PH Politics

The Bureau of Immigration intercepted a 25-year-old Filipino woman at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on December 7, 2024, after officers suspected she was a mail-order bride bound for Beijing on an Air China flight. Authorities reported that inconsistencies in her travel purpose, financial arrangements funded by a foreign contact, and incomplete tourism documents led to her offloading. The BI coordinated with the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking and cited Philippine laws prohibiting mail-order spouse schemes as it referred the woman for counseling and further evaluation.

The Philippine Department of Justice has ordered the filing of 26 criminal cases against businessman Charlie “Atong” Ang and several police officers over the disappearance of cockfighting enthusiasts, indicting them for kidnapping with homicide and serious illegal detention in Batangas and Laguna. Prosecutors based the charges on whistleblower testimony alleging Ang masterminded the abductions and killings. Actress Gretchen Barretto was not charged, while some respondents were cleared subject to new evidence. Ang’s lawyer denounced the DOJ ruling and vowed to seek its reversal.

Pag-IBIG Fund received the Best Sustainability Initiatives Award for 2025 from the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) in Parañaque City on December 1, 2025, for integrating sustainability values into its programs, services, and internal operations. DHSUD Secretary and Pag-IBIG Board chair Jose Ramon Aliling accepted the award, which recognized the agency’s efforts in responsible governance, resource management, and support for national development goals under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration. The recognition forms part of the GCG Awards program that highlights government-owned or -controlled corporations meeting governance, accountability, and sustainability benchmarks in the Philippines.

A tokhang survivor who witnessed a 2016 anti-drug operation that left four people dead is asking the Supreme Court of the Philippines to review the legality of the raid, as former president Rodrigo Duterte faces trial before the International Criminal Court over his administration’s war on drugs. Court records show the petitioner challenges police conduct during the operation and seeks accountability for the deaths. The case proceeds in the domestic legal system while the ICC pursues charges related to alleged extrajudicial killings under Oplan Tokhang.

Vice President Sara Duterte said former president Rodrigo Duterte secured Chinese government funding for the Davao River Bridge in Bucana, Davao City, after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. cited the nearly completed structure as one of his legacy projects. She explained that planners originally budgeted only the Davao City Coastal Road and left the bridge unfunded, prompting the former president to seek financing from China. She said Chinese funding covered construction costs at no expense to the local or national governments and described the bridge as a crucial link between the southern and northern parts of Davao City.