Rappler Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate impeachment court postponed the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte scheduled for Tuesday, August 18, and Wednesday, August 19, citing the forecast of heavy rain and flooding due to the southwest monsoon or habagat. Senate President Win Gatchalian also allowed all Senate officials and employees to work from home on Tuesday. This is the third time the impeachment court has postponed a trial session due to bad weather. The first was on Monday, Au

Trigger warning: This article has references to suicide and weapons.  A fatal shooting involving high school students at Ateneo de Zamboanga University on Tuesday, August 18, renewed concerns over school safety as several incidents of violence have so far been tracked in 2026 alone.  Before the Zamboanga tragedy, recent incidents had prompted the Senate to investigate the potential radicalization of Filipino children. The Department of Education (DepEd) has been reviewing school protocols

MANILA, Philippines – The Court of Appeals (CA) has overturned the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) 2025 decision revoking the operating permits of Villar-linked S.I. Power Corporation (SIPCOR), ruling that the regulator denied the company procedural due process when it ordered the generator to halt its Siquijor operations. But the appellate court did not rule or absolve SIPCOR of the operational failures that led to Siquijor’s power crisis, and its July 24 ruling does not its

MANILA, Philippines – The low pressure area (LPA) inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) developed into a tropical depression at 2 pm on Tuesday, August 18. It was given the local name Neneng, as the country’s 14th tropical tropical cyclone for 2026. It is also the third tropical cyclone for August, after Tropical Depression Luis and Tropical Storm Maymay (Kujira). In a briefing past 5 pm on Tuesday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Admin

MANILA, Philippines – Active transport advocacy group Move as One Coalition on Tuesday, August 18, flagged the absence of funding for the EDSA Busway, the service contracting program, and fuel subsidies for transport drivers in the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) proposed 2027 budget. “A supermajority — 94% — of Filipinos do not own cars; 94% support the construction of safer, wider bicycle lanes and walkways. Why are their mobility needs not reflected in the proposed National Exp

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang suspended face-to-face classes in all levels for public and private schools in Metro Manila and 17 provinces for Wednesday, August 19, as the southwest monsoon or habagat continues to trigger significant rainfall. The provinces included in the Palace order are Abra, Benguet, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Occidental Mindoro, and Oriental Mindoro. Government offices

MANILA, Philippines – Education advocates clamored for better school safety measures after a shooting incident at the junior high school campus of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University (AdZU) in Zamboanga City left two students dead — including the alleged shooter — on Tuesday, August 18. The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) called for the stricter enforcement of anti-bullying policies in all school divisions, better mental health support, and tighter campus safety. EDCO

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Tuesday, August 18, that its prosecutors filed cases for sexual assault and acts of lasciviousness against Marikina City 1st District Representative Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro. DOJ spokesperson Raphael Martinez confirmed the filing against Teodoro for four counts of sexual assault and one count of acts of lasciviousness. This was in line with the complaints filed by two female police officers who previously served a

Claim: State auditor Roderick Wamil has been arrested and cited in contempt by the Senate after sharing his testimony during Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.  Rating: FALSE Why we fact-checked this: Two YouTube videos containing the claim were uploaded days apart. The first, from channel “BANAT NEWS UPDATE,” posted August 6, is titled “Kapapasok lang! Ngayon lang! Kulong na! Matinding utos ng Senado! COA witness, arestado na! Deserve!” 

The quest for a new challenge has led Burke “BT” Toews to coach Gilas Women.  After decades in Japan where he helped shape its thriving women’s basketball scene, the 60-year-old mentor hopes to do the same in the Philippines, convinced that Gilas Women have what it takes to reach new heights.  Toews takes over the coaching reins from Patrick Aquino, whose decade-plus tenure with Gilas Women saw the team achieve several milestones and multiple firsts. Under Aquino, Gilas Women ruled

Is there a natural trade-off between quantity and quality when it comes to the friends in your circle? Between family, work, chores and other responsibilities, people often feel left with very little time to connect with friends — let alone to make new ones. With time as a limited resource, people often think they must choose between having a few emotionally close friendships or a lot of friends they’re less invested in. But our new research published in the journal Evolution and Human Beh

Vahn Leinard Pascual’s interest in moving images only began upon the demise of his grandfather Leonardo “Ding” Pascual, a once active filmmaker in the late 1970s through the 1990s known for hyper-masculine action movies, including Final Showdown (1979), The Five Style Fist (1978), and Brusko (1981), which were all the rage then. “Nanghihinayang ako kasi hindi ako nakapag-usap sa kanya tungkol sa paggawa ng pelikula (I regret that I wasn’t able to have any conversations with him about filmmaki

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), along with its attached agencies, is seeking a budget of P241.6 billion for 2027, the National Expenditure Program (NEP) showed. It is among the top agencies with the biggest proposed allocations for next year, ranking eighth. But the 2027 figure is 8.6% lower than the P264.45 billion approved under the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) or national budget. One of the programs which would have a funding cut i

MANILA, Philippines – The construction dust may finally be settling at some of Ayala Land’s biggest malls, but the makeover isn’t quite over. After spending the past two years renovating flagship properties such as Glorietta, Greenbelt, TriNoma, and Ayala Center Cebu, the scaffolding and temporary walls are finally coming down. Ayala Land is now moving into what it calls the “merchant replacement phase,” which involves changing the mix of shops, restaurants, and other concepts that cust

MANILA, Philippines — Bad weather conditions due to southwest monsoon or habagat prevailed over the week affecting Luzon and Western Visayas. On August 9, five young students died after a landslide struck Barangay Guisad Surong in Baguio City. 13 people were buried by thick mud and debris while three houses were hit by the landslide, affecting five families. Nonstop rain disrupted the schooling of around 6.7 million students on August 10, following the suspension of face-to-face classes. The

WASHINGTON, US – The US is preparing to tell dozens of countries they must pick sides in the artificial intelligence race with China, warning they will be excluded from a US-led AI coalition if they also sign up for Beijing’s competing framework, according to a US official and an internal draft reviewed by Reuters. Washington last year launched the Pax Silica initiative aimed at securing supply chains for AI models, semiconductors and critical minerals, amid a fierce technology ri

NEW YORK, US – Iran called on the US to accept defeat while President Donald Trump blasted Iran as “evil” and urged Americans to brace for continued high fuel prices. The comments suggested the warring parties remained far apart, with progress toward peace talks and oil tanker traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway both halted. “This strait will be opened and closed only under Iran’s command, and so long as you do not accept

CHIBA, Japan – Record rainfall in Japan stranded thousands of travellers at Tokyo’s Narita airport on Friday, bringing floods to the surrounding area that disrupted transport, knocked out power to 20,000 homes and killed eight. During one of Japan’s busiest holiday weeks, more than 360 mm (14 inches) of rain fell in 24 hours in parts of the Chiba area adjoining Tokyo, inundating roads and railways, with soldiers sent to help with rescue efforts. “This case was a

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called on Saturday, August 15, for talks with North Korea to pursue peaceful coexistence, saying Seoul would seek safeguards to prevent conflict and noting the need to replace the peninsula’s armistice with a “peace regime”. In a speech marking the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, Lee said the two Koreas should hold a sit-down for coexistence. He urged dialogue between

LAGUNA, Philippines – From 6 am to 6 pm, six days a week, Dante Cantos, 55, has worked at San Miguel Integrated Logistics Services Inc. (SMILSI) as a forklift operator for about a year and a half. Before working at SMILSI, he worked for another company that closed down.  He was among the hundreds of workers who were recently put on “floating status” by SMILSI. DANTE CANTOS. His job as a forklift operator at SMILSI involved physically demanding tasks of loading and unloading products f