MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Population and Development (CPD) expressed alarm over the renewed increase in the number of children aged 10 to 14 years old who are getting pregnant and giving birth, urging lawmakers to immediately pass the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention bill. “As the country observes National Women’s Month, the Philippines is facing

MANILA, Philippines — The impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte may be expedited by the House committee on justice if she does not answer the complaints by Monday, Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said. Duterte was given 10 days to provide a reply shortly after two impeachment complaints against her were deemed sufficient

COTABATO CITY, BARMM, Philippines  — The Ministry of Social Services and Development in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MSSD-BARMM) today said it had facilitated the reunion of two girls with their families in Maguindanao del Sur after being rescued from the clutches of trafficking operators. According to Jan Michella Agata, focal person of

MANILA, Philippines — Subpoenas may be issued on the income tax returns and business records of Vice President Sara Duterte, as well as her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon on Sunday, to explain what he described as an alleged P50-million gap between Duterte’s cumulative government salary and her declared net

MANILA, Philippines – Kanlaon Volcano in Negros Island had an moderate explosive eruption on Sunday evening, its third this year, the Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology (Phivolcs) said. According to Phivolcs in a statement, the eruption occurred at the summit of the volcano at exactly 06:07 p.m. READ: Kanlaon Volcano erupts anew The eruption

MANILA, Philippines – Several business and agriculture groups have welcomed the government’s intensified crackdown on illicit tobacco manufacturing and smuggling, citing the efforts of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) under Secretary Jonvic Remulla. The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF), the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI), and the British Chamber of Commerce

BAGUIO CITY — A regional health organization has called on authorities to respect the rights and dignity of Dr. Ana Marie Rilloraza, one of 10 individuals arrested in two separate police and military operations on March 11. The Community Health, Education, Services and Training in the Cordillera Region (CHESTCORE) urged authorities to ensure humane treatment

MANILA, Philippines —  Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste has purchased the house in Germany where national hero Jose Rizal finished his novel, Noli Me Tangere, the lawmaker’s office said Sunday. According to Leviste’s office in a Facebook post, the lawmaker bought the house in Wilhelmsfeld, Germany to preserve the property and promote Philippine history.

TACLOBAN CITY — A 90-year-old man and his 48-year-old son, both persons with disabilities (PWDs), died when a fire razed their home Saturday afternoon, March 14, in Barangay Linao, Ormoc City, Leyte, authorities reported. The victims were identified by their aliases – “Lino,” a widower, and his son “Jojo,” both residents of the village. Ormoc

MANILA, Philippines — The impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte may be expedited by the House Committee on Justice if she does not answer the complaints by Monday, Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said. Duterte was given 10 days to provide a reply shortly after two impeachment complaints against her were deemed sufficient

CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro — The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) or Provincial Board has called on the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) to immediately suspend its advisory allowing shipping operators to raise fares by up to 20 percent on the Batangas–Calapan route. The council said the suspension should be in effect pending public consultation and review. The

MANILA, Philippines — Most of the country will experience cold weather on Sunday due to the northeast monsoon, or “amihan,” the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said. “We will experience cold weather today because of the northeast monsoon. Currently, the amihan is affecting a large part of our country,” Pagasa weather specialist

MANILA, Philippines — A committee under the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) is pushing for a higher biodiesel blend that could improve vehicle mileage and cushion the impact of surging fuel prices amid the ongoing war in the Middle East. The PCAF’s National Sectoral Committee (NSC) on Coconut has approved a manifesto supporting

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Saturday warned retailers against hoarding essential goods and profiteering, saying violators could face up to 15 years in prison and fines of up to P2 million. This warning comes as global uncertainty linked to the ongoing Middle East crisis heightens concerns about potential supply

CAVITE, Philippines — The Sisters of Mary School in Silang, Cavite, a decades-old institution dedicated to providing opportunities for disadvantaged youths, has opened a new facility for digital and technical courses as well as other campus activities and community events. The Sisters of Mary of Banneux congregation and Fr. Al’s Children Foundation on Saturday inaugurated

March 18, 1901 The province of Masbate was officially created by virtue of the Philippine Commission Act No. 105. This significant event later served as the basis for the declaration of March 18 of each year as the foundation day of the province. Today, Masbate is a first-class province in the Bicol Region, recognized as

SAN ANTONIO, ZAMBALES, Philippines — Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested a suspect in Subic town, following a report which indicated that an individual in the country was allegedly transmitting sexually exploitative content involving minors to recipients in the United States. The operation, announced by the NBI on Saturday, March 14, was

TAGBILARAN CITY. Bohol— The Cebu provincial government has turned over the implementation of the long-running tourism caravan “Suroy-Suroy Sugbo” (Wander Around Cebu) to the private sector to strengthen partnerships with tourism stakeholders. Gov. Pamela Baricuatro announced the move during the opening ceremony of the 11th International Travel Festival 2026 on Friday, March 13, at the

PROSPERIDAD, Agusan del Sur — Government vehicles in Agusan del Sur will now operate under a strict weekly fuel cap as provincial officials move to cut consumption amid rising global oil prices and possible supply constraints. In Memorandum Order No. 89 issued on March 11, Gov. Santiago B. Cane Jr. directed all offices under the

SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur — The Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) and the Northern Davao Electric Cooperative (Nordeco )have traded claims over who has the legal authority to distribute electricity in the Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos), with both sides citing laws, court rulings and pending legal motions to support their positions.

MANILA, Philippines — Biodiesel producers said they are ready to pump up the biodiesel blend to 7 percent to help shield Filipinos from further spikes in imported fuel prices due to the Middle East war. The Philippine Biodiesel Association (TPBA) said Republic Act No. 9367 or the Biofuels Act of 2006 “remains the country’s most

SAN PABLO, ISABELA, Philippines — Farmers across Cagayan Valley are grappling with the early onset of the dry season, as prolonged lack of rainfall since last month c Manuel Dayag, 50, a farmer from Cabagan town, said his cornfields are already drying up despite not yet reaching harvest. READ: DA allots P300M for climate-resilient crop

MANILA, Philippines — No bettor won the jackpot prizes for Ultra Lotto 6/58 and Super Lotto 6/49 in Sunday’s draw, according to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. PCSO said the winning combination for Ultra Lotto 6/58 was 51-54-37-36-42-57, with the jackpot reaching P96.53 million. No ticket matched all six numbers. Super Lotto 6/49 yielded 23-09-25-32-22-24

MANILA, Philippines —  The House of Representatives is on track to pass priority measures under the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) Common Legislative Agenda with 4 out of 52 bills set for approval in the coming days. House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos, in a statement, said a total of 17 measures, are targeted to become

COTABATO CITY – The Office of Settler Communities (OSC) in the Bangsamoro on Sunday issued an urgent call to all settler communities’ organizations to immediately secure their mandatory sectoral certification to participate in this year’s parliamentary elections. Dr. Susana Anayatin, executive director of OSC, an agency under the Office of the Chief Minister (OCM) of

TACLOBAN CITY — A police corporal from the Can-avid, Eastern Samar police station has been relieved from his post after he reportedly displayed his service firearm before a cashier of a local resort Saturday night. The Can-avid municipal police station (MPS) issued a statement on Sunday, March 15, saying it started investigating the incident circulating

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine National Police (PNP) has intensified its monitoring of gas stations that suddenly halted operations amid soaring oil prices, driven by the ongoing Middle East conflict. This move follows complaints from motorists and netizens about unannounced closures. Police chiefs have been instructed to coordinate with local government units and the Department of Energy

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Sunday rejected the allegations of Kamanggagawa party-list Rep. Eli San Fernando and some train employees, who had said that the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3) is operating under risky conditions. “The DOTr assures the public that MRT-3 remains safe for all passengers, contrary to their claim

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Sunday said it has undertaken a “more aggressive stance” against crimes in the streets following the killing of three mobile phone technicians in Cagayan. The PNP released a statement after reporting that two suspects in the slay had been apprehended. READ: 2 suspects in killing of

LUCENA CITY — Police are conducting an investigation into the fire that swept through Barangay Mambugan in Antipolo City, Rizal, on Saturday, March 14. The blaze destroyed six houses. According to a report from Police Region 4A released on Sunday, the incident broke out around 3:45 p.m. and was brought under control by firefighters approximately

MANILA, Philippines — Philip Conrad Acop was proclaimed on Sunday as the new second district representative of Antipolo, Rizal, succeeding his late father, Romeo Acop. The younger Acop obtained 60,051 of 82,796 votes during the district’s special polls on Saturday, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) reported. Romeo Acop, the former congressman of the same district,

MANILA, Philippines — There will be no break from soaring fuel prices this coming week. An industry source told the Inquirer that the per-liter price of diesel may surge by P19.30 to P22.30 starting March 17 while gasoline prices may also rise by P14 to P17 a liter. Fuel prices monitored by the Department of

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands — Eyes at the public gallery of the International Criminal Court (ICC) immediately turned to Filipino photojournalist Raffy Lerma. It was the first day of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing at the ICC. In his opening statement, Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang flashed the image of a male

MANILA, Philippines — The impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte can proceed with sufficient evidence even if potential prosecutors of the House of Representatives sought more documentary evidence, a move that Duterte derided as a “fishing expedition.” “A fishing expedition presupposes an absolute absence of documentation before proceeding with any impeachment. It’s not true

MANILA, Philippines — As many as “200 mega boxes of data” gathered by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) will be examined by the Office of the Ombudsman using artificial intelligence (AI), Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Friday after the ICI completed the turnover of of the documents to his agency. This means not

SAN FRANCISCO , AGUSAN DEL SUR, Philippines — Authorities seized about P95.2 million worth of suspected meth and arrested a man during an anti-illegal drug operation at a port in Surigao City on Saturday, March 14, police said. Operatives from the Philippine National Police in the Caraga region, together with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency

MANILA, Philippines — No bettor won the Grand Lotto 6/55 jackpot in Saturday’s draw, according to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. March 14, 2026, falls on a Saturday. PCSO said the winning combination for Grand Lotto 6/55 was 24-33-48-42-05-22. No ticket holder matched all six numbers to claim the P45 million jackpot. In Lotto 6/42,

ANGELES CITY, Pampanga— Police arrested eleven Chinese nationals for illegal recycling and processing of lead automotive batteries during a raid at an industrial compound in San Simon, Pampanga. In a statement on Friday, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said some P19.5 million worth of recycled lead products and related hazardous materials were found

TACLOBAN CITY- A House of Representatives bill is seeking to declare a scenic, hidden waterfalls in Eastern Samar as among the priority sites for development by the Department of Tourism (DOT). House Bill No. 7692, authored by Eastern Samar Rep. Christopher Sheen Gonzales and 4Ps Partylist Rep. Marcelino Libanan, who is from the province, seeks

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Loren Legarda filed two bills to lower prices on basic goods and services while expanding value-added tax (VAT) exemptions for essential necessities medicines and medical services. These measures represent concrete steps toward a more progressive national VAT system, easing the burden on low-income households. “The measures will immediately provide relief to

MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has approved fare increases for passenger jeepneys and buses in Metro Manila to provide a lifeline to drivers reeling from the ever-rising price of diesel, which is expected to breach the P100 per liter mark this week. In an interview with dzRH on Sunday,

OPOL, MISAMIS ORIENTAL, Philippines — Rising fuel costs triggered by escalating tensions in the Middle East are beginning to hit the small fishing village of Luyongbonbon here, where local fishers are now forced to keep their boats anchored and rethink how to support their families. Village chief Jerry Jacalan and fishing boat owner Cecilia Baculio

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur – Operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Region 9 (PDEA-9) and local police units arrested eight suspects and confiscated around P13.6 million worth of suspected shabu in three separate operations in Zamboanga City and Lanao del Norte on Saturday. In Zamboanga City, the operatives arrested a male suspect

MANILA, Philippines—The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has announced the implementation of a provisional fare increase for provincial buses beginning this Saturday, March 14. In a statement on Saturday, the agency said it has released an updated fare guide for provincial public utility buses (PUBs) after a provisional fare increase was approved through

TACLOBAN CITY — Local and provincial officials are looking into the complaints of residents over the quality of patient care at a district hospital in Laoang, Northern Samar. Mayor Charlene Ongchuan said that while the district hospital Dr. Gregorio B. Tan Memorial Hospital (GBTMH) was not directly under the municipal government’s jurisdiction, she could not

CALASIAO, Pangasinan – The local government unit (LGU) of Bacnotan in La Union has defended a cement plant in the town following an allegation that it was dumping hazardous waste in the mountainous areas of the villages of Ubbog and Paagan. In a statement posted on social media early this week, the LGU said a

MANILA, Philippines – The 5.8 percent unemployment rate for January 2026 was due to workers transitioning out of holiday-related jobs, the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) said. This came after the employment dropped by 1.489 million from December 2025 to January 2026. Annually, employment declined from 48.89 million in 2025 to 47.94 million in

TUGUEGARAO CITY — Two men allegedly involved in the killing of three Maranaos during a botched P1.2-million gold sale were arrested in a police pursuit operation in Barangay San Juan, Buguey, Cagayan, on Friday, March 13, at around 3 p.m. Police Captain Sheila Joy Fronda, spokesperson for Cagayan police, identified the suspects as alias Fred,

LUCENA CITY — A bird of prey called Brahminy kite (Haliastur indus) that was nursed back to health by church workers and a parish priest has seemingly chosen a Catholic church in Pagbilao, Quezon, as its permanent sanctuary. “We released it and watched it fly away, but it returned and refused to leave,” said parish

BAGUIO CITY — The cool spell goes on in Baguio over the weekend, with temperatures registering at 9.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday (March 15) after hitting 9°C on Saturday. The weather information comes from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa). The weekend cold was driven by the northeast monsoon, bringing chilly winds

MANILA, Philippines—The national government has begun work on a P534.7-million fishing hub in Marawi City, a project officials say could help unlock the economic potential of Lake Lanao while supporting the city’s long-term recovery. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said it has begun developing an Integrated Cold Hub Complex to strengthen aquaculture

MANILA, Philippines — The government on Saturday flew 442 Filipinos—about half of them migrant workers—out of the Middle East, where more than a week of bombardments of Iran by Israel and the United States and retaliatory strikes by Tehran have killed more than 2,100 people. More than 700 Filipinos who sought assistance to leave the

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — The temperature in this city dropped to 9 degrees Celsius at 5 a.m. on Saturday, the lowest temperature recorded in the country so far this year. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the unusually low temperature was caused by prevailing cold winds and seasonal weather patterns, especially

MANILA, Philippines — Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez has ordered a reduction in passenger service charges and airport navigation charges to reduce the operating costs of airlines amid rising fuel prices. Lopez said he ordered the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), and it will be applicable to all CAAP-operated airports in the country.

LEGAZPI CITY, ALBAY, Philippines — When Rico Calleja slips beneath the waters off Ticao Island in Masbate province, he knows there is always a chance of a breathtaking encounter. For the diving instructor, each descent into the sea near the famed Manta Bowl brings the possibility of seeing one of the ocean’s most graceful giants—the

LUCENA CITY, QUEZON, Philippines — Quezon Gov. Angelina Tan on Friday urged all local government units in the province to activate their respective Local Price Monitoring Coordinating Councils (LPMCC) following the recent increase in the prices of basic goods driven by rising fuel costs linked to the Middle East crisis. In Memorandum Circular No. 015,

MALAYBALAY CITY, Bukidnon — Frontline services at the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Revenue District Office No. 99 in Bukidnon will remain available from Monday to Friday even with the implementation of the four-day workweek as part of efforts to conserve energy amid rising global oil prices. The setup is implemented pursuant to Revenue Memorandum

LUCENA CITY, Quezon – Sea travel in northern Quezon resumed on Saturday afternoon, March 14, after the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) lifted the gale warning in the area. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) station in Real town, in a public advisory, said it lifted the sea travel ban following Pagasa’s 5

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte must explain the P50 million “gap” in her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) during the impeachment proceedings, Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said on Saturday. Ridon explained that the SALNs of the vice president from 2007 to 2024 showed discrepancies, saying that the cumulative

Screengrab from Comelec / Facebook MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is eyeing to proclaim the winner of the special election for the second Congressional district of Antipolo City as early as Sunday morning. Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said election officials aim to finish canvassing once election returns from remote barangays arrive