Liam Demafelix
Reporting from the TSR newsroom.
COMELEC working with BSP, e-wallets, online payment platforms to catch digital vote buyers in real time
The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has coordinated with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and online payment platforms to automatically flag and report suspicious single transactions above a threshold amount sent to the same individual during election periods. This is new mechanism designed…
COMELEC ready to hold Barangay, SK elections this year if BBM vetoes postponement bill
The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) is fully prepared to administer the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections or BSKE this year if President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vetoes the bill passed by both houses of Congress postponing the polls. The ballots are already printed, materials already in…
COMELEC: BARMM elections generally peaceful, incidents addressed quickly, no failure of election
The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) said the first Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections generally peaceful, saying isolated incidents were addressed quickly and that the commission’s sworn commitment—as in the 2025 national elections—of no failure of…
Himalayas approaching tipping point, millions of livelihoods at stake, report finds
The Himalayas are approaching a tipping point as glaciers melt faster than a decade ago, threatening water security as the region approaches “peak water” by mid-century, according to a study released this month. The findings come after the collapse of a Himalayan glacier in late August along the…
64% of Filipinos say congressmen are ‘doing a good job’ — OCTA
An OCTA Research survey showed that a majority of Filipinos said their district representative is doing a good job, while 27% disagreed and 9% said they could not say. The Tugon ng Masa survey, conducted from July 4 to 11, 2026, found that 64% of respondents expressed approval of their district…
South Korea aims to save seniors lost in digital age
SUWON, South Korea – A little cheer rose for 79-year-old Hwang Sun-hee after she managed to place an online order at a training session in South Korea, which has one of the world’s starkest digital divides for seniors. Age gaps in digital literacy are a global concern, yet the gulf has widened…
Filipino women projected to outlive men — PSA
Life expectancy among Filipinos — or the average number of years a person is expected to live — continues to rise from 2020 through 2025, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). PSA data showed that in 2020, males had an average life expectancy of 66.17 years, while females lived…
Outsiders involved? Cotabato mayor says those who caused election day violence were people he had never seen in his city before
Cotabato City Mayor Mohammad Ali “Bruce” Matabalao said Monday he personally witnessed a disturbance on election day and noticed that most of those involved were people he had never before seen in his city—raising the possibility that the election day violence was carried out by outsiders rather…
Cotabato’s five-year economic rise is bigger than one day of election violence, says mayor
Cotabato City’s five years of steady economic growth and improving reputation with both the national and international community are more than strong enough to withstand one day of election-related violence, and the city will recover quickly, Mayor Mohammad Ali “Bruce” Matabalao said Monday.…
Cotabato mayor urges incoming BARMM parliament: do not just pass priority bills, pass laws for the whole region
Cotabato City Mayor Mohammad Ali “Bruce” Matabalao called on the incoming members of the Bangsamoro Parliament to look beyond their own parties’ priority legislation and pass laws that promote broad development, progress, and advancement for the entire Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim…
Employment, education, social services: Maranao leader lays out what the BARMM parliament must deliver first
The incoming Bangsamoro parliament’s top three priorities must be employment, education, and social services—including services for the more than 5 million Bangsamoro people living outside the BARMM who feel underserved by their own homeland’s government, Maranao leader Samira Gutoc said Monday.…
Samira Gutoc: BARMM parliament is a governance prototype the rest of the Philippines should study
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s (BARMM) parliamentary system of government is a governance prototype that the rest of the Philippines should study and learn from, because it is the only system in the country where department heads are both duly elected legislators and members…
Maranao leader Samira Gutoc dedicates her BARMM vote to peace, to her parents, and to generations to come
Maranao leader and civil society advocate Samira Gutoc woke up at 3 a.m. on election day, offered a prayer, and then cast her ballot at her precinct in Marantao, Lanao del Sur, dedicating her vote to peace, to her late parents, to the religious leaders who stood with the Bangsamoro cause, and to…
BARMM election day: 4 killed, 19 hurt in scattered incidents, but police say violence was isolated and contained
At least four people were killed and 19 others wounded in seven election-related violent incidents across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on Monday, but the Philippine National Police said the violence was isolated and not widespread enough to disrupt the historic first…
OPAPRU to coordinate whole-of-nation support for BARMM’s new elected government
The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) will serve as the coordinating body for a whole-of-nation approach to supporting the incoming elected Bangsamoro government, bringing together the DSWD, DOH, DOST, DOLE, DepEd, AFP, PNP, Coast Guard, and civil…