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Metro Manila, Philippines – Sen. Jinggoy Estrada has filed a motion before the Sandiganbayan seeking the dismissal of the charges against him, alongside a request for a reinvestigation into allegations implicating him in the pocketing of public funds, amid a looming warrant of arrest for non-bailable plunder. In a statement on Monday, June 1, Estrada said his camp filed the omnibus motion, asking the anti-graft court to first consider the motions he filed amid the pending warrant of arrest for plunder and another count of graft in the fifth division. Estrada said their latest pleading includes a motion for the case to be quashed and dismissed with prejudice or in alternative, a request to suspend the proceedings and remand the case back to the ombudsman for reinvestigation.  The senator’s camp earlier filed a motion to withdraw the warrant of arrest, as well as a request to consolidate the cases. On…

Metro Manila, Philippines – Responders have recovered two more bodies from the collapsed under-construction building in Barangay Balibago, Angeles City, bringing the confirmed death toll to 12 as of Monday, June 1. According to the Unified Command, the remains of the 12th victim—identified as a male—were extricated at around 4:00 a.m. on Monday. The 11th fatality was recovered the previous night at around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 31, after authorities located the remains in Quadrant 2, Sector 1 of the incident site. Meanwhile, authorities have identified three of the previously recovered victims. They include a 48-year-old man and a married couple—a 50-year-old woman and a 48-year-old man. Search and retrieval operations remain underway as responders continue to scour the rubble for any remaining victims.

Metro Manila, Philippines – Nearly three out of four adult Filipinos support a Senate impeachment trial for Vice President Sara Duterte, according to the latest survey conducted by OCTA Research. The survey found that 74% of respondents believe Duterte should face a Senate trial to answer the allegations against her—a five-percentage-point increase from the 69% recorded in March 2026. “This short-term movement indicates that public backing for the trial has not declined in the period immediately preceding proceedings,” OCTA stated. Meanwhile, 21% of respondents oppose the trial, while 4% remain undecided. Support for the trial is highest in the Visayas at 82%, followed closely by the National Capital Region at 81% and Balance Luzon at 77%. Conversely, Mindanao recorded the lowest support at 58%, with opposition reaching 41%—the highest among all regions. The poll was conducted from April 20 to 24, 2026, through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adult respondents nationwide.…

Metro Manila, Philippines – More than six decades after first hosting the Palarong Pambansa, Quezon City will once again stage the country’s premier basic education sporting event — this time in 2027. The Department of Education announced Thursday that the city will host the 67th edition of the annual national games, marking the National Capital Region’s return to the Palaro calendar after several years. Education Secretary Sonny Angara said Quezon City has long been preparing for the hosting, and the national government expects the local government to demonstrate its readiness and capability when the games open next year. Ahead of the announcement, Palarong Pambansa Board and Secretariat members conducted an ocular inspection of potential venues across the city, including the University of the Philippines Diliman, the QC M.I.C.E. Center, Amoranto Sports Complex, Don Alejandro Roces Sr. High School, and Quezon City High School. Officials from DepEd, the Department of the…

Metro Manila, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he has no regrets running with Vice President Sara Duterte in the 2022 elections, saying it was “the right thing to do” at the time. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Marcos said he and Duterte shared the view on what needed to be done in government under the UniTeam banner. “I  think it was or that time that was the best thing that we would do. We had the same idea  of what needed to be done in government. Maybe that’s changed,” Marcos said. “But if you look at it in the context of that period, I think that was the right thing to do,” the chief executive added.  The Marcos-Duterte tandem won in a historic landslide with 31.6 million and 32.2 million votes for the presidential and vice presidential race, respectively.  However, after several issues spanning three years into…