The Senate, acting as an impeachment court, voted on Tuesday, June 11, 2025, to remand the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte back to the House of Representatives, clarifying that this action does not amount to a dismissal of the case. Eighteen senators supported the motion to return the case, while five opposed it.
In a surprising turn of events, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vetoed a bill that sought to officially designate Pampanga as the culinary capital of the Philippines. While the proposal aimed to celebrate the province's rich gastronomic heritage, the decision has stirred debate across the nation.
In recent years, the term "trade war" has shifted from a theoretical concept to a tangible reality, with the United States at the epicenter of a global economic shake-up. Sparked by policies under the Trump administration and continued in various forms under subsequent leadership, U.S. tariffs have targeted major trading partners like China, the European Union, Canada, and Mexico. These measures, often framed as a defense of American industry, have unleashed a cascade of consequences - some intended, others unexpected - across continents and supply chains. As of March 15, 2025, the world is still grappling with the fallout, raising critical questions about the winners, losers, and the future of international trade.
In an article published on March 14, 2025, on his website rigobertotiglao.com, veteran journalist Rigoberto Tiglao delivers a scathing critique of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s decision to facilitate the arrest and transfer of former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Titled "Marcos condemned Duterte to a biased court", the piece argues that this move represents a politically motivated betrayal and an affront to Philippine sovereignty, orchestrated by Marcos to neutralize a formidable rival.
In a provocative column, political commentator Rigoberto Tiglao alleges that former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was "kidnapped" by the Philippine National Police (PNP) on March 10, 2025, under orders tied to the International Criminal Court (ICC) - an action he claims was orchestrated by President Ferdinand "BBM" Marcos Jr. Tiglao argues this move, lacking a warrant from a Philippine judge, violates the nation's Constitution and could signal the beginning of Marcos' political downfall.
If Vice President Sara Duterte is removed from her post through an impeachment trial - which would also ban her from ever holding public office again - the Marcos-Romualdez clan could rule the country for at least 18 years, two years short of the 20 years that Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was president and then, dictator.
Historians will look with amazement, shaking their heads in anger, at the Marcos-Romualdez cabal's frenzied plots, all in 2024, to continue in power after Ferdinand Marcos Jr. by law must step down in 2028. Rather than focusing on the economy, which faces both local and international headwinds at least this year, they concentrated on their shameless efforts to continue in power by hook or by crook, no doubt inspired by Ferdinand's father's 13 years of authoritarian rule.
I mean, of course, Rodrigo Duterte and Sara Duterte have bested these inheritors of the Marcos dictatorship, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his cousin, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, in terms of political and mass support.
The estranged relationship between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte has entered a critical stage after the latter claimed full responsibility for the bloody drug war that is said to have killed thousands of illegal drug users from 2016 to 2022. The statement, made under oath before the Senate blue ribbon committee, has effectively challenged Marcos to prosecute his immediate predecessor for the said crimes.