FERDINAND MARCOS JR.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has defended his decision to allow a larger United States military presence in the country as vital to territorial defense.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday defended his decision to allow a larger United States military presence in the country as vital to territorial defense despite China's fierce opposition and warning that it would “drag the Philippines into the abyss of geopolitical strife.” The Marcos administration announced in early February that it would allow rotating batches of American forces to indefinitely stay in four more Philippine military camps in addition to five local bases earlier designated under a 2014 defense pact of the longtime treaty allies. Marcos said the four new sites would be announced soon and they include areas in the northern Philippines.

Residents in the Oriental Mindoro province in the Philippines reported symptoms of illness after the MT Princess Empress tanker sank and caused a major oil spill.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Monday that he ordered police to crack down on illegal firearms and private armies and described as “terrifying” the weekend shootings that killed a provincial governor and eight others in a crowd. The attack on Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo at his home on Saturday by at least six men armed with assault rifles and wearing military camouflage and bullet-resistant vests was the deadliest on politicians in recent weeks. It was also the most alarming gun attack under Marcos, who said he was shocked when he saw footage of the gunmen walking into Degamo's residential compound then opening fire on just anybody in front of them, even those “who were not involved in their conflict.”

Gunmen in military uniforms fatally shot Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo and five civilians while the provincial leader was meeting villagers at his home in the central Philippines

The Philippine president said the main mission of his country's military has changed to ensure the protection of its territory as disputes with China and U.S.-China rivalry intensify. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stressed the urgency of shifting the military’s focus to external defense in a speech before troops Monday afternoon. The Philippines condemned the Feb. 6.

Pro-democracy protesters in the Philippines marked the anniversary on Saturday of the 1986 army-backed “people power” revolt with the son of the dictator, who was ousted in that uprising, now leading the country. Left-wing activists, carrying an effigy that depicted President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as a pest, protested separately at a nearby pro-democracy monument. Faced with the awkward situation of issuing a statement to mark the revolt that toppled his namesake father, Marcos Jr. called for reconciliation without citing the event as a democratic milestone, as his predecessors had done.

The Philippines is in talks with the United States as well as Australia on future joint patrols in the South China Sea, where China's increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed waters are causing concern, top defense officials in the three nations said Wednesday. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called his Philippine counterpart, Carlito Galvez Jr., to reiterate Washington’s support and commitment to help defend its oldest treaty ally in Asia after a Chinese coast guard aimed a military-grade laser at a Philippine patrol vessel near a disputed shoal.

The Philippine president says the Chinese coast guard’s use of military-grade laser against a Philippine patrol vessel in the disputed South China Sea was not enough for him to invoke a mutual defense treaty with the United States.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced a new agreement to house American troops and military supplies in the Pacific.

The Philippines says it is allowing U.S. forces to broaden their footprint in that Southeast Asian nation.

The Nobel laureate has a to-do list with three things on it: avoid prison, fix the entire internet, save democracy.

At least 28 people have died in floods and landslides this month, after at least 50 were killed in severe weather during the holidays.

David Byrne’s “American Utopia” may have gone from Broadway but the Talking Heads leader is plotting a return — with disco.

The Philippine Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional a 2005 pact by China, the Philippines and Vietnam to jointly explore for oil in the disputed South China Sea.

The Swiss town of Davos will host 52 heads of state and government and nearly 600 CEOs as the World Economic Forum hosts its annual meeting in the Alps next week.

The acting Philippine defense chief has resigned, officials said Monday, in the latest in a series of top-level changes in the country’s security establishment that has sparked speculation of renewed military unrest. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. accepted “with deep regret” the resignation of defense officer-in-charge Jose Faustino Jr. and offered the top defense post to Carlito Galvez Jr., another retired general who has been involved in peace talks with insurgent groups, presidential spokesperson Cheloy Garafil said. Galvez has accepted the offer, Garafil said without providing other details, including why Faustino, a former military chief of staff, decided to resign.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday cut short the term of the military chief of staff he appointed five months ago and replaced him with a retiring general without explaining the surprise move. Marcos’s office announced the replacement of Lt. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro, who had received the highest military award for combat bravery as a young army officer. A statement late Friday that did not specify any reason for the change in military leadership.

The Philippine national police chief says he has tendered his resignation to encourage nearly a thousand other police officials to heed an official appeal for them to resign en masse to regain public trust after some enforcers were implicated in drug trafficking.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is heading to China for an official visit including a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. flew to China on Tuesday for a three-day state visit, saying he looks forward to his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as they work to boost bilateral ties. “As I leave for Beijing, I will be opening a new chapter in our comprehensive, strategic cooperation with China,” he told officials and diplomats, including the Chinese ambassador, prior to boarding his flight from an air base in the capital. “I look forward to my meeting with President Xi as we work towards shifting the trajectory of our relations to a higher gear that would hopefully bring numerous prospects and abundant opportunities for peace and development to the peoples of both our countries,” he added.

The Philippines says President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. hopes to sign a number of agreements during a visit to Beijing next week that comes amid ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea. A statement from the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said a number of projects were under discussion, including in agriculture, renewable energy, nickel processing, tourism and bridge construction. Marcos is due to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during his Jan. 3-5 visit at the head of a large business delegation.

Hundreds of people have marched in the Philippine capital protesting what they say is a rising number of extrajudicial killings and other injustices under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The protesters, led by the rights groups alliance Karapatan, gathered at a public square on Saturday before marching toward the presidential palace in Manila to demand justice for victims.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will fly to a western Philippine island province at the edge of the South China Sea to amplify America’s support to its treaty ally and underline U.S. interest in freedom of navigation in the disputed waters.

The vice president is traveling to a region disputed by China, a delicate mission at a time of tension.

U.S. and Philippine officials say the United States is seeking an expansion of its military presence in the Philippines.

Vice President Kamala Harris will meet President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday to reinforce security and economic ties.

Vice President Kamala Harris is visiting the Philippines to underscore America’s commitment to defend its treaty ally.

The Philippine police chief says law enforcers have killed 46 drug suspects and arrested more than 22,000 under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., figures he says shows efforts to avoid lethal force

Philippine authorities have killed 46 drug suspects and arrested more than 22,000 others under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s campaign, the national police chief said Monday, and added the lower death toll underscores efforts to avoid lethal force. Marcos Jr., who took office in June, has vowed to press on with his predecessor’s crackdown on illegal drugs, which left thousands of mostly petty suspects dead, but said it would be done differently and focus more on rehabilitating drug dependents. The widespread drug killings under Duterte were condemned by Western governments and human rights groups and sparked an investigation by the International Criminal Court as a possible crime against humanity.

Philippine authorities have filed murder complaints against the country’s top prisons official and an aide, accusing them of masterminding the killing of a radio commentator.

Millions of students have begun trooping back to public schools across the Philippines.

Officials say a strong earthquake has rocked a large swath of the northern Philippines, injuring at least 36 people, forcing the closure of an international airport and prompting the evacuation of patients in a hospital.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr_ has backed a decision by his predecessor to cancel a contract to buy 16 Russian military heavy-lift helicopters and says his administration has “secured an alternative supply from the United States.”.

Truck-mounted launchers blasted off rockets and U.S. stealth fighter jets streaked across the northern Philippine sky in a combat drill that marked the latest display of American firepower in a region where Washington has tried to deter what it warns as China’s growing aggression.

Philippine police have killed three detained Muslim militants linked to the Islamic State group after they stabbed a jail officer and briefly held a detained former opposition senator in a failed escape attempt at the police headquarters in the capital region.

Saturday marks Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 100th day in office.

When the Nobel Peace Prize is announced on Friday, it could provide a boost for a grassroots activist or international group working for peace and human rights.

Motorcycle-riding gunmen have killed a longtime radio commentator in metropolitan Manila in the latest attack on a member of the media in the Philippines, considered one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists.

A trip by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Singapore over the weekend to watch Formula One races has come under attack from critics who described it as “utterly callous” while thousands of Filipinos remain displaced due to a recent typhoon. Marcos Jr. confirmed his trip to Singapore for the Grand Prix event in a brief statement and pictures he posted on Facebook on Monday night after a flurry of online criticism. “They say that playing golf is the best way to drum up business, but I say it’s Formula 1,” Marcos Jr. said.

Poor, rural farmers have shouldered the brunt of natural disasters that have ravaged the Philippines in recent years. Super Typhoon Noru was no exception.

Typhoon Noru has left a trail of destruction in northern Philippine provinces with at least eight people dead, including a group of rescuers who were scrambling to save villagers trapped in floodwaters.

The United Nations was established on one simple notion above all others — that working together is better than going it alone.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants to “reintroduce the Philippines” to the world.

Looking to “reintroduce the Philippines" to the world, new President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ambitious plans for his nation on the international stage and at home — if, that is, the twin specters of pandemic and climate change can be overcome or at least managed. Marcos, swept into office this spring, is already drawing distinctions both subtle and obvious between himself and his voluble predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who alienated many international partners with his violent approach to fighting drug trafficking and the coarse rhetoric he used to galvanize supporters. Asked if Duterte went too far with his lethal drug crackdown, Marcos redirected the criticism toward those who carried out the plan.

President Joe Biden has pledged in his first face-to-face meeting with new Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to work to strengthen relations with the key Pacific nation after what he acknowledged had been some “rocky times” in the past.

Survivors of torture and other atrocities under Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos on Wednesday marked his martial law declaration 50 years ago by pressing their demand for justice and apology from his son — now the country’s president in a stunning reversal of fortunes for the once reviled family. Activists held street protests, a musical concert and unveiled a documentary at the state-run University of the Philippines.

Hope can be hard to find anywhere these days.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is telling leaders gathered at the United Nations that the world’s richest people have put its poorest at risk

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is telling leaders gathered at the United Nations that the world’s richest people have put its poorest at risk.

The world’s richest people have put its poorest at risk, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. charged Tuesday at the United Nations, pushing for action on inequality, nuclear weapons and climate change. Addressing the U.N. General Assembly for the first time since taking office in June, Marcos said “the time for talk about ‘if’ and ‘when’ has long since passed” on climate change, and he called on industrialized countries to fulfill obligations to cut greenhouse gases and aid developing countries.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said it’s wrong to describe his late father as a dictator and that his brutal martial law rule in the 1970s was not meant to prolong his grip on power — comments that were immediately rejected by human rights activists. It was the first time since he took office in June that Marcos Jr. has addressed some of the controversial issues that have hounded him and his family. A transcript of the interview on new broadcasting company ALLTV by TV host and actress Toni Gonzaga, who backed Marcos Jr.'s candidacy, was released by his press secretary.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is extending a state of calamity declared by his predecessor more than two years ago to deal with continuing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is extending a state of calamity declared by his predecessor more than two years ago to deal with continuing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, an official said Monday. Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles also said a previously announced plan to lift the compulsory wearing of masks outdoors will take effect immediately throughout the country, except in crowded areas where people cannot observe social distancing. The Philippines and Myanmar were the last two countries in Southeast Asia that still required the wearing of masks outdoors, Philippine officials said.

Human rights activists in the Philippines rejected on Saturday President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s move to proclaim the birthday of his late father, an ousted dictator, a special holiday in their northern home province. Marcos Jr., who took office in June after a landslide election victory, authorized the declaration of the non-working public holiday in Ilocos Norte province on Monday for celebrations marking the 105th birth anniversary of his namesake father. “It is but fitting and proper that the people of the province of Ilocos Norte be given the full opportunity to celebrate and participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies,” said the presidential proclamation, which was signed by Marcos Jr.’s executive secretary and posted on Facebook.

Philippine officials say President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved a recommendation to end the mandatory wearing of masks outdoors across the country more than two years after it was imposed at the height of the coronavirus pandemic

Philippine officials say President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved a recommendation to end the mandatory wearing of masks outdoors across the country more than two years after it was imposed at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved a recommendation to end the mandatory wearing of face masks outdoors across the country more than two years after it was imposed at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, top officials said Wednesday. The Philippines and Myanmar are the last countries in Southeast Asia still requiring the compulsory wearing of masks outdoors, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said, adding the change in the country’s masking policy will take effect after Marcos Jr. issues an executive order. A study showed the lifting of the mandatory requirement in other countries has not led to an alarming upsurge in infections when people continue to take precautions, he said.

Months after the son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos was elected president in the Philippines, a hit film helps the family gloss over the brutality and corruption of the regime.

Final preparations are underway for the first flight of the most powerful rocket ever built by NASA. Mark Strassmann reports on NASA's Artemis missions and long-term exploration goals.

U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, who was once banned from the Philippines by former President Rodrigo Duterte, has met a long-detained Filipino opposition leader, whom he says was wrongfully imprisoned under Duterte and should be freed.

The Philippine president has threatened to fire top agricultural officials if an investigation shows they improperly made and announced a decision to import sugar amid a shortage without his approval, his press secretary said Thursday. It’s the stiffest punitive step newly elected President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. could take against officials over an apparent irregularity early in his six-year term. Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said a resolution authorizing the importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar by the Sugar Regulatory Board, which Marcos Jr. heads, was posted on the website of the Sugar Regulatory Administration under the Department of Agriculture on Wednesday.

Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos has been laid to rest in a state funeral.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says China should not hold talks on important global matters such as the climate crisis “hostage,” after Beijing cut off contacts with Washington in retaliation for U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan earlier this week.

The former Philippines president was a key figure in the Marcos dictatorship – then he turned against it.

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck the Philippines, prompting more than 50 landslides and killing at least five people. The earthquake hit northern Luzon, the Philippines’ most populous island, on Wednesday morning at a depth of six miles, killing at least five and injuring 130 people, according to the authorities. The Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Center said the impact caused about $687 million of infrastructure damage and affected more than 21,000 people.

Dozens of people are still missing in a mountainous area of Abra province following the 7 magnitude quake.

The quake hit Abra province and caused landslides and power interruptions across the northern island of Luzon. Around 15 cities and 280 towns felt the quake.

Philippine officials say the government has scrapped a deal to purchase 16 Russian military transport helicopters due to fears of possible U.S. sanctions.

Houses and buildings had cracked walls and some collapsed in Abra, where new President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who took office less than a month ago, plans to travel to meet victims and local officials.

A strong earthquake has killed at least five people, injured dozens and damaged buildings in the northern Philippines.

A strong earthquake left at least two people dead and injured dozens in the northern Philippines on Wednesday, where the temblor set off small landslides and damaged buildings and churches and prompted terrified crowds and hospital patients in the capital to rush outdoors. The 7-magnitude quake was centered in the hard-hit province of Abra in a mountainous area, said Renato Solidum, the head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. A villager died when he was hit by falling cement slabs in his house in Abra, where at least 25 others were injured and were mostly confined in hospitals, officials said.

The shooting occurred at Ateneo de Manila University ahead of a graduation ceremony.

Philippine officials say at least three people including a former town mayor have been killed and another wounded in a brazen attack by a gunman in a university campus in the capital region

Philippine police say a gunman opened fire on university campus in the Philippine capital region, killing a former town mayor and two others in a brazen attack ahead of a graduation ceremony.

Foreign peacekeepers credited with helping ease years of bloody fighting between government forces and Muslim rebels have left the southern Philippines after officials decided to end their presence, but talks are underway to allow their possible return, officials and the rebels said Friday. Members of the Malaysia-led International Monitoring Team, or IMT, flew out of the southern region of Mindanao on June 30 after their authority to stay as ceasefire monitors, which must be renewed each year, was not extended by the then-outgoing administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. It remains to be seen whether new President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will authorize the return of the peacekeepers.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on China to comply with a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated its vast territorial claims in the South China Sea.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken renewed a call to China to comply with a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing’s vast claims in the South China Sea and warned that Washington is obligated to defend treaty ally Philippines if its forces, vessels or aircraft come under attack in the disputed waters. Blinken’s statement, issued by the U.S. Embassy in Manila on Tuesday, was released on the sixth anniversary of the 2016 decision by an arbitration tribunal set up in The Hague under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea after the Philippine government complained in 2013 against China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed sea.

Philippine officials say the country’s new president has tested positive for the coronavirus after taking an antigen test

New Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. tested positive for the coronavirus Friday following an antigen test and will go into isolation for about a week, officials said. Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said Marcos Jr., 64, has a slight fever but “is otherwise OK.” Marcos Jr. met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the presidential place in Manila on Wednesday, but it wasn’t clear when Marcos Jr. had become infected.

The namesake son of an ousted dictator is sworn in as Philippine president in one of the greatest political comebacks in recent history in the country.

President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. takes office with the Philippine economy ascendant, but has to balance relations between Washington and Beijing.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has praised his father’s legacy and glossed over its violent past as he was sworn in as Philippine president.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa says her Rappler news website is operating as usual and will let Philippine courts decide on an order to close the outlet.

Philippine President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed concern Monday about rising food prices caused in part by the war in Ukraine and said he will serve as secretary of agriculture when he takes office to prepare for a possible emergency. Marcos Jr. and Vice President-elect Sara Duterte take office June 30 after winning landslide victories in May 9 elections. After meeting with his designated finance, trade and economic secretaries, Marcos Jr. told reporters on Monday that he will temporarily serve as agriculture secretary and will reorganize the Department of Agriculture to foster an economic recovery following two years of coronavirus outbreaks and lockdowns.

The electoral triumphs of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte extend a Philippine political history that has long been dominated by politicians belonging to the same bloodlines.

Sara Duterte, the daughter of the outgoing populist president of the Philippines, has taken her oath as vice president following a landslide electoral victory she clinched despite her father’s human rights record that saw thousands of drug suspects gunned down.

Sara Duterte, the daughter of the outgoing populist president of the Philippines, took her oath Sunday as vice president following a landslide electoral victory she clinched despite her father’s human rights record that saw thousands of drug suspects gunned down. The inauguration in their southern hometown of Davao, where she’s the outgoing mayor, comes two weeks before she assumes office on June 30 as specified in the Philippine Constitution. President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Duterte’s running mate, will take his oath in Manila on June 30.

A top State Department official has met with Philippine President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila, part of an ongoing diplomatic outreach in the Asia-Pacific region by Washington to try and blunt growing Chinese influence.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been proclaimed the next president of the Philippines by a joint session of Congress following a landslide electoral triumph 36 years after his dictator father was ousted in a pro-democracy uprising.

Allies of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the presumptive next president of the Philippines, appear set to dominate both chambers of Congress, alarming activists after the late dictator son's apparent election victory restored his family to the seat of power.

President Joe Biden has called Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to congratulate him on his apparent landslide victory in the Philippine presidential election.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared victory in this week's presidential elections in the Philippines.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s apparent landslide victory in the Philippines presidential election is raising immediate concerns about a further erosion of democracy in Asia.

The powerful alliance between the son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and the daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte is set to usher in six years of governance in the Philippines that are concerning to human rights activists.

The namesake son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos appears to have been elected Philippine president in an astonishing reversal of the 1986 “People Power” revolt that ousted his father.

Voters in the Philippines are choosing their next leader, senators, representatives and thousands of local office holders Monday.

The son and namesake of ousted Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos has taken a commanding lead in an unofficial count in the presidential election in the deeply divided Asian democracy.

Voters in the Philippines will be choosing their next leader between the son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and a human rights lawyer, the current Vice President Leni Robredo.

Memories of the “People Power” revolt by millions of Filipinos who helped overthrow Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos are bittersweet for Loretta Rosales, who opposed him as an activist and was arrested and tortured by his forces before his downfall.