Former Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales alleged that an administration-backed candidate tied to the Office of the Special Assistant to the President is at the center of mounting tension ahead of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) elections, warning that both the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are protesting what they perceive as government…
Reservist applications for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have tripled in recent intake, with doctors, lawyers, and cyber specialists now serving alongside traditional roles as “force multipliers” in a redefined concept of military service that extends well beyond combat, the military spokesperson said. AFP spokeswoman Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla made the disclosure during the National Defense College of the Philippines…
The superintendent of the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA) backed a proposal for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to issue an executive order automatically classifying the country’s approximately 400,000 active seafarers as military reservists, modeled after the United States’ “7th Service” Merchant Marine Service, even as no legislator has yet taken up the measure. The proposal was raised during the National Defense College…
The world has not yet reached the point of no return on climate change, but the window for meaningful action is narrowing with every passing year, Filipino physicist and Manila Observatory Executive Director Fr. Jose Ramon “Jett” Villarin said Saturday, offering a message of cautious hope nearly two decades after his team’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning work on global warming. Villarin, who shared…
With the perceived ouster of career health officials, Malacañang now stands accused of putting institutional stability and expert leadership at risk for political convenience. The uproar follows the exit of Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire and other veteran DOH officials in what appears to be a politically motivated shake-up. About 55 professional medical groups signed a joint statement expressing concerns of what…
The Laguna Lake is fast deteriorating into the country’s “biggest septic tank,” Biñan City Rep. Walfredo “Arman” Dimaguila Jr. warned on Saturday, August 2. In an interview on DZRH News’ Special on Saturday, Rep. Dimaguila urged the Marcos Jr. administration to take urgent and science-based action to rehabilitate the vital water body affecting millions across Southern Luzon and Metro Manila. “Magkakaroon na…
The Iran war is showing why the Philippines can’t afford to neglect its farmers
A war thousands of kilometers away is beginning to ripple through something as basic as the Filipino dining table. The conflict involving Iran has pushed oil prices higher, disrupted key shipping routes, and strained global supply chains—especially for fertilizer, a critical input for food production. Farmers are already feeling the pressure. Fertilizer prices have surged by as much as 30% to 40%,…