US, Israel hit five oil sites in and near Tehran: officialRubble of destroyed buildings is pictured at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Rweiss neighbourhood in Beirut's southern suburbs, on March 8, 2026.

President Marcos: Don’t use aid programs for political gainMANILA, Philippines — The government’s aid programs should not be used to gain mileage or to engage in politicking, President Marcos said yesterday, as he pushed for simpler and more efficient means of delivering assistance and services. In his latest vlog, Marcos responded to messages from the public, including a complaint about senior citizens having to endure long waits from speeches of politicians before they receive aid. “With regard to the programs of the national government, speeches and other ways to attract attention before distribution are not allowed,” the President said. Marcos said the possible digitizing of the aid distribution process, such as sending the money through GCash, is being discussed. Marcos, however, did not veto the “soft pork barrel” included by Congress in the 2026 General Appropriations Act, which various groups had criticized for allowing politicians to use state-funded aid programs for self-promotion.

Government readies P3.5 billion for transport subsidyDOTr to roll out free rides, fuel vouchersMANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is preparing P3.5 billion in subsidies for free rides to millions of commuters, and to finance part of the fuel costs of public utility vehicles (PUVs). The DOTr is employing a two-pronged approach in mitigating the impact of rising fuel prices on commuters. The last time that fuel subsidies were issued was in 2023, when about 1.36 million beneficiaries received one-time grants of up to P10,000. President Marcos is expected to certify as urgent any measure that will grant him the power to slash the excise tax on oil products. We collect around P330 to P410 billion per year from oil products, including VAT (value-added tax) and duties,” Nepomuceno noted.

Public service, hard work and enterpriseThe hardest working person in public service. The work has been quite overwhelming, but I am convinced that all these efforts support our rallying cry for all these years: Prosperity for All. They knew – as Dad did – what sacrifices awaited them in government service, yet my father went and served anyway. I have seen what it takes to give up something to enter public service. For example, private sector is doing its part and now pushing for the upskilling and reskilling of our workforce so the Filipino worker can become more globally competitive.

Luka on the edgeIf you hear something late at nightSome kind of trouble, some kind of fightJust don’t ask me what it wasJust don’t ask me what it wasJust don’t ask me what it was– Suzanne Vega, “Luka”Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Don?i? His ceaseless complaining has annoyed even his own teammates, who admonish him to keep his mind on the game. Is this Luka Don?i?’s blueprint? Is the pressure of winning for the most glamorous basketball franchise in the world getting to be too much? Will his attitude change, more so when LeBron James is no longer on the team next season?

Pool patron Mariano not a fan of ‘sharking’MANILA, Philippines — When the Sharks Billiards Association was launched two years ago, one of the rules introduced was “sharking” or giving the spectators the freedom to shout or heckle the players during the game to force a miss. Long-time pool patron Perry Mariano doesn’t admire the rule. “I look at Hadley’s league, I don’t approve of this sharking rule,” he said. While sharking may be entertaining in some way, Mariano stressed it may devalue the beauty of the game. “But as a mainstream professional league for the future?

Eala-Gauff II: Duel of crowd darlingsMANILA, Philippines — “I’m ready.”These are the fighting words of Filipina Alex Eala, determined to show her stuff and battle tennis giant Coco Gauff in a duel of crowd darlings in Round 3 of the Indian Wells Open at the Indian Wells Garden in California today. From rankings to experience, the 21-year-old Gauff, WTA No. But Eala isn’t to shy away from the fight, determined to turn it to a duel of wit and grit. 52 Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine in Round 2, Eala expects nothing less against Gauff. “I had to dig really deep last game so I’m expecting that I have to do even more against Coco.

Asia as a safe havenWith the turmoil in the Middle East continuing on its second week, the Asian region is now being viewed as a safe haven for economic stability and investments. According to Aziz, “for regional conflicts to have global impact, there has to be a link between the regional conflict and global economics. But right now,...we don’t really think that, you know, this is going to be a systemic shock to the global economy. But in Asia originally, if you think of so-called safe haven status countries, Singapore is definitely one. According to Chen, “So I think the safe haven status in Asian countries, you are going to expect some inflows because now the Middle East’s stability is in question.

Government borrowings exceed programLatest data from the Treasury showed total gross financing went up by 3.5 percent to P2.65 trillion from P2.56 trillion in 2024, exceeding its P2.60-trillion borrowing plan. MANILA, Philippines — The Marcos administration’s gross borrowings rose to P2.65 trillion in 2025 amid higher domestic borrowings, exceeding its planned financing program, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said. In December alone, total gross borrowings plunged by 18 percent to P57.46 billion from P69.77 billion in the same month in 2024. It accounted for nearly 80 percent of total borrowings. Last year’s gross borrowings sought to plug the government’s P1.58 trillion budget deficit, which surpassed the government’s P1.56 trillion forecast by 0.97 percent, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said.

Contingency planningI can only scratch my head after reading that PNOC wants to buy a million barrels of diesel within a week to ensure supply. The emergency supply agreement with ASEAN countries was our best assurance of continued supply. Most of our processed fuel (gasoline, diesel) comes from Asian neighbors like South Korea (34 percent) and China (25 percent). Besides, the rest of the world will also be competing for whatever oil these non-traditional oil exporters can supply. Speaking of prices, non-oil power sources such as Malampaya will not shield us much from the oil price increases.

We headed to a small but quaint house with orange bricks, somewhere in the sprawling forest where our hosts, tycoon Isidro “Sid” Consunji and his sister Lucy, graciously welcomed us. From the road, we walked a few steps down a slope filled with rubber trees. Furthermore, company data showed that the palm oil portion of the plantation has 600,000 productive oil palm trees and employs over 500 workers. The rubber plantation, meanwhile, has 540,000 productive rubber trees and more than 350 tappers. As I stepped out of the rubber mill, I realized that perhaps this is why Sid Consunji loves wearing rubber slippers, whether he’s brewing deals at an exclusive sports club, in a meeting at his Makati office, or simply relaxing over food and drinks.

Trump honors Fil-Am soldier, others killed in Kuwait attackThis video grab taken from UGC images posted on social media on March 7, 2026 shows smoke rising from the Dubai International Airport. Dubai airport, the world's busiest for international traffic, suspended operations on March 7 before partially resuming services, after an air defence interception in the area during attacks from Iran. MANILA, Philippines — A Filipino-American was among the US soldiers killed in an Iranian drone attack in Kuwait, the Pentagon said. Nineteen of the repatriates were OFWs from Jeddah, 65 were OFWs from Dubai and 82 were tourists and OFWs from Jordan. The DFA said the 82 Filipino nationals who were initially stranded in Jordan have safely departed Queen Alia International Airport to several transit hubs where they will board their flights to Manila.

President Marcos, VP Sara vow better protection for womenMarking the 115th International Women’s Day on March 8, 2026 a diverse coalition of women’s and progressive organizations convened at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila to advocate for systemic change. MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos yesterday vowed to protect the rights of women and expand opportunities for them, citing their crucial role in the nation’s progress as the world marked International Women’s Day. Sexism condemnedWhile many officials extended greetings for Women’s Month, others condemned recent misogynistic remarks made against women in public life. It also denounced misogynistic remarks directed at actress Anne Curtis by Bong Suntay, and comments made by lawyer Ferdinand Topacio against Sarah Elago. Ann Lourdes Matibag denounced the “degrading and misogynistic remarks” made by Suntay and Topacio.

US Senate confirms new envoy to Philippines namedMANILA, Philippines — The United States Senate has confirmed the nomination of Florida businessman Lee Lipton as the new US ambassador to Manila. Ricketts asked Lipton how he would support the Philippines’ transparency strategy aimed at exposing Chinese aggression in real time. I am aware of the Philippines’ strategy and I will work with Washington to determine the embassy’s responses,” Lipton told the committee. “The ambassador to the Philippines is one of the most consequential diplomatic assignments in the Indo-Pacific,” Ricketts said. The Philippines has a word that captures that spirit – bayanihan – working together for the common good,” Lipton said.

Gatchalian was referring to the infrastructure spending slowdown experienced last year when corruption schemes in the flood control scam were exposed during congressional inquiries. He specifically commended the Department of Agriculture (DA) for having the most detailed transparency portal among the agencies handling big-ticket items. “In the DA, they have a good transparency portal. In fact, that is the best transparency portal I saw out of all the big-ticket items,” Gatchalian said. “We started doing oversight in the education sector and in fairness to DepEd they opened their own transparency portal,” he noted.