Under Duterte’s drug war, police killings rose 590%MANILA, Philippines — Police killings rose drastically during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, with prosecutors saying they spiked by 590% when the Davao strongman assumed power in 2016. ICC trial lawyer Robynne Croft attempted to establish the elements of crimes against humanity, showing that the drug war killings were systemic and widespread. Citing an expert on Philippine politics, the police killings under the first 25 months of Duterte’s presidency rose by 590%. In Bulacan alone, the killings rose by 1,600%. The expert cited by the prosecution also compared police killings in Bulacan with other countries and cities worldwide.

Excel 'dead list' ranking Duterte drug war targets bared at ICCInternational Criminal Court trial lawyer Edward Jeremy speaks before the Pre-Trial Chamber I and presents a table that shows the alleged ranking of targets in former President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war, Feb. 24, 2026. Screengrab via International Criminal Court One of the slides in the ICC prosecution's presentation of the merits of the case on February 24, 2026, includes an Excel sheet that shows a supposed list of targets in former President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war. Screengrab via International Criminal Court One of the slides in the ICC prosecution's presentation include a five-tier scale in which Duterte's drug war organized "targets." This number is not the total number of alleged deaths during Duterte's drug war but is instead the number of incidents in which ICC prosecutors have chosen to include in the case. "The PRRD list is a dead list," Jeremy said.

BIR ends audit freeze: New rules in motionThe Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) lifted the nationwide suspension of tax audits and field operations on Jan. 27 2026 through Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) 8-2026, ending a pause that began in November 2025 following a leadership change. Alongside this, it issued Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) 1-2026 prescribing revised policies, controls and procedures for audit and assessment processes. The overarching aim is to ensure transparency, prevent abuse of audit authority, uphold due process and promote responsibility and accountability. This approach effectively prevents overlapping assessments, where multiple divisions audit the same taxpayer for different taxes in the same year. With the audit freeze lifted, the BIR has put RMO 1-2026 into motion, introducing reforms that aim to simplify audits, prevent overlaps and reinforce accountability.

Duterte’s drug war targeted the poor, killed children — ICC prosecutionMANILA, Philippines — The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecution continued to establish its case against former president Rodrigo Duterte, reiterating a point made by activists and victims: the war on drugs was a war on the poor; one that resulted in the death of children. ICC lawyer Edward Jeremy continued the prosecution team’s case buildup, establishing the systemic pattern in which Duterte’s drug war was perpetuated on a national scale. "When Duterte said that someone should be killed, they ended up dead," Jeremy said. The prosecution also focused on the children killed in the campaign. Kill them, not because they are an alleged druglord, not even an alleged criminal, but simply because they may have an addiction to drugs.” Jeremy said.

DILG tracks Duterte's alleged co-perpetrators in ICC caseMANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) is already gathering information on the seven co-perpetrators named in former president Rodrigo Duterte's crimes against humanity case at the International Criminal Court (ICC). The alleged co-perpetrators include Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, Sen. Christopher "Bong" Go, former high-ranking police officers Dante Gierran, Isidro Lapeña, Oscar Albayalde, Camilo Cascolan, Vicente Danao and lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre II. Meanwhile, Dela Rosa and Albayalde both served as chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) during Duterte’s presidency. As Go remains present at Senate plenary sessions despite being named co-perpetrator, Dela Rosa is still missing. DILG's Remulla believes Dela Rosa is hiding in Davao with his family.

What evidence did the ICC prosecution present vs Duterte on Day 1? Nicholls instead focused on witness testimonies that, according to the prosecution, show Duterte created the Davao Death Squad. Screengrab from the International Criminal Court's livestream The prosecution's witness, a former Davao Death Squad member, recounted memories of Duterte during his initiation. I have a death squad, a death squad, but not the police." Screengrab from the International Criminal Court's livestream Duterte watched recorded CCTV footage of the three men who killed alleged thieves.

After dad's ICC hearings, Sara Duterte impeach hearings to start March 2Vice President Sara Duterte speaks to her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, during a hearing of the House quad committee, Nov. 14, 2024. House Committee on Justice Chair Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro announced on Tuesday, February 24, that panel deliberations on the four complaints filed against Duterte will start on March 2. Luistro said the committee hearings will run until March 4, but only for the purpose of determining whether the complaints are sufficient in form and substance. In case a complaint reaches the plenary and is found sufficient in form and substance, Duterte will be given 10 calendar days to respond to the allegations. Longer hearings likelyPresident Bongbong Marcos, who similarly faced impeachment complaints, survived the attempt to oust him in just three hearings.

He accused the ICC prosecution of "cherry-picking" speeches to prove he incited to murder over speeches with Duterte's more tempered language. Kaufman said it found 35 speeches where Duterte referenced lawful self-defense, versus 20 the prosecution cited as evidence of incitement to murder. Instead, he trained his fire on Duterte’s speeches and the media coverage around them. "It is indeed the defense case that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. set out to neutralize Rodrigo Duterte and his legacy," Kaufman told the three-judge chamber. Marcos has denied the arrest was politically motivated, saying the case was initiated in 2017 while Duterte was still president.

LOS ANGELES, United States — Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather will meet in a long-awaited rematch of the highest-grossing clash in boxing history this September at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Netflix announced Monday (Tuesday Manila time). "Floyd and I gave the world what remains the biggest fight in boxing history. Mayweather beat fellow welterweight Pacquiao in their money-spinning 2015 "Fight of the Century", which generated a record 4.6 million pay-per-view buys but largely failed to live up to the hype. Former multi-weight world champion Mayweather retired from boxing in 2017, unbeaten in 50 bouts, though he has continued to fight in exhibitions since, including an upcoming clash this spring with Mike Tyson. "As always, I dedicate this fight to my fellow Filipinos around the world and to bringing glory to the Philippines," said Pacquiao.

An aerial view shows a Border Patrol van parked by the Rio Grande River at Father M. McNaboe Park, where the US government plans to build a US-Mexico border wall, in Laredo, Texas, on February 20, 2026. (Photo by MOISES AVILA / AFP)

Let me share here three voices:Human frailty held up by divine strengthIn February 1986, the voices of Cardinal Sin and June Keithley pierced the darkness, calling a nation to courage. In those moments, I felt the desperate need to be part of the surging crowds, to witness the revolution firsthand. What remains of EDSA is no longer the noise of those days but the meaning of what was reclaimed. In 1986, power changed hands without civil war. That is why EDSA remains relevant, not as nostalgia but as standard.

Slim chance for EJ in World IndoorsMANILA, Philippines — EJ Obiena hasn’t cleared the World Indoors qualifying mark of 5.90m in seven competitions this year and the only way he can make it to the Torun, Poland event on March 20-22 is via his cumulative tournament points but that’s a slim chance considering his world ranking has dropped to No. At least five vaulters are qualified for the World Indoors with jumps of at least 5.90m. The Mondo Classic in Uppsala, Sweden, is scheduled on March 12 and it could be the last competition for vaulters to qualify for the World Indoors. EJ has been one of the most consistent vaulters in the world since 2022 and he’s the last person to beat Mondo. He’s pissed and we channel the anger in a positive way.” Lafferty said there’s still hope to enter the World Indoors.

Reports: Inoue, Nakatani set for Tokyo megafight in MayTOKYO, Japan — Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya Inoue will fight countryman Junto Nakatani in a mega-fight at the Tokyo Dome on May 2, US media reported Tuesday. The undefeated Inoue successfully defended his titles for a sixth time against Mexico's Alan Picasso in Riyadh in late December. Nakatani beat Mexico's Sebastian Hernandez by unanimous decision on the same card in his super-bantamweight debut. Inoue said he was "tired" after beating Picasso by unanimous decision in his first fight in Saudi Arabia. Nakatani also has an unbeaten record, with 32 wins and 24 knockouts.

During its hearing on Monday, February 23, the tourism committee deliberated on bills that sought to grant exemptions from the travel tax and to abolish it altogether. However, as Chair Eleandro Jesus Madrona pointed out, if Congress ultimately passes a measure scrapping the travel tax, the exemption bills would become unnecessary. "If the travel tax is repealed without a replacement revenue source, CHED's HEDF will lose 85.6% of its funding, which comes 40% of the travel tax. This is a structural loss that directly affects scholarships, research and institutional upgrading, and tourism education programs nationwide," she said. Agrupis also explained that travel tax revenues also help sustain 5.4 million students enrolled in 1,906 higher education institutions nationwide.

Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will face off in a professional rematch at the Sphere in Las Vegas in September, with the bout streaming globally on Netflix, the fighters and promoters announced on Monday. The fight marks Mayweather’s return from retirement and will be the first professional boxing match held at the Sphere. “I want Floyd to live with the one loss on his professional record and always remember who gave it to him,” the Filipino fighter said. The rematch will stream to Netflix’s more than 325 million subscribers worldwide, continuing the platform’s push into live boxing. The streaming platform has recently broadcast several high-profile fights, including Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson, which the company said drew 108 million live global viewers.