Philippines

In Asia, both rich and poor countries are lagging in the effort to vaccinate.
The Big Story

Vaccines versus the variants: Asia's race against time

For Japan, Philippines and more, a scientific miracle meets a political mess

17 February 2021
Marcos Jr.'s four-year court battle shows that he has deep pockets to keep fighting, said a professor.
Politics

Philippine court bins Marcos Jr.'s vice presidential poll protest

High-stakes ruling comes as country prepares for 2022 national elections

16 February 2021
 Jollibee is betting Yoshinoya's famous beef bowls will travel well amid pandemic-related restrictions on eat-in restaurants. (Source photos by AP and Nikkei)
Business deals

Fast-food giants Jollibee and Yoshinoya team up in Philippines

Joint venture eyes delivery as pandemic crimps eat-in restaurants

16 February 2021
Repatriated overseas Philippine workers arrive at an airport in Metro Manila on May 26, 2020.
Economy

Philippine remittances come in at $29.9bn, defying COVID

400,000-worker repatriation raises questions over sustainability of cash inflow

15 February 2021
Hyun Bin during a press conference of tvN drama "Crashing Landing On You," pictured in December 2019: the drama series set off a tempest in the psyche of Filipinos.
Opinion

How South Korea's 'CLOY' can help Filipinos create a better future

The Philippines has turned itself into nation of followers, not pioneers

12 February 2021
President Rodrigo Duterte has slapped a 60-day price freeze on pork and chicken in a bid to rein in commodity price inflation burdening the Philippines as its economy struggles with the impact of one of the worst pandemic-induced recessions in Southeast Asia. (Source photos by AP and Getty Images)
Economy

Soaring food prices hit Philippine consumers amid recession

Duterte orders price ceiling on meat and increased imports to tame inflation

9 February 2021
Philippine and U.S. special forces free-fall jumpers leap from a KC-130J in a live-fire exercise above the Philippines. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command)
South China Sea

US and Philippines to discuss key military pact -- and future of alliance

Visiting Forces Agreement is crucial to power projection in the South China Sea

9 February 2021
Sales plunged 80% last April as authorities clamped down on the initial wave of the pandemic. (Photo by Yohei Muramatsu)
Automobiles

Southeast Asia auto sales plunge 29% in 2020 on virus impact

Pandemic-induced slump eases as market shows signs of normalizing

9 February 2021
Security personnel look on during the visit by members of the World Health Organization team tasked with investigating the origins of COVID-19, at the Hubei provincial center for disease control in Wuhan, China on Feb. 1. 
Your Week in Asia

WHO's Wuhan probe, Toyota and Nissan results, Australian Open

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political news

7 February 2021
The Philippine government hopes to help businesses suffering from pandemic effects by cutting corporate income tax.
Economy

Philippines to cut corporate tax to 25% to aid recovery from COVID

Congress passes bill after data show economy contracts the most in region

3 February 2021
The Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords, top, conducts routine operations in the vicinity of the Chinese vessel Hai Yang Di Zhi 4, in the South China Sea, July 1, 2020. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy)
South China Sea

Chinese survey ships straying into other nations' EEZs, data shows

Tensions rise as Beijing's research vessels crisscross South and East China Sea

31 January 2021
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South China Sea

US vows to defend Philippines, including in South China Sea

Blinken tells counterpart Locsin that Washington rejects China's maritime claims

29 January 2021
A girl sits on a piece of wood in Manila in October 2020; the longer children stay out of school, the less likely they are to return.
Opinion

It is time to reopen Southeast Asia's schools

Pandemic reveals weaknesses in education and ways to improve it

29 January 2021
Transparency International says the Philippines, ranked 115th for perceived corruption, has responded to COVID-19 with "abusive enforcement, and major violations of human rights and media freedom."
Coronavirus

Corruption deepens COVID impact in developing Asia: report

Singapore is region's only country in Transparency International's clean top 10

28 January 2021
A passenger walks through a nearly deserted passenger terminal Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Paranaque, Metro Manila, Philippines, on Jan. 14.
Economy

Philippines GDP shrinks 9.5% in 2020, worst since 1947

Government eyes big rebound in 2021 after first contraction in 22 years

28 January 2021
The disputed Scarborough Shoal in 2017. The China Coast Guard routinely warns and chases ships and fishing boats in disputed waters.
South China Sea

Philippines protests China's quasi-militarization of coast guard

In a reverse, Manila's top diplomat calls new legislation 'a threat of war'

27 January 2021
The planned Sangley Point International Airport would take pressure off Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport. (Illustration courtesy of Cavite provincial government)
Companies

China-backed group loses $10bn Philippine airport project

Award cancellation boosts San Miguel's $15.4bn plan for separate project

27 January 2021
Chinese President Xi Jinping, seen here in January 2017, will address a virtual Davos Agenda event hosted by the World Economic Forum.
Your Week in Asia

Xi addresses Davos, Samsung results, Vietnam party congress

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

24 January 2021
A woman and a child walk on debris after flooding from Typhoon Vamco in Rodriguez in November 2020: much of the toll can be prevented.
Opinion

The next Philippines natural disaster is coming

What can be done to reduce the human and economic toll

23 January 2021
Students protest in Quezon City on Jan. 19 after the Defense Ministry cancels a longtime pact that hindered police and soldiers from entering the grounds of the University of the Philippines.
Opinion

Duterte pushes the Philippines closer to Marcos-era martial law

Revival of 'red-tagging' has set the country back decades

22 January 2021
Nissan's sales in the Philippines fell 49% in 2020 to 21,751 vehicles, compared with the previous year, prompting the Japanese automaker to shut down manufacturing in the country.
Automobiles

Nissan to end Philippine auto assembly operations

Manila's trade chief says closure justifies protective tariffs on car imports

21 January 2021
A boy carries a bag of onions at a food distribution center at a Rohingya refugee camp near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh: The WFP's efforts have been hit by COVID-19. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
Coronavirus

Food insecure Asians doubled to 265m in 2020: UN report

World Food Program faces budget pinch as governments face 'harsh reality'

21 January 2021
Philippine fintech player Mynt, known for its GCash mobile wallet, is looking to expand its lineup of financial services. (Image captured from YouTube account of GCash)
Interview

Ant-backed Mynt eyes more funds for Philippines fintech fight

Payment company valued at almost $1bn wants more services that rival banks

20 January 2021
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International relations

China to fund $940m Philippine railway linking former US bases

Beijing pledges to donate vaccines on top of infrastructure support

17 January 2021
A Toyota Motor factory in Laguna, close to the capital city of Manila. The Philippines subsidizes automakers that assemble vehicles in the country. (Photo by Neal Oshima)
Automobiles

Philippine auto tariffs send chill through pandemic-hit industry

Foreign automakers expect greater disruption from new safeguards

16 January 2021