VP Sara on another impeachment: People are tired
VP Sara on another impeachment: People are tiredVice President Sara Duterte addresses the media at the Office of the Vice President in Mandaluyong City on February 7, 2025, days after the House of Representatives approved her impeachment. MANILA, Philippines — The people are tired of impeachment, Vice President Sara Duterte said on Thursday after civil society groups threatened to file a new complaint against her after the one-year ban expires in February. “It’s already tiring for the people, that impeachment, because we can see that there’s no evidence of their accusations, totally for threats and harassment,” Duterte said in Davao City. Three impeachment complaints were filed by private citizens and groups against Duterte late last year but they were never tackled in the plenary. Instead, the House, with 215 votes, approved a fourth impeachment complaint last Feb. 5, which was immediately followed by the transmittal of the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate.
Source:Philippine Star
December 26, 2025 16:34 UTC
Mixed fuel price movements seen by yearend
Mixed fuel price movements seen by yearendJetti Petroleum Inc. president Leo Bellas said gasoline prices are expected to be steady or increase by P0.10 per liter next week, while diesel prices are likely to go up by P0.30 to P0.50 per liter. MANILA, Philippines — Motorists can expect fuel prices to increase next week amid geopolitical issues that may disrupt supply. The Department of Energy, meanwhile, said kerosene prices are also expected to go up by P0.10 per liter next week. Oil firms are expected to announce fuel price changes on Monday, while the adjustments will take effect the following day. Earlier this week, oil firms reduced gasoline prices by P0.80 per liter, diesel by P1.30 per liter and kerosene by P1.60 per liter.
Source:Philippine Star
December 26, 2025 16:34 UTC
COA: DepEd’s Senior High School voucher program included ghost students
COA: DepEd’s Senior High School voucher program included ghost studentsThe photo of the Commission on Audit's office in Quezon CIty. MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the inclusion of “ghost students” in the Department of Education (DepEd)’s Senior High School Voucher Program or SHS-VP. The COA said there were also VPBs listed multiple times in the same school or in different voucher program-participating senior high schools. The COA said this defeated the primary purpose of the GASTPE-SHS VP, which provides financial assistance to indigent SHS students enrolled in private schools. Vice President Sara Duterte was the concurrent secretary of DepEd from June 30, 2022 until her resignation on July 19, 2024.
Source:Philippine Star
December 26, 2025 16:34 UTC
Full disclosure of budget allocations per congressional district urged
Full disclosure of budget allocations per congressional district urgedMANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives should make a full disclosure of the detailed information on the distribution of funds for each congressional district in the country ahead of voting for the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) on Dec. 29, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco said yesterday. He said full disclosure of the distribution of budget allocations to each congressional district is non-negotiable. He said the House of Representatives must release detailed information on how funds are distributed per congressional district and per party-list before lawmakers cast their votes on the budget. Bare allocables, incentivesThe House must disclose all the “allocables” and “incentives” for congressmen in the 2026 GAA before the national budget is approved next week, Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Leviste said yesterday. The public deserves to know this before Congress ratifies the 2026 budget next week,” Leviste said.
Source:Philippine Star
December 26, 2025 16:34 UTC
PSEi gains further momentum
PSEi gains further momentumThe bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index rose by 0.39 percent or 23.73 points to close at 6,065.64. MANILA, Philippines — The local stock market gained further momentum as the year draws to a close, with investors taking advantage of cheap prices. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index rose by 0.39 percent or 23.73 points to close at 6,065.64. “The local market closed higher as some investors hunted for bargains, taking positions as the year is about to close,” Philstocks Financial research manager Japhet Tantiangco said. Tantiangco said that trading, however, has been anemic with net value turnover of P2.77 billion.
Source:Philippine Star
December 26, 2025 16:17 UTC
Trade gap thins to 9-month low
Trade gap thins to 9-month lowThis photo shows crates carried by a forklift in the port of Manila. MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines posted its smallest trade deficit in nine months in November as exports continued to grow, while imports declined. This is the lowest trade gap since the $2.97 billion deficit in February. From January to November, the country posted a lower trade deficit of $45.20 billion from $50.18 billion in the same period last year. He said some agricultural exports to the US have also been exempted from the 19 percent tariff imposed on Philippine exports.
Source:Philippine Star
December 26, 2025 16:17 UTC
Illegal software use in government offices banned
Illegal software use in government offices bannedDICT has ordered government agencies to use only licensed software to guarantee technical support in times of emergency and scale up operational efficiency. DICT has ordered government agencies to use only licensed software to guarantee technical support in times of emergency and scale up operational efficiency. The order requires government entities to include in their information systems strategic plans (ISSP) the acquisition of licensed software. DICT said the use of unlicensed software could also hurt the country’s reputation to the tech community. As known in the tech community, the use of unlicensed software lacks the necessary patches for security protocols, thus exposing the user to cyber threats, such as malware.
Source:Philippine Star
December 26, 2025 16:17 UTC
Chinese navy sailors aid Philippine fisherman
Chinese navy sailors aid Philippine fishermanThe Chinese embassy in Manila says Chinese navy ship No. MANILA, Philippines — In a rare display of compassion, Chinese navy members came to the aid of a distressed Filipino fisherman in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) on Christmas Day. The Filipino fisherman can be heard repeatedly saying thank you to the Chinese soldiers as both sides exchanged “merry Christmas” greetings. “Enough food and water for you, don’t be worried,” a Chinese navy soldier was heard saying while tossing supplies to the fisherman. “I’m stay here,” the Filipino fisherman told the Chinese troops in strained English apparently in response to an offer to bring him to a safer location.
Source:Philippine Star
December 26, 2025 16:11 UTC
God’s Wisdom Saves Lives
God’s Wisdom Saves LivesThe fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives. Proverbs says, “the one who is wise saves lives” (11:30). The discernment that comes from doing right and living according to God’s wisdom can bless not only ourselves but those we encounter too. The wisdom God provides is there to guide us throughout our lives. — Katara PattonHow can you use wisdom to help someone today?
Source:Philippine Star
December 26, 2025 16:09 UTC
‘More flood culprits jailed this New Year’
‘More flood culprits jailed this New Year’Eight of the accused linked to an anomalous flood control project in Oriental Mindoro are escorted to the Sandiganbayan November 24, 2025 for booking and issuance of commitment orders. MANILA, Philippines — More persons linked to irregularities in flood control projects will be “thrown behind bars in the New Year,” Malacañang said yesterday. The government’s investigation into alleged irregularities in flood control projects is far from over, Gomez pointed out. “The flood control investigation does not end on Dec. 25. Sarah Discaya was arrested on Dec. 18 over the P96-million ghost flood control project in Davao Occidental.
Source:Philippine Star
December 26, 2025 16:09 UTC
Lacson warns vs ‘cover-up’ as Palace calls Cabinet budget insertion claims ‘hearsay’
Lacson warns vs ‘cover-up’ as Palace calls Cabinet budget insertion claims ‘hearsay’MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Ping Lacson said Malacañang shouldn’t be quick to brand allegations that budget insertions were made by Cabinet officials as “hearsay.”In a statement on Friday, December 26, Lacson argued that “significant evidence had been unearthed” from the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s flood control investigation. “[T]o prematurely dismiss the probable involvement of some members of the Cabinet as ‘hearsay’ may be interpreted as a euphemism for ‘cover-up,’” Lacson said. This comes after Palace press officer Claire Castro said she would not recognize the documents Rep. Leandro Leviste (Batangas, 1st District) claims to have on the alleged budget insertions, which include Cabinet members. Castro clarified on Friday that the “Cabral files” she was referring to were those that have not been verified by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) itself. Some of them include former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, who had served the first half of the Marcos Jr. administration.
Source:Philippine Star
December 26, 2025 14:19 UTC
3 villagers hurt in Maguindanao del Norte gun attack
3 villagers hurt in Maguindanao del Norte gun attackPolice intelligence agents and local executives are together searching for the two perpetrators of the gun attack in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte on Thursday night, December 25, 2025, that left three villagers wounded, now confined to a hospital. COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Gunmen shot and seriously wounded three men drinking together, celebrating Christmas, in an attack at a residential area in Barangay Limbo in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte on Thursday night, December 25. Witnesses have positively identified one of the two perpetrators of the atrocity, Jayson Guiabel Maliga, now subject of an extensive search by barangay officials and personnel of the Sultan Kudarat Municipal Police Station. Gen. Jaysen De Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, said local executives and intelligence operatives from the Sultan Kudarat municipal police and the Maguindanao del Norte Provincial Police Office are cooperating in locating Maliga and his accomplice. De Guzman said he has ordered Tanio and his subordinate-investigators to file criminal cases against Maliga and his companion in absentia.
Source:Philippine Star
December 26, 2025 10:51 UTC
Torre's MMDA appointment settles four-star rank issue at PNP — NAPOLCOM
Torre's MMDA appointment settles four-star rank issue at PNP — NAPOLCOMMANILA, Philippines — Former Philippine National Police chief Nicolas Torre III took his oath of office as the new general manager of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) before the Office of the Executive Secretary on Friday, December 26. This raises the question: what happens to his four-star rank as a general, which is typically held by the incumbent police chief? According to the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM), which exercises administrative control over the PNP, Torre’s acceptance of the appointment is "ipso facto" or considered a resignation from the police force, resulting in the loss of his four-star rank. Calinisan added that he is "looking forward" to the day Marcos dons the four-star rank to Nartatez, who has been PNP chief for four months now. While Torre’s exit from the PNP was tied to an alleged conflict with the National Police Commission, the commission said it remains supportive of his reassignment to the MMDA.
Source:Philippine Star
December 26, 2025 09:35 UTC
PCG thanks China for aiding Pinoy fisher, but asks why warship in EEZ
PCG thanks China for aiding Pinoy fisher, but asks why warship in EEZA screengrab from the video shared by the Chinese Embassy in Manila shows troops from the People's Liberation Army Navy giving bottled water to a Filipino fisherman, Dec. 25, 2025. The embassy also shared video footage of the interaction between the Chinese troops and the Filipino fisherman, taken from the small boat dispatched to assist him. The fisherman, according to the PCG, became frightened when the Chinese warship dispatched a rigid-hulled inflatable boat. He said the incident should not be exploited to advance China’s claims in the South China Sea. One of the more hazardous actions by Chinese vessels took place earlier in August after a CCG cutter accidentally collided with a Chinese warship near Scarborough Shoal while the CCG ship was pursuing a PCG vessel.
Source:Philippine Star
December 26, 2025 09:35 UTC