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World watches as 200 foreign observers deployed at BARMM polls
Nearly 200 international observers are on the ground for the first BARMM parliamentary elections, and the governments and organizations they represent have pledged to continue supporting the Bangsamoro region well beyond election day. Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and…
After years of transition, BARMM’s provisional government gives way to elected parliament by October 30
The first BARMM parliamentary elections formally conclude the authority of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority and open the path for an elected parliament to convene, choose a Chief Minister, and take their oath of office by October 30, 2026, ending years of provisional governance that the…
Pre-shaded ballots, disturbances prompt BARMM voting extensions in various areas in Basilan, Cotabato City
Voting hours were extended in Al-Barka, Basilan until 9 p.m. and Maluso in Basilan may extend until Tuesday after ballots were allegedly found pre-shaded and replacement materials had to be sent from Manila, while Cotabato City’s second district is under negotiation for a possible extension…
Police replace hundreds of absent teachers in BARMM elections, contingency plan activated
Nearly 900 teachers assigned as election officers for the first BARMM parliamentary elections failed to report for duty, prompting the activation of a contingency plan that deployed trained police officers as replacements to ensure that voting continued without interruption. Office of the…
Despite incidents in Cotabato, Basilan, PH gov’t says first BARMM elections generally peaceful, successful
The Philippine government declared the first-ever Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao parliamentary elections generally peaceful and successful Monday, despite isolated incidents reported in Cotabato City, Al-Barka in Basilan, and Maluso being addressed by the police and state security…
Saudi pipeline outage threatens loss of 4% of global oil supply
Saudi Arabia will run out of oil stocks for exports if it doesn’t restart its major pipeline to the Red Sea within days, leading to a loss of up to 4% of global supply, Saudi oil buyers and traders said. A further decline in Saudi flows will worsen the global supply crunch, which has already…
Having trees is not enough. Metro Manila needs closed canopy forest in its watershed to slow floods, expert says.
The presence of trees in the watershed above Metro Manila is not sufficient to significantly slow floodwater from reaching the capital region, Forest Management Bureau (FMB) Assistant Director Ray Thomas Kabigting said Friday. What is needed is closed canopy forest, where trees are dense enough to…
Metro Manila floods because we built our cities in the paths nature designed for water, says expert
The fundamental reason Metro Manila floods is not engineering failure or government neglect alone — it is that generations of Filipinos built their homes, roads, and commercial centers directly in the valleys, river deltas, and natural drainage paths that nature designed specifically to carry…
After months of flooding in Luzon, a powerful El Niño is on its way. Any typhoon it spawns could be a monster, PAGASA warns.
After months of relentless flooding in Metro Manila and Luzon from the southwest monsoon, the Philippines is now facing the arrival of one of the strongest El Niño events on record, and if any typhoon forms during the El Niño period, it could reach typhoon to super typhoon strength because the…
As rainfall impacts vary by city, blanket class suspensions may no longer make sense: experts
Because rainfall impacts in Metro Manila vary drastically from one city to another during the same weather event, blanket class and work suspension announcements from the national government may no longer be the most appropriate response, and local government units or LGUs should be empowered to…
Manila is sinking every year from natural causes, but humans are making it worse
Manila City and other parts of Metro Manila are sinking by a few millimeters every year from natural geological processes, but human activities including excessive groundwater extraction, heavy construction, and the proliferation of concrete roads are accelerating the rate of land subsidence and…
Why the Marikina Valley is prone to both flooding and earthquakes
The Marikina Valley is prone to both severe flooding and destructive earthquakes because it sits in a basin created when a block of earth dropped between the East and West Valley Fault systems, making it a natural collection point for water from Sierra Madre while simultaneously sitting in one of…
Why Navotas, Malabon, Manila, and Valenzuela experience flood faster
The western coastal cities of Metro Manila, including Manila, Navotas, Malabon, and Valenzuela experience flooding faster than other parts of the capital region because they sit on unconsolidated materials, loose sand, silt, and mud that water penetrates easily and moves through quickly. Mines and…
SPECIAL REPORT: By the time PAGASA sounded the alarm, Manila’s students were already in schools
A closer look at why the rainfall warning came late, and why classes couldn’t have been suspended sooner There were no rainfall warnings hanging over Metro Manila in the early hours of Wednesday, September 9, even as clouds gathered thick and low across the region overnight. Then, without a single…
Delivery riders finally getting DOLE protection: Tolentino in talks with Foodpanda, Lalamove, Ninja Van
Delivery and platform riders working for companies including Foodpanda, Ninja Van, Flash, and Lalamove are closer to getting formal labor protections after Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino said Thursday he has begun individual negotiations with each company toward a labor advisory that will…
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