The Philippines has raised the age of sexual consent to 16 after amending a near century-old law, a move child rights activists said Monday would help protect youngsters from rape and abuse.The Catholic-majority nation had one of the lowest ages of consent in the world, allowing adults to have sex with children as young as 12 if they agreed.Under the revised law signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday and made public Monday, sex with a person under 16 will be illegal and carry a maximum

Many nationalists and political analysts in the Philippines, and even the public, are asking why the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has partnered with Rappler. This media entity, for many Filipinos, is perceived to be devoid of credibility, integrity, and most importantly, is the least trusted media entity in the country.Based on the PUBLiCUS Asia Inc.

The Philippines will lift most COVID-19 restrictions in the capital Manila next month, President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman said Sunday, after a sharp drop in infections and a rising number of people vaccinated.It comes weeks after the country reopened its borders to foreign tourists for the first time in two years and as campaigning for the 9 May national elections cranks up.Businesses, government agencies and public transport will be allowed to operate at full capacity when the metrop

On 18 February, 2022, six Filipino nationals from Ukraine arrived in the country after the Philippine government announced free repatriation flights for Filipinos living in the crisis-driven Eastern European state. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has estimated more than 350 Filipinos living in Ukraine.

Indonesia reported a record number of new coronavirus cases on Tuesday as the Omicron variant spreads across the Southeast Asian archipelago.The number of daily infections topped 57,000, according to the government's COVID-19 taskforce, surpassing the previous peak of 56,757 cases recorded in July last year during the country's Delta wave."The national figure for positive cases in this third wave increased sharply and faster compared to the second wave," taskforce spokesma

The official campaign period for the 9 May, 2022 Philippine elections started last Tuesday (8 February, 2022), though, as early as the last quarter of 2021, hopefuls for national elective posts have already been campaigning.

The son and namesake of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos cleared a major obstacle Thursday in his bid to become the next Philippine president when the government's election body refused to disqualify him over a decades-old tax conviction.The ruling by the Commission on Elections came two days after candidates hit the campaign trail with polls showing Ferdinand Marcos Jr, popularly known as Bongbong, headed for a landslide victory in the 9 May vote.Opposition figures and torture victims d

Philippine election candidates will hit the hustings Tuesday for the official start of campaigning, with the son and namesake of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos leading the presidential race as he seeks the ultimate revival of the family brand.Political scions, celebrities and ex-convicts are among the contenders vying for more than 18,000 posts in the 9 May polls, with most interest on the contest to succeed authoritarian firebrand Rodrigo Duterte, whose six-year presidency has been marked

The Philippine economy rebounded stronger than expected in 2021 after a relaxation of COVID-19 rules fuelled consumer spending and got more people back to work, officials said Thursday as they forecast a return to pre-pandemic growth this year.Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 5.6 percent, the statistics agency said, after a 9.6 percent slump the previous year – the worst since World War II – was fuelled by crippling lockdowns destroying millions of jobs and forcing people to stay home.Th

A billionaire businessman and political fundraiser linked to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has wrested control of the broadcast frequencies used by the country’s largest television network ABS-CBN before the government forced it to close, raising concern about a further erosion of media freedom.The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said in a statement on Tuesday that it had granted Manuel Villar’s company, Advanced Media Broadcasting System (AMBS) a “provisional authority” t