philippines — The National Unity Party (NUP) has rejected any move to impeach President Marcos, with party leaders saying they see no constitutional or factual grounds to support such a complaint. In a press conference yesterday, NUP chairman and House Deputy Speaker and Antipolo Rep. Ronaldo Puno said the issue was raised to him directly and his answer was unequivocal. Puno said that even at a preliminary level, the party could not find any basis for impeachment under the Constitution. “Actually, I don’t see any grounds for filing an impeachment case against the President,” Puno said. For the NUP, Puno said the absence of credible allegations makes the issue a non-starter.

Building a leadership pipelineI have been in the leadership training and development longer than I care to remember. How then do we build leaders who can thrive in such an environment? The answer is in creating a leadership factory — an intentional system that consistently develops leaders across every level of an organization. McKinsey identifies three types of resilience organizations must build:• Financial resilience – The capital and liquidity to withstand shocks. But if we invest in building leadership factories, meaning organizations that intentionally grow people from the ground up, then we will create not just better companies, but better futures.

Stuck, contentedlyWhen severe weather conditions caused the cancellation of over 1,500 flights to and from New York’s airports, we were one of those affected. We got stuck at Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport. Circular cushioned seats, seats with expansive legroom and backrest, open spaces by the cafes where passengers bunked in and more. As soon as we had settled in the lounge where we would be spending the next 12 hours, I went to the noodle soup bar to have my fill of herbed vermicelli soup, then a second helping of beef noodle soup. I imagined our future airport to be like this, where a marooned visitor like me wouldn’t mind getting stuck, contentedly.

The work at the Binaliw landfill is slow, tedious and dirty. The tragedy at Binaliw landfill calls up a similar collapse a few years ago at the Payatas dumpsite. Binaliw is a fairly young dumpsite. The city has been using the Binaliw landfill since July of 2017. Despite this, landfill operations at Binaliw continued in the most antiquated manner.

PCG station commander shot dead by unidentified gunmanGlennick Ytang (in picture), the station commander of Coast Guard Station (CGS) Zamboanga Sibugay, was gunned down, Jan. 15, 2026. MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine Coast Guard station commander was shot and killed while inside his vehicle in Ipil town, Zamboanga Sibugay, on Thursday night, January 16. Lieutenant Junior Grade Glennick Ytang, 32, commander of the Philippine Coast Guard Ipil Substation under Coast Guard District Southwestern Mindanao, was attacked by an unidentified gunman in Barangay Veterans Village, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said in a statement Friday, January 17. Ytang, who commanded Coast Guard Station Zamboanga Sibugay, was a member of Coast Guard Officers' Course Class 26-2020 “Hiraya Masiklab.”The PCG said it is coordinating closely with the Philippine National Police in the investigation. “The investigation of the PCG is still ongoing,” PCG spokesperson Noemi Cayabyab said.

Former actress Gretchen Barreto is apparently leading a quiet life after being excluded by authorities in the missing sabungeros case. Recently, Barretto was seen by some members of the entertainment media having lunch at a hotel. She sparingly said, “Peaceful, quiet life," before eventually leaving the venue. In July 2025, whistleblower Dondon Patidongan tagged businessman Atong Ang and Barretto as among the persons allegedly behind the abductions of missing sabungeros. He accused them, as well as Eric Dela Rosa and Celso Salazar, of being the masterminds in the case of not just 34 but over 100 missing sabungeros.

Russian vlogger to be deportedMANILA, Philippines — After serving time in detention for over nine months for harassing Filipinos, Russian vlogger Vitaly Zdorovetskiy is set to be deported to his country, the Department of the Interior and Local Government announced yesterday. DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said that while Zdorovetskiy is a US green card holder, he is still a Russian citizen. Clad in an orange detention shirt of the Bureau of Immigration, the Russian vlogger looked directly at the cameras without his antics. So he can be deported soon,” Santos told reporters. According to Remulla, Zdorovetskiy’s case should serve as a reminder to other foreigners to always respect the laws of the countries they are visiting.

Huawei Technologies has beaten Apple to regain its top spot in China’s smartphone market in 2025. Based on data from research firm International Data Corporation, as reported by South China Morning Post, Huawei captured 16.4% of China’s smartphone market for the whole year with 46.7 million units shipped. Chinese tech firm Vivo falls behind Apple after shipping 46.1 million units, followed by Chinese brand rivals Xiaomi and Oppo. This is the first time since 2020 that Huawei has secured a full-year lead in mainland China’s smartphone market after the United States imposed heavy sanctions on the company and barred its access to advanced chips. China is the world’s largest smartphone market according to iDC data.

PNP ordered to probe Jazmines’ disappearanceA photo of the Court of Appeals in Ermita, Manila. MANILA, Philippines — The Court of Appeals (CA) has ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to investigate the disappearance of activist James Jazmines, who has been missing since 2024. The CA declared former PNP chief and now Metropolitan Manila Development Authority general manager Nicolas Torre III as responsible and accountable for failing to prevent or investigate Jazmines’ disappearance. A few days after Jazmines’ disappearance, Salaveria was reportedly seized by unidentified men on Aug. 28, 2024, according to rights group Karapatan. With the granting of the writs of amparo and habeas data, the CA directed the PNP-CIDG to conduct a “speedy, thorough and independent investigation” on Jazmines’ disappearance.

Former Senator Bong Revilla Jr. and six officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways - Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office are facing malversation and graft charges following an Ombudsman investigation into a ghost P92.8 million flood control project. “Despite the absence of any actual construction, the respondents declared the project completed,” Clavano said. The charges stem from findings that the respondents misrepresented project progress through falsified reports and the issuance of fraudulent billing and disbursement documents. On Sept. 25, 2025, the actor-turned-politician was named by former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo as among those who allegedly received kickbacks from flood control projects. The Office of the Ombudsman filed graft and malversation cases against Co as well as several officials of the DPWH and Sunwest Inc. on Nov. 18 in connection with anomalies in a P289 million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro.

A survivor carries relief supplies while walking through tree trunks that were stranded in an area affected by a deadly flash flood following heavy rains in Karang Baru, Aceh Tamiang regency, Aceh province, Indonesia, December 6, 2025. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana

Photo by IDREES MOHAMMED / AFP This photo illustration shows a person holding a smartphone bearing the logo of Grok, a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by US artificial intelligence company xAI in front of the national flags of various countries in Bengaluru on January 15, 2026.

Gauff says record Australian Open money progress but more neededCoco Gauff of the US serves during a practice session in Melbourne on January 16, 2026, ahead of the Australian Open tennis tournament starting on January 18. MELBOURNE, Australia -- Coco Gauff said that a record prize pool at the Australian Open starting on Sunday was "progress" but "still not where we'd like it". The Australian Open pledged a 16 percent increase in the total prize purse to Aus$111.5 million (US$75 million) this year. "I think there's still further conversations that have to be had, not just with the Australian Open, but with all the slams." World number three Alexander Zverev, last year's beaten Australian Open finalist, struck a less upbeat tone.