Philippines

| PHILIPPINES

As the mid-term elections of 12th May approach, a group including former judges and bishops has appealed to the Supreme Court - “the last bastion of democracy” - for intervention against the division of public offices among clans. The ban is in the 1987 Constitution, but Congress has never legislated. The petitioners: ‘An anti-dynasty law must be passed’. The Marcos and Duterte families are the tip of the iceberg of a system.


The International Criminal Court's arrest warrant has been executed against the former president, accused of crimes against humanity for his controversial war on drugs, in which up to 30,000 people are presumed to have died from extrajudicial killings. The local Church has called on the government to cooperate with international justice to end widespread impunity.

| 11/03/2025
| PHILIPPINES
by Santosh Digal

A priest's initiative in Quezon City To help people live the journey towards Easter as a ‘time of penance, conversion and grace through the sacraments’. He started last Friday in View River: ‘I bring the Church to the people’.

| 10/03/2025
| PHILIPPINES

This morning a small part of the heart of the priest and religious was exposed to the faithful. This was followed by a solemn mass presided over by the bishop of Cubao. An occasion to celebrate the ten-year mission of the order, whose first community in the archipelago dates back to 8 March 1975. The commitment in the health sector alongside the sick, following the charisma of the founder.

| 08/03/2025
| PHILIPPINES
by Stefano Vecchia

The Philippines is no longer the top supplier to the Chinese market, with a 32 per cent drop in exports. Vietnam instead consolidated its growth thanks to competitive prices, geographic proximity, and higher production. Meanwhile, the European Union is boosting ties with the communist Southeast Asian country after the US threatens new tariffs.

| 04/03/2025
| PHILIPPINES – VIETNAM
by Stefano Vecchia

Shot by the killers on a motorbike who pulled up alongside his car in broad daylight. Notre Dame University: ‘Let's not let this become another unsolved case in the growing list of senseless acts of violence in our country’. A few days ago the decision was made to postpone the Bangsamoro elections.

| 26/02/2025
| PHILIPPINES
by Stefano Vecchia

A non-violent uprising culminated with the dictator’s flight on 25 February 1986. The US still plays a pivotal role in a delicate regional balance amid Chinese expansionism. Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s rehabilitation and reburial in Manila’s Heroes Cemetery have helped his son’s rise to power. The country’s political instability mirrors its propensity to natural disasters.

| 24/02/2025
| PHILIPPINES
Editor's choices
 
The NGO, supported by the PIME Foundation, is bringing aid to the areas most affected by the earthquake of 28 March, aggravated by four years of civil war. In Mandalay and on Inle Lake thousands of houses have been destroyed, as the aid workers report. The ...
| 04/04/2025
| MYANMAR
 
by Steve Suwannarat
The highest US tariff announced last night is 49 per cent, which will affect imports from Cambodia. The Southeast Asian country fears serious consequences for growth and jobs. According to several observers, the real goal of the Trump administration ...
| 03/04/2025
| CAMBODIA - UNITED STATES
 
by Gianni Criveller
AsiaNews director spoke today in Rome at the conference “The Spirit knows where he takes us” organised by the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute. The “triple dialogue” refers to the path of interiority, the commitment ...
| 01/04/2025
| VATICAN - ASIA
 
Some rural areas have been as badly affected as cities. Almost 100 people have reportedly died and 3,000 homes destroyed in a well-known tourist destination. Residents were already hard at work recovering from the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi in September ...
| 01/04/2025
| MYANMAR
 
Pope Francis has approved his canonisation, together with that of Archbishop Ignatius Maloyan, killed in the Armenian genocide. A lay catechist, To Rot was killed in 1945 for defending marriage against the Japanese who, in order to ingratiate themselves ...
| 31/03/2025
| VATICAN – OCEANIA
 
by Daniele Frison
The former Minister of Justice was unjustly detained for 2,454 days for her opposition to the former president's drug war methods. The families of the victims had hoped for a mandate from the International Criminal Court. Today Duterte supporters ...
| 28/03/2025
| PHILIPPINES
 
by Dario Salvi
Khalil Sayegh, originally from Gaza and co-founder of Agora Initiative, talks about a population tired of war and the domination of the extremist movement. Today the protests are more evident because Hamas is weakened and cannot ‘repress them with ...
| 28/03/2025
| ISRAEL - PALESTINE
 
by Giorgio Bernardelli
The Israeli academic and scholar of “intractable conflicts” talked to AsiaNews about the way the Gaza war is going and its consequences for Israeli society. Talking about peace today is considered a threat. Seventeen-year-olds “don't ...
| 18/03/2025
| GATEWAY TO THE EAST
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”