Philippines

The Philippines Wants to Turn 9,000 Tons of Daily Garbage Into Power—But the Biggest Test Comes This October

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is moving closer to turning mountains of residual garbage into electricity as the Department of Energy accelerates its waste-to-energy program following a renewed push from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. But while the government sees waste-to-energy, or WTE, as a potential answer to two persistent national problems—growing garbage volumes and rising electricity demand—the plan is entering a much more difficult phase: proving that the technology can work com

August 19, 2026

Entertainment

Derek Ramsay’s Porsche Was Spotted With a Different Plate—Now the LTO Is Considering a Much Bigger Penalty

MANILA, Philippines — Actor-businessman Derek Ramsay and his friend Anthony Jude Violago could face suspension or even revocation of their driver’s licenses as the Land Transportation Office intensifies its investigation into an allegedly unauthorized license plate fitted to a Porsche 918 Spyder linked to Ramsay. The controversy began after LTO personnel spotted images of the ultra-rare supercar on social media carrying a plate number that allegedly did not match the vehicle’s officially regist

August 19, 2026

Philippines

Singapore’s MFA Was Named on a Website It Never Backed—Then Investigators Saw Who the “Consultancy” Was Trying to Recruit

SINGAPORE — A consultancy presenting itself as a Singapore-based geopolitical advisory firm appeared to have all the ingredients needed to impress a prospective employee: experienced diplomats, international credentials and jobs for people who understand the inner workings of governments. But scrutiny of the operation has exposed a very different picture. An investigation by Channel NewsAsia (CNA) found that the website of a purported consultancy called Great Vision contained fabricated creden

August 19, 2026

Philippines

₱125 Million Was Withdrawn in Cash and Handed to Sara Duterte’s Security Chief—Now Prosecutors Say the Money Trail Is Coming Together

MANILA, Philippines — The mystery surrounding how millions of pesos in confidential funds moved through the Office of the Vice President is coming under sharper scrutiny after a former disbursing officer testified that Vice President Sara Duterte personally instructed her to turn over ₱125 million in cash to the official then heading her security detail. The testimony of former OVP Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta has become a critical part of the House prosecution's effort to establish w

August 19, 2026

Philippines

Pampanga Is Asking Malacañang for Help as Floodwaters Refuse to Leave—But Officials Say the Real Problem May Be Much Bigger

PAMPANGA, Philippines — After days of widespread flooding submerged communities, displaced thousands and inflicted hundreds of millions of pesos in agricultural losses, Pampanga's provincial government is appealing for national intervention—while raising a more difficult question: Can the province's recurring flood crisis still be solved by conventional flood-control projects alone? Pampanga Governor Lilia Pineda has sought assistance from the national government as persistent flooding continue

August 19, 2026

Philippines

Bohol Spent ₱69 Million on a Home for Young Offenders—But What Happens Inside Is Very Different From a Jail

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol — Behind the gates of a ₱69-million facility in Cortes, Bohol, the province is attempting something far more difficult than simply keeping young offenders off the streets: giving them a realistic path back into society. The Bohol Youth Home (BYH) is designed for children in conflict with the law, or CICL, who need residential care while undergoing intervention, rehabilitation or court-supervised processes. But provincial officials stress an important distinction: this is

August 19, 2026

Philippines

A Newly Built Tarlac Dike Failed After Just Six Months—Now Officials Want Answers About What Happened Beneath It

TARLAC CITY, Philippines — A flood-control structure designed to shield communities along the Tarlac River has itself become an emergency after a portion of the dike in Barangay San Isidro collapsed amid powerful river currents and days of heavy monsoon rain. The failure has triggered emergency sandbagging, round-the-clock monitoring and calls for a permanent engineering solution—with local reporting putting renewed attention on the age and cost of the recently completed project. According to

August 19, 2026

Business

Leyte Farmers Used to Throw These Coconut Parts Away—Now DTI Says They Could Become Their Next Business

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — What farmers once threw away could become their next source of income. In Leyte's coconut-growing communities, discarded husks and shells are being reconsidered as raw materials for new products and businesses as the government pushes farmers beyond traditional coconut production and deeper into value-added processing. The Department of Trade and Industry's Leyte Provincial Office is working with coconut farmers, cooperatives and young people to transform coconut b

August 19, 2026

Philippines

La Union Has Helped 11,250 Habagat-Hit Families—But a P180-Million Problem Is Emerging Beneath the Recovery

LA UNION, Philippines — More than 11,000 families in La Union have received government assistance after weeks of relentless rain linked to tropical cyclones and the enhanced southwest monsoon, or habagat, battered communities, triggered flooding and landslides, and left authorities confronting a growing infrastructure bill. According to an August 17, 6 p.m. situational report from the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) in the Ilocos Region, 11,250 families in La Un

August 19, 2026

Philippines

65 Iloilo City Barangays Went Underwater in Hours—But Engineers Say the Bigger Problem Is Beneath the Streets

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — A night of extraordinary rainfall turned streets into waterways across Iloilo City, flooding at least 65 barangays, displacing thousands of residents and exposing what city engineers acknowledge is a serious weakness in the city's drainage infrastructure. The flooding followed intense rainfall on the night of Monday, August 17, with local authorities reporting that approximately 160 to 165 millimeters of rain fell within just six hours. PAGASA Iloilo station chief En

August 19, 2026