‘No power sharing in Senate’MANILA, Philippines — Senators from the majority bloc are eyeing Sen. Loren Legarda as a future Senate president, but this is not a power sharing or term sharing scheme, Senate President Vicente Sotto III clarified yesterday. We plan to elect her as the first woman Senate president after the 2027 budget. “She was my Senate President Pro Temp in my first term as Senate President in the 19th Congress. So I said, future Senate President,” Zubiri said in an ambush interview yesterday. Maybe she can be Senate President, the first woman Senate President.

Junking of Marcos Jr. impeach raps needs plenary approvalMANILA, Philippines — The junking of the two impeachment complaints against President Marcos by the House committee on justice will still have to be approved in a plenary vote. But the committee will face another historic turn in the country’s impeachment saga should one-third of all House members vote to disapprove its report. The Articles need another plenary approval by one-third of all representatives before they can be transmitted to the Senate for trial. It’s an uphill climb for Marcos impeachment advocates to gather the necessary 106 votes, given that the majority bloc consists of 253 members. ‘Impeachment an impossible dream’The dismissal of the two impeachment complaints against President Marcos by the House of Representatives makes impeachment an impossible dream, Bayan Muna said yesterday.

VP impeach case still not referred to SpeakerA photo uploaded on Dec. 14, 2025, on Facebook shows Vice President Sara Duterte joining her staff from central and satellite offices during the 2025 year-end celebration. The Speaker said the two impeachment suits filed by the Makabayan bloc and civil society group-led Tindig Pilipinas have remained in the office of House secretary-general Cheloy Garafil. Nevertheless, House justice committee vice chair San Juan Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora assured the public that lawmakers will strictly adhere and comply with the House impeachment rules that they had set. But of course we promise to do it in accordance with the House rules (on impeachment cases),” Zamora said. Duterte has since denied her alleged links to Madriaga, but the latter’s lawyer – Raymond Palad of the Palad Lauron Palad & Te Law Office – claims otherwise.

Have legs, must travelFirst up: the quote “What we have here is a failure to communicate” is from the movie “Cool Hand Luke” and not “Easy Rider.” My apologies. But on this morning, I wondered if God was suggesting that “I” could ask for the nations and own it as a bucket list for travel? Your boss, company rules and a bunch of other commitments have their claws in your back or shackles on your legs. All that means you spend more time working than enjoying travel. Many empty nesters now have the chance or choice to travel; with age, some of us can even travel solo once again.

EEZ debate: Manila uses science, Beijing uses trollsTrolls attacked my two columns last week: “While aggressing our seas, China calls us troublemakers,” Jan. 28, and “Here’s why China is on military, propaganda offensive against Phl,” Jan. 30. But they need straightening out about Philippine EEZ:• UNCLOS 1982 grants littoral states up to 200 nautical miles EEZ. The zones consist of internal waters, archipelagic waters, 12-nautical mile territorial sea, contiguous zone, EEZ and continental shelf. It is merely penciled on its maps of South China Sea, encompassing the West Philippine Sea, Vietnam’s East Sea and Brunei and Malaysia’s northern waters. The China trolls swarm with negative comments the websites of Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Navy, AFP and National Maritime Council.

High on Haitian LalanneNLEX coach Jong Uichico is upbeat on Haitian import Cady Lalanne who makes his PBA debut in the Commissioner’s Cup starting March 11. Bolts coach Nenad Vucinic will decide today on whether to sign up Lalanne or another import, possibly Cameron Clark, as Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s replacement. Uichico says Lalanne is a LaMarcus Aldridge play-alike, referring to the 16-year NBA veteran who averaged 19.1 points and 8.1 rebounds in his pro career. Lalanne is on the lean side with a decent three-point shot and mid-range game, adds Uichico. Lalanne averaged 9.6 points and 7.6 rebounds, shooting 65.8 percent from the line, with the Minutemen.

Eala rocks Abu DhabiMANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala continued to showcase the Filipino never-say-die spirit, saving multiple match points in hacking out a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus to roll into the WTA500 Abu Dhabi Open quarterfinals at the Zayed Sports City International Center. Chants of “A-lex, A-lex, A-lex!” erupted as Sasnovich couldn’t return a thunderous Eala winning serve, with the Belarusian’s shot kissing through the net first, then bouncing up high and going out of bounds. With the tremendous crowd support as if she’s playing at home, Eala was to pursue chase of glory versus Alexandrova late last night. Mabuhay at maraming salamat po,” beamed Eala who will also try to net a doubles semifinal ticket with Indonesian partner Janice Tjen against the second seed tandem of Chinese Shuai Zhang (doubles No. “These moments are just moments I have only dreamed about.

Thai in hot start; Jahns, Concepcion down by threeMANILA, Philippines — Thai Sarut Vongchaisit made the most of the more favorable conditions of the morning flights – and his familiarity with cow grass courses – to seize control in the Philippine Golf Championship presented by the Philippine Sports Commission yesterday. Keanu Jahns and Fidel Concepcion carried the fight for the local boys, firing identical 71s to stay just three shots off the pace. Vonchaisit’s fine work in Day 1 of the Asian Tour kick-off tourney also sponsored by BingoPlus netted him a cool $10,000 that Wack Wack earmarked for the player with the lowest score everyday. He received his cash prize from Wack Wack president Benjamin Abalos. “I had a hot start in my first nine and I started in the morning so the wind was kind of calm.

Winter Games: Team Philippines ‘can’MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino has a clear mindset as the Philippines fields two athletes to the 25th Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina in Italy: Nothing is impossible. “We have proven that it can be done,” said Tolentino as he looked forward to this edition of the Winter Olympics, which fires off today to officially welcome 2,871 athletes from 92 nations. Alpine skiers Francis Ceccarelli, 22, and Tallulah Proulx, 17, are left to carry the load for Philippines, which first competed in the Winter Olympics in 1972 in Sapporo in Japan, also with two athletes. The Philippines has yet to win a medal in the Winter Olympics but broke ice in the Asian Winter Games with a gold medal on men’s curling in Harbin, China last year. Tolentino said golden moments for the country in the 2020 and 2024 Summer Games in Tokyo and Paris, plus the full support or the Philippine Sports Commission under chairman Patrick Gregorio, should provide the needed push for the campaign in Milan and Cortina.

Super Spikers chalk up second straight winMANILA, Philippines — Cignal tamed the Choco Mucho duo of Sisi Rondina and Eya Laure and hammered out a 25-20, 16-25, 25-19, 25-18 victory yesterday to seize solo lead in the PVL All-Filipino Conference at the Filoil Arena. PVL on Tour MVP Erika Santos spearheaded the onslaught with a team-best 18 points that she laced with 14 spikes, two blocks and two service aces as the Super Spikers zoomed to the top with a perfect 2-0 slate. “We just stick to our strength, worked on our weaknesses and adjusted to the situations presented in the game,” said Santos. A factor in Cignal’s success was stymying Rondina, who had to sweat blood to score 20 hits, and Laure, who was limited to just 11. Later in the night, the PLDT High Speed Hitters, with tremendous boost from Savi Davison, debuted in the tourney with a 25-22, 25-17, 25-23 win over the Creamline Cool Smasher

Leviste ready for the worst, vows to release videosRep. Leandro Leviste (Batangas, 1st District) holds a press conference on Monday, Aug. 26, 2025 after filing criminal cases against the district engineer who attempted to bribe him. Leviste confirmed he was granted travel authority by Speaker Faustino Dy III for his foreign trips. Leviste, 32, said he will not waver, however, no matter what the cost – political or personal. Following investigations into his reported undelivered solar power commitments, Leviste – whose mother is an ally of President Marcos – earlier described the nearly four-year-old administration as a virtual authoritarian government. Despite being a neophyte, Leviste complained that bills are passed in the House without any debate at all, while hundreds of billions of pesos in the yearly budget go to questionable infrastructure projects, which include troll farms that spread fake news like wildfire.

‘Sexual AI images using kids’ photos proliferate’At least 1.2 million youngsters have disclosed having had their images manipulated into sexually explicit deepfakes in the past year, according to a study across 11 countries conducted by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), international police agency Interpol and the ECPAT global network working to end the sexual exploitation of children worldwide. MANILA, Philippines — New evidence revealed a proliferation of sexualized images of youngsters generated by artificial intelligence (AI), the United Nations children’s agency warned. The risks can be compounded when generative AI tools are embedded directly into social media platforms where manipulated images spread rapidly. UNICEF called for immediate action from governments to expand definitions of child sexual abuse material to include AI-generated content and criminalize its creation, procurement, possession and distribution. Digital companies are also called to prevent the circulation of AI-generated child sexual abuse material, not merely remove it, and strengthen content moderation with investment in detection technologies.

Marcos Jr. works outside Palace for first time since ailmentPresident Marcos interacts with Convi the humanoid and Convo the robot dog at the Converge booth during the Philippine Telecommunications Summit 2026 at the Newport Dome in Newport Resorts World, Pasay City yesterday. MANILA, Philippines — Nearly two weeks after being diagnosed with an illness in the large intestine, President Marcos yesterday resumed attending events outside Malacañang, wherein he reaffirmed his support for efforts to develop the country’s workforce and boost digital connectivity. They just need more opportunities so their skills and efforts can be used,” the President said during the launch of the TESDA skills passport mobile application. According to Marcos, the government allocated more than P1 trillion to the education sector and nearly P20 billion to TESDA this year. The TESDA skills passport mobile application is a digital platform that aims to integrate learning, certification, employment and scholarship services.

‘Generosity inspires generosity’Generosity is not medicine but it can heal. It is transforming into a living testament as to what generosity can achieve when it is structured, sustainable, and fully integrated. It honors Evelyn D. Ang, a philanthropist and the late wife of businessman Philip T. Ang, who was known for her compassion toward the sick and underserved. This is how the Evelyn D. Ang/D?na Charity Ward came to be, a testament to how generosity inspires more generosity, touching countless lives along the way.”That chain of generosity ultimately led to Mr. Ang, who chose to honor his late wife, Evelyn, by helping make this vision real. “Evelyn D. Ang/D?na Ward is more than a facility.

Genesis 22:14Born on a farm, Judson Van DeVenter learned to paint, studied art, and became an art teacher. Judson felt God calling him too, but it was hard for him to give up his love for teaching art. He wrestled with God, but “at last,” he wrote, “the pivotal hour of my life came, and I surrendered all.”We can’t imagine Abraham’s heartbreak when God called him to surrender his son Isaac. We say we love God, but are we willing to sacrifice what’s dearest to us? Judson Van DeVenter followed God’s call into evangelism and later penned the beloved hymn “I Surrender All.” In time, God called Judson back into teaching.