What are the military assets in the Arctic?
What are the military assets in the Arctic? Chief of Joint Arctic Command, Major General Soren Andersen speaks to members of the Danish and French armed forces during a military drill as Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian home guard units together with Danish, German and French troops take part in joint military drills in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo
Source:The Standard
January 21, 2026 13:23 UTC
Zaldy Co sent 'surrender feelers' through priests — DILG chief
Zaldy Co sent 'surrender feelers' through priests — DILG chiefFormer Rep. Elizaldy Co admits inserting P100 billion in the 2025 budget in a video released on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025 while abroad. MANILA, Philippines — Fugitive former lawmaker Zaldy Co has sent "surrender feelers" to the government, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said. In an interview with reporters on Wednesday, January 21, Remulla said Co expressed his intent to surrender through Catholic priest "friends," who relayed his feelers to the Office of the Ombudsman. "He sent feelers through some of the priests he knew. A friend of a friend reached out," he added.
Source:Philippine Star
January 21, 2026 12:32 UTC
Philippines to restore access to Grok after developer commits to safety fixes
The Philippines will restore access to Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok following commitments from its developer to remove image-manipulation tools that previously raised child safety concerns, its cybercrime investigation unit said on Wednesday, Jan. 21. "The Grok AI app has reached out to us and stated that its platform will no longer use any content manipulation," the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center said in a statement. "Even after lifting the ban, the CICC will still closely monitor the app to ensure they comply with the rules and regulations in our country," it added. The Philippines last week blocked Grok amid concerns about its ability to generate sexualized images, including content that could pose child safety risks. The move to block came as governments and regulators from Europe to Asia cracked down on sexually explicit content generated by Grok on the social media platform X, launching probes, imposing bans, and demanding safeguards.
Source:Philippine Star
January 21, 2026 07:56 UTC
Unlike Sara Duterte’s, Marcos impeach complaint sent to Speaker's office in days
Unlike Sara Duterte’s, Marcos impeach complaint sent to Speaker's office in daysPresident Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during a phone call with then US President Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. MANILA, Philippines — Unlike the impeachment complaints filed against Vice President Sara Duterte, the one lodged against President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. was transmitted to the House speaker's office just two calendar days after filing. “Pursuant to established procedure, the Office of the Secretary General has transmitted the verified impeachment complaint to the Office of Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ G. Dy III for appropriate action,” she said in a statement. This, however, wasn't exactly the case with the three impeachment complaints filed against Duterte in December 2024. Garafil said her office ensured the complaint was properly filed and recorded before forwarding it to the Speaker's office.
Source:Philippine Star
January 21, 2026 07:46 UTC
Lacson: Minority report on flood control scam belongs in ‘trash’
Lacson: Minority report on flood control scam belongs in ‘trash’Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson presides as the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee resumes its public inquiry into the multi-billion-peso flood control anomaly on Jan. 19, 2026. Several minority senators published a separate report on the flood control corruption mess. "So there is no other place for that 'minority report' but the trash bin,” the veteran senator said. Meanwhile, Senate President Tito Sotto also dismissed the minority report, saying that an official minority report comes after the committee report. The minority senators’ report holds no official weight until then, Sotto said, calling it a mere “media report.”“It’s for the media.
Source:Philippine Star
January 21, 2026 07:34 UTC
Philippines lifts Grok ban xAI pledge to stop deepfakes
Philippines lifts Grok ban xAI pledge to stop deepfakesThis photograph shows a smartphone bearing the logo of Grok, a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by US artificial intelligence company xAI in front of the X (formerly Twitter) logo in Brussels on January 12, 2026. MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will restore access to Elon Musk's Grok AI after the developer committed to modifying the tool to prevent the creation of deepfakes, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) said. "The Grok AI app has reached out to us and stated that its platform will no longer use any content manipulation. Other countries have also restricted access to Grok AI following reports that users exploited the tool to sexualize children, often using the faces of real individuals. Paraiso said representatives from the CICC and xAI will formally meet to finalize the conditions for restoring Grok AI access in the Philippines.
Source:Philippine Star
January 21, 2026 06:45 UTC
Last accused in Bong Revilla flood control case arrested
Last accused in Bong Revilla flood control case arrestedFormer senator Bong Revilla arrives at the Sandiganbayuan on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. The anti-graft court ordered his detention at the Quezon City Jail in Payatas following his surrender over a malversation case in the Bulacan flood control scam. MANILA, Philippines — Police have arrested the last remaining co-accused of former senator Bong Revilla in connection with the alleged anomalous flood control project in Bulacan. “Andon na sila lahat ngayon… si Juat arrested na,” Remulla told reporters. On January 20, the Sandiganbayan Third Special Division ordered Revilla detained at the male dormitory of the Quezon City Jail in Payatas.
Source:Philippine Star
January 21, 2026 06:40 UTC
Trillanes, group file graft, plunder cases against Sara Duterte
Trillanes, group file graft, plunder cases against Sara DuterteMANILA, Philippines — Former senator Antonio "Sonny" Trillanes IV and a civil society group have filed graft and plunder complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte over her alleged use of confidential funds. Trillanes and the group The Silent Majority filed the complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman on Wednesday, January 21. The complaint alleges plunder and malversation involving P650 million in confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd), citing an affidavit from Ramil Madriaga, whom the complainants described as Duterte’s former “bagman.”The filing also covers the alleged plunder and malversation of P2.7 billion in confidential funds from Davao City during Duterte’s tenure as mayor. The filing follows an earlier impeachment complaint against Duterte that also centered on her use of confidential funds at the OVP and DepEd. In July 2025, the Supreme Court struck down that impeachment complaint, ruling that it violated the constitutional one-impeachment-per-year rule.
Source:Philippine Star
January 21, 2026 05:35 UTC
Ombudsman: Returning ill-gotten wealth is accountability
In a statement, Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said it is wrong to say that returning money to the public is robbery because it is accountability. Returning the stolen money to the government is not extortion, it is accountability,” he added. In an interview at the Sandiganbayan, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon called Discaya “shameless” for saying that it was he who was robbed because he was being asked to return ill-gotten wealth. They should face the charges then return the money of the Filipino people,” he added. Meaning, it’s like a modern day robbery, which means, the robber is the one giving money to those whom they robbed from?
Source:Philippine Star
January 21, 2026 02:13 UTC
Pinoys soar with PAL
Pinoys soar with PALWe felt proud at the unveiling of the first Airbus A350-1000 aircraft acquired by Philippine Airlines (PAL). PAL Holdings Inc. president and chief executive officer Lucio C. Tan III proudly declared PAL became the first airline in Southeast Asia to operate the long-range wide-body Airbus A350-1000. Celebrating PAL’s 85th anniversary, a new theme song in promoting PAL was also launched during the same ceremonies. A summa cum laude graduate in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 2015, the young Tan later earned a Master’s in Computer Science from the same university. I should know because my son is one of the young pilots who soldiered on during those trying times for PAL.
Source:Philippine Star
January 21, 2026 01:01 UTC
Scientists plan deep-sea expedition to probe 'dark oxygen'
A team of scientists announced they have developed new deep-sea landers specifically to test their contentious discovery that metallic rocks at the bottom of the ocean are producing "dark oxygen." But the deep-sea mining industry—which is keen to extract precious metals from these potato-sized polymetallic nodules—and some researchers have expressed doubts about the claim. The debate comes as companies and nations battle over proposed rules regulating the new and potentially environmentally destructive deep-sea mining industry. Sweetman's 2024 study was partly funded by a Canadian deep-sea mining firm, The Metals Company, which has since sharply criticised his research. But the scientist emphasized it is "not our intention" to find something to stop deep-sea mining.
Source:Philippine Star
January 21, 2026 00:58 UTC
Sandiganbayan sends Bong Revilla to Quezon City jail
Sandiganbayan sends Bong Revilla to Quezon City jailFormer senator Bong Revilla arrives at the Sandiganbayan which later ordered his detention at the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas following his surrender. MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan Third Division has ordered the temporary detention of former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. at the Quezon City Jail male dorm in connection with the malversation case against him over a P92.8-million ghost flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan. Revilla will join a population of over 3,600 detainees at the New Quezon City Jail, where he will stay in a cell designed for 10 inmates. Bail for graft caseIn a separate graft case in the flood control project, Revilla posted a P90,000 bail before the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division. Pineda is facing malversation charges with Revilla and five others over alleged irregularities in a flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan.
Source:Philippine Star
January 20, 2026 23:06 UTC
Lady Army corporal hurdles 2025 Bar exam
Lady Army corporal hurdles 2025 Bar examThe now lawyer Army Cpl. Michelle Lania received on Monday, January 19, 2026, a special citation plaque from Major Gen. Jose Vladimir Cagara of the 6th Infantry Division in honor of her having passed the 2025 BAR exams. COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Officials and personnel of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division gave a lady corporal traditional military honors on January 19 for passing the 2025 Bar examinations through her own hard workCpl. Lania said she did not undergo a full-time formal Bar exams review course owing to the difficulty of attending it while serving as an Army corporal. I promise to do my added work now as a lawyer and a soldier to the best I can,” Lania said.
Source:Philippine Star
January 20, 2026 22:20 UTC