FACT CHECK: Claire Castro not removed from her post, remains Palace press officer

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Wednesday called for an investigation into possible lapses following Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla’s admission that gambling tycoon Charlie “Atong” Ang had managed to leave the country through the “backdoor.” Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida, however, insisted that Ang was still in the Philippines, based on Bureau of Immigration (BI) records. “Let’s

MANILA, Philippines — They should be charging less, not more, to stay afloat. Two major voices in the Philippine movie industry on Wednesday asked lawmakers to help find ways to reduce theater ticket prices in order to draw more Filipinos back to the cinema and keep local production companies viable and their talents and crews

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged P242.358 million worth of idle medical equipment in 2025 mainly because recipient government hospitals and health centers were not operationally ready yet. The agency observed the deficiencies yet again in the implementation of the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP), one of the banner programs of

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) said it found P397.45 million worth of “duplicate, multiple and overlapping” payments to beneficiaries of the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). In its 2025 annual audit report, the COA noted that some beneficiaries of the

MANILA, Philippines — At least P467 billion in disputed funding increases in the 2024 and 2025 national budgets will not be returned to government coffers, even as the Supreme Court’s ruling declaring the increases unconstitutional prompted lawmakers to demand greater transparency and tighter scrutiny of the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for next year. Supreme Court

Women in handbag stores often say, “I do not have anything like this.” And so, the collection grows. But when does it become too much?

'I’m clearly under attack,' Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. tells a Senate panel during a budget hearing

PARLIAMENT | Disproportionate burden continues to keep many out of the workforce, says Lim.

Taiwan has complained that Beijing is using various underhanded methods to go after Taiwanese who the Chinese government views as separatists or are otherwise politically suspect

TAGBILARAN CITY, BOHOL, Philippines — Bohol has launched cloud-seeding operations to help farmers cope with drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon, as initial agricultural damage in the province approaches P300 million. The aircraft conducted its first cloud-seeding flight on Monday, followed by a second operation on Tuesday, as the provincial government intensified efforts to

VALENCIA CITY, BUKIDNON, Philippines — A key leader of the sugar sector in Bukidnon province on Wednesday urged industry regulators to peg raw sugar prices to at least P2,800 per 50-kilogram bag for farmers “to earn fairly” as the province prepares for an early milling season amid fears of a severe impact of the El

OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines — More than 8,000 endangered fruit bats have been recorded at a roosting site in Aurora Memorial National Park in the Sierra Madre mountain range, highlighting the importance of protecting the park’s forest habitats to help ensure their survival and sustain natural forest regeneration. In a statement on Wednesday, the Department of