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DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Davao del Sur Vice Gov. Ma

rc Douglas Cagas IV refuted insinuations that the firearms he declared lost last month had anything to do with the firearms used in the killing of his close supporter Oscar “Dodong” Bucol Jr., the chair of Barangay Tres de Mayo in Digos City.   Cagas sa

id official

MANILA, Philippines — One ticket holder won the MegaLotto 6/45 jackpot in Monday night’s draw, while no one matched all six numbers in the Grand Lotto 6/55, pushing its top prize higher, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office said. The

MegaLotto 6/45 jackpot was claimed by a lone bettor after matching 10-21-23-30-01-15, good for approximately P25.11

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ON TARGET.

(L-R) Genesis Pible, Edcel John Gino, Rolly Nathaniel Tecson, and Erin Mattea Micor each win a practical shooting gold medal for the Philippines in the Southeast Asian Games on December 15, 2025.

CHONBURI, Thailand – The Philippines enjoyed its most prolific day in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games following an eight-gold haul on Monday, December 15, fueled by a golden barrage in practical shooting. Ro

lly Nathaniel Tecson, Edcel John Gino, Genesis Pible, and Erin Mattea Micor hit the mark as they each delivered gold medals at the conclusion of the three-day practical shooting competition at the THPSA Shooting Range here. Te

cson won the men’s standard individual and Micor topped the women’s open individual, while Gino and Pible ruled the men’s and women’s production optic individual events, respectively, for a dominant showing in a sport staged in the SEA Games for the first time. For Tecson

, a champion in the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) Handgun World Shoots, it is high time for their sport to get the attention it deserves. “We have a

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Here are today’s headlines – the latest news in the Philippines and around the world: Publ

ic Works Secretary Vince Dizon appeals last minute to restore nearly P54 billion that was cut from the DPWH budget for 2026. This

, as he makes a surprise appearance at the bicameral conference committee on Sunday, December 14. Thre

e Filipino fishermen are wounded while two vessels suffered ‘significant damage’ after Chinese coast guard ships fired water cannons at nearly two dozen Filipino fishing boats near Escoda Shoal. Hong Kon

g’s high court finds pro-democracy campaigner and former media owner Jimmy Lai guilty of conspiracy and sedition. This, unde

r a China-imposed national security law that could see him jailed for life. 15 people

are killed after two men opened fire at a Jewish celebration in Sydney, Australia; while a gunman kills two students in a shooting at Brown University in the United States. The Philip

pines continues its medal haul at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand. In wushu,

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CHAMPIONS.

Hussein Lorau00f1a and Naomi Cesar of the Philippines win the athletics gold medals in men's and women's 800m, respectively, in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games.

CHONBURI, Thailand – It may have been just their first Southeast Asian Games stint, but Hussein Loraña and Naomi Cesar have already left their mark. The

two young guns raised the Philippines’ golden tally in athletics to four after sweeping the 800m events at the Supachalasai National Stadium in Bangkok on Monday, December 15. Lorañ

a, 21, topped the men’s 800m with a time of 1:48.80, denying 2021 champion Joshua Atkinson a return to the top of the podium as the Thai settled for silver with 1:49.24. Malaysia

’s Wan Muhammad Fazri Wan Zahari bagged bronze with 1:49.85. “I’m reall

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ASSISTANCE.

The Philippine Coast Guard provides medical aid to Filipino fishermen harassed by the China Coast Guard.

MANILA, Philippines – The United States’ Department of State condemned China on Sunday, December 14 (Monday, December 15, Manila time) after it used water cannons against Filipino fisherfolk and cut their anchor lines in the West Philippine Sea. “The

se aggressive actions endangered Filipinos fishing for their livelihoods. We sta

nd with our Philippine allies as they confront China’s provocative actions and increasingly dangerous tactics against its neighbors, which undermine regional stability,” said State Department Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott in a statement. The State

Department’s remarks come after Washington’s envoy to Manila, Ambassador MaryKay Carlson, hit China for threatening the lives of Filipino fisherfolk. “China Coast G

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Editor’s note: This press release is sponsored by Purefoods Ready-To-Eat and was handled by BrandRap, the sales and marketing arm of Rappler. No

member of the news and editorial team participated in the publishing of this piece. Fo

r many holiday hustlers, the Christmas calendar fills up fast. Of

fice deadlines, get togethers, school programs, errands, and endless to-do lists leave little time to plan and prepare hearty meals. Ye

t, the desire never changes: to sit down with family and friends and serve something warm, special, and comforting. A

meal that feels like home. Pu

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Believe it or not, this nation witnessed — in a year that’s not over yet — the arrest and detention abroad of a former president, the impeachment of a vice president (and her suspended trial, courtesy of the Supreme Court), the midterm elections that crushed the administration slate, the fall from power of a once-untouchable House speaker, the fall from grace of a Senate president and his fashionable wife, and an unprecedented flood control scandal that’s now exposing the underground structures that have elected the corrupt and kept them in power. China’s

constant and infuriating incursions into our territory (the latest of which just happened on December 12) suddenly paled in comparison. The only t

hing that this year’s political turmoil could not surpass is the rate by which our incomes have deflated. The year 202

5 did begin rather ominously for the world. Los Angeles’

apocalyptic wildfires in January burned down everything in their path. And then Donal

d Trump was sworn in the second time around as US president, declaring he was saved by God to rescue America. Yet, if there’

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. JV 

Ejercito has appealed to his colleagues in the bicameral conference committee to reconsider the “massive” budget hike for the controversial Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients or MAIFIP program. Ejercito

is one of  the conferees of the bicam panel on the propose P6.793-trillion budget for 2026 but  he could not attend its

MANILA, Philippines — A Church leader has called on lawmakers to “renounce pork once and for all” as he criticized the decision of the bicameral conference committee to increase the budget of the Department of Health’s (DOH) Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated program (MAIFIP). READ: Bi

cam raises MAIFIP budget to P51B amid backlash

MANILA, Philippines — The reduced material costs presented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) cannot be applied wholesale or to all line items under the general appropriations bill (GAB), as it resulted in inaccurate estimates for 10,000 projects, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon told the bicameral conference committee on Sunday. Di

zon in

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives is grappling with competing legislative proposals aimed at finally fulfilling the decades-old constitutional mandate to prohibit political dynasties, with key differences emerging over how wide the net should be cast on prohibiting family relationships in public office. In

the current 20th Congress alone, there are at least 13