Trust in news in the Philippines plummeted by 10 points in 2026, the steepest decline among all 48 markets covered by this year’s Reuters Institute Digital News Report (DNR), amid deep political divisions, sustained attacks on the media and a continued shift toward social media, video platforms, creators and AI tools. Only 28% of Filipino...
Tag: Philippines
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What the experts say: Respiratory health care should be a top concern of adults
The problem lies in the delay in seeking action for medical concerns, according to experts from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines (MISP). Fact of the matter is adults do talk about their health, but nothing much comes out of it. The consistent postponement of seeing a doctor creates a bigger problem. By the time...
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The mirage behind Asean’s vision of free labor flows
When the Asean Economic Community was officially launched in 2015, the rhetoric was intoxicating. A single market and production base. The free flow of skilled labor. A region where a Filipino engineer could compete on equal footing with a Singaporean counterpart, where a Filipino nurse could work in a hospital in Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok...
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Blood and oil: Iran’s war against empire and what it means for the Philippines
When you fuel your vehicle here in the Philippines and wince at the price, which has surged above ₱100 a liter for diesel alone, you may be told that Iran’s “blockade” of the Strait of Hormuz is to blame. But the truth exposes this as deliberate distortion. While the United States and Israel were actively...
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Diagnosing the ‘Maduro script’: institutional health as the Philippines’ sovereign defense
In global politics, the diagnostic frame used to interpret power shifts often dictates the response. During a recent small-group clinical colloquium in Manila, the discussion shifted from research breakthroughs to the United States’ capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January. To observers, the US operation resembled a swift, invasive appendectomy that left the regional...
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High power bills? Filipinos can have cheaper energy if Manila can drill in Recto Bank despite China row
Recto Bank, an underwater reef in the West Philippine Sea, remains an enigma. Little is publicly disclosed about it beyond its geology, oil and gas potential, and the decades-long struggle between the Philippines and China for control of its surface waters and the rich hydrocarbon deposits in its depths. One thing is clear, industry experts...
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CoverStory’s best-read reports in 2025
The interview with Raul C. Pangalangan, a retired justice of the International Criminal Court which now has custody of former president Rodrigo Duterte, topped CoverStory’s best-read reports in the year just past. The Q&A, titled “The Court has ‘jurisdiction over jurisdiction,’” was conducted by Oliver Teves. The other reports on the best-read list are: •...
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The illusion of Asean’s economic integration
Since its establishment in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has gone through several phases in its bid for regional integration. From the 1992 Asean Free Trade Area, the 2002 Asean Economic Community, and finally the 2007 Asean Charter provision of three guiding pillars foremost of which was the Asean Economic Community, a...
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Myrna Esguerra is fighting for another Miss International crown for the Philippines
There is no doubt that the Philippines is an international pageant powerhouse, with crown upon crown collected from global competitions by both women and men for all these years. Among the competitions where the country has picked up multiple wins, the Miss International pageant tops the list with a total of six victories spanning six...
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The pandemic exposed the cracks in the health system, and now is the time for rebuilding
Covid-19 was more than a worldwide health crisis. It was a stress test for every nation’s resilience. For the Philippines, the results were sobering. Hospitals overflowed, healthcare workers were stretched to exhaustion, and rural communities were rendered vulnerable and without access to doctors or medicines. Yet the pandemic also provided us clarity. It revealed not...