Tag: sugar smuggling

Senator Mark Villar has joined the majority in the Senate. He was persuaded by Senator Migz Zubiri and was named chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Works and Highways, and into the powerful Commission on Appointments. Zubiri said that this had nothing to do with the ongoing impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, downplaying suggestions that it will help guarantee enough votes for the conviction of the Vice President. Zubiri said there is a chance that senators will vote not because of political affiliation, but their own conscience.

Representatives from the USA Rice Federation and the Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement, or PRISM, have signed a memorandum of understanding in Manila to reopen and expand American rice trade to the Philippines, reviving a long-standing commercial partnership that officials say will strengthen food security and open new market opportunities for both nations. The agreement was concluded Wednesday alongside the International World Rice Conference, with details released publicly Thursday.

AirAsia Philippines reported Thursday that bomb-joke incidents have more than doubled thus far in 2026 compared with the whole of 2025. The airline recorded five such cases through October, up from just two for all of last year. The remarks happened at various points during travel—at check-in, boarding gates, and even onboard before takeoff.

House prosecutors said they found gaps in Vice President Sara Duterte’s annual Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) from 2022 to 2025, the first four years of her six-year term, with the highest alleged gap reaching P98 million in 2023.