Journalist Maria Ressa's libel conviction on Monday has raised fresh concerns about press freedom under Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has a history of clashing with the media.Here are some notable confrontations:'Shameless' InquirerThe Philippine Daily Inquirer is one of the nation's top publications and brands itself as delivering "balanced news, fearless views".When Duterte launched his deadly crackdown on narcotics in 2016, the paper covered it ext

Tens of millions of children in the Philippines will not be allowed back to school until a coronavirus vaccine is available, officials announced Monday, saying they may have to broadcast lessons on TV.Nations like France and South Korea began resuming face-to-face classes as they got their outbreaks under control, but Philippine authorities see the risk as too great.President Rodrigo Duterte said last month that even if students could not graduate, they needed to stay out of school to fight t

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war has unleashed widespread and systematic killing with "near impunity" for offenders, a United Nations (UN) report said Thursday, calling for an independent probe into human rights abuses.Police have been encouraged by the highest levels of government to use lethal force on drug suspects and thousands have been killed by officers and unknown gunmen since 2016, the UN human rights office said. Many suspects had been put on &

The Philippines has told the United States (US) it is suspending its bid to break off a key military pact, the two allies said Tuesday in a sharp turnaround of President Rodrigo Duterte's foreign policy.Duterte in February gave notice to Washington he was axing the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) after accusing the US of interference in his internationally condemned narcotics crackdown.That began a 180-day countdown to ending the deal central to hundreds of joint military exercises with

The Philippines will lift key coronavirus lockdown measures in the nation's capital, President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday, aiming to resuscitate a faltering economy after nearly three months of strict home quarantine.Manila has endured one of the world's longest lockdowns, which has hit the livelihoods of millions of workers but not halted a steady stream of new infections.

In its fight to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Philippine government’s move to decongest the National Capital Region (NCR) through its Back to the Province (Balik Probinsya) Program has become a key strategy. The NCR or Metro Manila, with a limited land area of around 636 square kilometres, is home to around 11 million dwellers. President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Executive Order (EO) No.

The shutting down of the Philippines' top broadcaster crosses a dangerous line in eroding the nation's democracy and sends a warning to those who risk angering President Rodrigo Duterte, watchdogs said.Since rising to power in 2016, Duterte has steadily tightened his grip on the nation's key institutions and jailed or side-lined his loudest detractors, but until now his worst threats against critical media had not been fully realised.Tuesday's halting of broadcasting giant

The Philippines' top broadcaster ABS-CBN was forced off air Tuesday over a stalled operating licence renewal, drawing fresh charges that authorities were cracking down on press freedom.Since running afoul of President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016, ABS-CBN has seen bills to extend its franchise languish in Congress as the leader repeatedly attacked the conglomerate in speeches.Duterte is notorious for tangling with media outlets critical of his policies, sparking concern that press freedoms ha

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought chaos to the world. The virus has negatively affected livelihoods and the global economy since it first emerged in the city of Wuhan in China’s Hubei province. To date, more than 2.5 million people have been infected with the virus and over 180,000 have succumbed to the deadly outbreak. Governments across the world are scrambling to contain the new coronavirus.