News & Stories

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday reminded the public to seek early medical consultations once they experience symptoms of leptospirosis, as the agency reported over 700 cases of the illness in Central Visayas from November to December 2025. DO

H Media and Promotion Bureau Director Tina Marasigan said that the DOH’s data,

TACLOBAN CITY, LEYTE, Philippines — Mayor Alfred Romualdez of this city on Saturday vowed strict enforcement of the newly imposed 15-ton load limit at San Juanico Bridge, warning truck drivers against violations as heavier vehicles are once again allowed to cross the vital structure linking the islands of Leyte and Samar. Th

e mayor’s statement came

MANILA, Philippines — The Notice to Airmen (Notam) covering flights near Mayon Volcano in Albay has been extended until Sunday morning, Dec. 14, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap). In

its latest advisory on Saturday afternoon, Caap said the latest-issued Notam, covering flights near Mayon with vertical limits from the surface

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Daily Inquirer’s mascot, the feisty carabao Guyito, does not only live by its slogan “Balanced news, Fearless views.” It also

symbolizes the publication’s quest to make young learners fall in love with the written word, in reading and to aspire for academic excellence. Thus, Guyi

to has become a “gift” to many

A Royal Thai Navy spokesman says its military launched an operation to reclaim border ‘territories’ in Trat province. Thai

land’s military has launched a new offensive against Cambodia to “reclaim sovereign territory”, spurning mediation efforts, including that of United States President Donald Trump. Violence b

etween the two Southeast Asian nations continued on Sunday, a day after Phnom Penh announced that it was shutting all of its crossings with Thailand, its northern neighbour. The confli

ct stems from a long-running dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800km (500-mile) shared border. Fighting h

as left at least 25 soldiers and civilians dead, and displaced over half a million people on both sides. The newspa

per Matichon Online quoted a Royal Thai Navy spokesman, Rear Admiral Parach Rattanachaiyapan, as saying that its forces “launched a military operation to reclaim Thai sovereign territory” in an area of the coastal province of Trat. “The operation

began in the early morning hours with heavy clashes, conducted under the principles of self-defence according to international law and the preservation of national sovereignty,” Rattanachaiyapan told the Thai newspaper. The Thai military

said it has “successfully controlled and reclaimed the area, expelling all opposing forces”. The public television

channel Thai PBS also reported that the country’s military “planted the Thai national flag” after “driving out all opposing forces” in the area. Thailand’s TV 3 Morning News quo

ted the military as saying that, as of early Sunday, the country’s “army, Navy and Air Force are continuing with [their] operations” along the border. There were no immediate reports on casua

MANILA, Philippines — After a two-hour deliberation during the first day of the bicameral conference committee meeting on the disagreeing provisions of the 2026 budget, lawmakers have decided to fund farm-to-market roads a whopping P33 billion. Se

nators and congressmen found themselves in an elaborate discussion regarding the funding of farm-to-market roads for 2026. RE

AD:  Congressmen

These are the key developments from day 1,389 of Russia's war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Sunday, December 14:

MANILA, Philippines — Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards), the country’s flagship disaster risk reduction and management program, will be getting a long-overdue boost next year after the bicameral conference committee approved to allocate it P1 billion under the 2026 General Appropriations Bill. Th

e increased funding was approved alongside other amendments to the P18-billion

MANILA, Philippines — No one hit the jackpot in the Grand Lotto 6/55 and Lotto 6/42 draws on Saturday, December 13, according to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). In

the Grand Lotto 6/55 draw, the winning combination was 46‑52‑09‑37‑40‑17. The jackpot

for the game stood at P204,170,773.40, but there were no jackpot winners. READ:

MANILA, Philippines — At least P13 billion of the P60 billion diverted from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (P

hilhealth) in 2024 were used as government counterpart financing for foreign-assisted projects (FAPs), a lawmaker revealed on Saturday, as Congress discussed how to return the amount to the state insurer. Du

ring the first day of the bicameral

UN secretary general António Guterres says ‘unjustifiable’ attack on base in city of Kadugli ‘could be war crime’ A drone s

trike has hit a United Nations peacekeeping logistics base in war-torn Sudan, killing six peacekeepers, the UN secretary general António Guterres has said. Eight othe

r peacekeepers were wounded in the strike on Saturday in the city of Kadugli in the central region of Kordofan. All the vi

ctims are Bangladeshi nationals, serving in the UN interim security force for Abyei (Unisfa). “Attacks t

argeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law,” said Guterres, who called for those responsible for the “unjustifiable” attack to be held accountable. The Sudanese milit

ary blamed the attack on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a notorious paramilitary group that has been at war with the army for control of the country for more than two years. There was no immed

iate comment from the RSF. The attack “clearl

y reveals the subversive approach of the rebel militia and those behind it”, the military said. It posted a video on s

ocial media showing plumes of dense black smoke over what it said was the UN facility. The oil-rich Abyei is

a disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan, and the UN mission has been deployed there since 2011, when South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan. Guterres also called f

MANILA, Philippines — Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon has asked the Senate to restore the deducted amounts from the projects in the 2026 proposed budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) due to the reductions in the Construction Materials Price Data (CMPD). Th

e DPWH announced this in a statement on Saturday, a