FERDINAND MARCOS JR.

Filipino diplomats confronted Chinese officials in closed-door talks Friday with a slew of protests over China’s aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, including targeting a Philippine coast guard ship with a military-grade laser, but no resolution was reached on the issues, an official said. Territorial disputes in the busy waterway have long loomed as a potential flashpoint in Asia and have become a sensitive front in the regional rivalry between China and the United States. Washington lays no claims in the contested waters but has challenged Beijing's extensive claims, including by deploying its warships and fighter jets and repeatedly warning that it would help defend the Philippines — a treaty ally — if Philippine forces, ships and aircraft are attacked.

Marcos said without elaborating that the four new sites would be announced soon and they include areas in the northern Philippines. That location has infuriated Chinese officials because it would provide U.S. forces a staging ground close to southern China and Taiwan. The Biden administration has been strengthening an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to better counter China, including in any future confrontation over Taiwan. America's moves dovetail with Philippine efforts to shore up its territorial defense amid a long-seething dispute mainly with China in the South China Sea. One planned maneuver involves U.S. and Philippine forces firing rockets to sink a mock enemy ship in waters facing the South China Sea, the Philippine military said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has defended his decision to allow a larger United States military presence in the country as vital to territorial defense.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday defended his decision to allow a larger United States military presence in the country as vital to territorial defense despite China's fierce opposition and warning that it would “drag the Philippines into the abyss of geopolitical strife.” The Marcos administration announced in early February that it would allow rotating batches of American forces to indefinitely stay in four more Philippine military camps in addition to five local bases earlier designated under a 2014 defense pact of the longtime treaty allies. Marcos said the four new sites would be announced soon and they include areas in the northern Philippines.

Residents in the Oriental Mindoro province in the Philippines reported symptoms of illness after the MT Princess Empress tanker sank and caused a major oil spill.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Monday that he ordered police to crack down on illegal firearms and private armies and described as “terrifying” the weekend shootings that killed a provincial governor and eight others in a crowd. The attack on Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo at his home on Saturday by at least six men armed with assault rifles and wearing military camouflage and bullet-resistant vests was the deadliest on politicians in recent weeks. It was also the most alarming gun attack under Marcos, who said he was shocked when he saw footage of the gunmen walking into Degamo's residential compound then opening fire on just anybody in front of them, even those “who were not involved in their conflict.”

Gunmen in military uniforms fatally shot Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo and five civilians while the provincial leader was meeting villagers at his home in the central Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — (AP) — Gunmen in military uniforms shot and killed a provincial governor and wounded civilians while the politician was meeting poor villagers at his home in the central Philippines, in the latest brazen assault on local politicians in the country, police officials said. At least six men armed with assault rifles alighted from a convoy and opened fire on Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, hitting him and a still-unspecified number of villagers at his home in Pamplona town. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned the mid-morning attack, which was witnessed by local officials and poor villagers who gathered in front of Degamo's house to seek cash and medical aid, officials said. Gunmen wounded Governor Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr. of southern Lanao del Sur province and killed four of his bodyguards in an attack on their convoy last month. Police said they killed one of the suspects in a clash.

The Philippine president said the main mission of his country's military has changed to ensure the protection of its territory as disputes with China and U.S.-China rivalry intensify. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stressed the urgency of shifting the military’s focus to external defense in a speech before troops Monday afternoon. The Philippines condemned the Feb. 6.

Pro-democracy protesters in the Philippines marked the anniversary on Saturday of the 1986 army-backed “people power” revolt with the son of the dictator, who was ousted in that uprising, now leading the country. Left-wing activists, carrying an effigy that depicted President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as a pest, protested separately at a nearby pro-democracy monument. Faced with the awkward situation of issuing a statement to mark the revolt that toppled his namesake father, Marcos Jr. called for reconciliation without citing the event as a democratic milestone, as his predecessors had done.

The Philippines is in talks with the United States as well as Australia on future joint patrols in the South China Sea, where China's increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed waters are causing concern, top defense officials in the three nations said Wednesday. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called his Philippine counterpart, Carlito Galvez Jr., to reiterate Washington’s support and commitment to help defend its oldest treaty ally in Asia after a Chinese coast guard aimed a military-grade laser at a Philippine patrol vessel near a disputed shoal.

Responding to a question, Marcos said he was concerned that activating the 1951 treaty would ratchet up regional tensions. China claims the South China Sea virtually in its entirety, putting it on a collision course with other Asian claimants and separately with Washington. In the latest flare-up, the Philippines says a Chinese coast guard ship beamed a high-grade laser to block the Philippine vessel from approaching Second Thomas Shoal, which is held by Philippine forces. The Marcos administration sent a strongly worded diplomatic protest to the Chinese Embassy in Manila and Marcos summoned Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian on Tuesday to express his concern. Price renewed a warning that an armed attack on Philippine military forces, public vessels or aircraft, including those of the coast guard in the South China Sea, would invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments under the 1951 treaty.

The Philippine president says the Chinese coast guard’s use of military-grade laser against a Philippine patrol vessel in the disputed South China Sea was not enough for him to invoke a mutual defense treaty with the United States.

MANILA, Philippines — (AP) — The United States and the Philippines announced an expansion of America's military presence in the Southeast Asian country on Thursday, with U.S. forces granted access to four more military camps, effectively giving Washington new ground to ramp up deterrence against China. American leaders have long sought to reorient U.S. foreign policy to better reflect the rise of China as a significant military and economic competitor. China and the Philippines, along with Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, have also been locked in increasingly tense territorial disputes over the busy and resource-rich South China Sea. The bases were shut down in the early 1990s after the Philippine Senate rejected an extension, but American forces later returned for large-scale combat exercises with Filipino troops. Philippine military and defense officials said in November the U.S. had sought access to five more local military camps mostly in the northern Philippine region of Luzon.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced a new agreement to house American troops and military supplies in the Pacific.

The allied nations also said in a joint statement that “substantial” progress has been made in projects at five Philippine military camps, where U.S. military personnel were earlier granted access by Filipino officials under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, or EDCA. “The EDCA is a key pillar of the US-Philippines alliance, which supports combined training, exercises, and interoperability between our forces,” the U.S. and the Philippines said. Other local camps that would host American forces lie along the country’s western coast, which faces the disputed South China Sea. The bases were shut down in the early 1990s after the Philippine Senate rejected an extension, but American forces returned for large-scale combat exercises with Filipino troops under a 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement and the EDCA pact. The EDCA defense pact allows visiting American forces to indefinitely stay in rotating batches within designated Philippine camps with their defense equipment, except nuclear weapons.

The Philippines says it is allowing U.S. forces to broaden their footprint in that Southeast Asian nation.

The Nobel laureate has a to-do list with three things on it: avoid prison, fix the entire internet, save democracy.

At least 28 people have died in floods and landslides this month, after at least 50 were killed in severe weather during the holidays.

David Byrne’s “American Utopia” may have gone from Broadway but the Talking Heads leader is plotting a return — with disco.

MANILA, Philippines — (AP) — The Philippine Supreme Court on Tuesday declared unconstitutional a 2005 pact by China, the Philippines and Vietnam to jointly explore for oil in the disputed South China Sea, a decision that also brings other proposed agreements into doubt. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who took office in June last year, expressed willingness to revive failed negotiations for joint oil exploration with China in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Beijing last week. The court ruled that the 2005 agreement violated the constitution by allowing the state-owned oil companies of China and Vietnam to undertake joint oil exploration in Philippine waters. Under President Rodrigo Duterte, Marcos’s predecessor, the Philippines signed a 2018 agreement with China aimed at agreeing on terms for a possible joint oil and gas exploration in the disputed waters. A 2016 ruling by a United Nations-backed arbitration tribunal invalidated China’s extensive territorial claims based on historical grounds in the South China Sea.

The Philippine Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional a 2005 pact by China, the Philippines and Vietnam to jointly explore for oil in the disputed South China Sea.

The Swiss town of Davos will host 52 heads of state and government and nearly 600 CEOs as the World Economic Forum hosts its annual meeting in the Alps next week.

The acting Philippine defense chief has resigned, officials said Monday, in the latest in a series of top-level changes in the country’s security establishment that has sparked speculation of renewed military unrest. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. accepted “with deep regret” the resignation of defense officer-in-charge Jose Faustino Jr. and offered the top defense post to Carlito Galvez Jr., another retired general who has been involved in peace talks with insurgent groups, presidential spokesperson Cheloy Garafil said. Galvez has accepted the offer, Garafil said without providing other details, including why Faustino, a former military chief of staff, decided to resign.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday cut short the term of the military chief of staff he appointed five months ago and replaced him with a retiring general without explaining the surprise move. Marcos’s office announced the replacement of Lt. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro, who had received the highest military award for combat bravery as a young army officer. A statement late Friday that did not specify any reason for the change in military leadership.

Azurin dispelled fears of a massive loss of leaders that could paralyze the 227,000-member force. “Our organization is on trial here,” Azurin told a nationally televised news conference. A regional chief of the country’s main antinarcotics agency and his men were implicated in a brazen drug dealing that happened in his office in December. Human Rights Watch said the call for top police resignations could work against the government's anti-drug campaign. But now we’ve gone after them.”Marcos has not taken aggressive actions to prosecute his predecessors over the massive drug killings.

The Philippine national police chief says he has offered to resign to encourage nearly a thousand other police officials to heed an official appeal for them to resign en masse to regain public trust after some enforcers were implicated in drug trafficking.

MANILA, Philippines — (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. flew to China on Tuesday for a three-day state visit, saying he looks forward to his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as they work to boost bilateral ties. Alluding to the two countries’ territorial dispute in the South China Sea, he said he looks forward to discussing bilateral and regional political and security issues. “The issues between our two countries are problems that do not belong between two friends such as Philippines and China,” he added. Most recently, a Filipino military commander reported that the Chinese coast guard forcibly seized Chinese rocket debris that Filipino navy personnel had retrieved in the South China Sea last month. China accounts for 20% of the Philippines’ foreign trade and is also a major source of foreign direct investment.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is heading to China for an official visit including a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. flew to China on Tuesday for a three-day state visit, saying he looks forward to his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as they work to boost bilateral ties. “As I leave for Beijing, I will be opening a new chapter in our comprehensive, strategic cooperation with China,” he told officials and diplomats, including the Chinese ambassador, prior to boarding his flight from an air base in the capital. “I look forward to my meeting with President Xi as we work towards shifting the trajectory of our relations to a higher gear that would hopefully bring numerous prospects and abundant opportunities for peace and development to the peoples of both our countries,” he added.

The Philippines says President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. hopes to sign a number of agreements during a visit to Beijing next week that comes amid ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea. A statement from the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said a number of projects were under discussion, including in agriculture, renewable energy, nickel processing, tourism and bridge construction. Marcos is due to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during his Jan. 3-5 visit at the head of a large business delegation.

Hundreds of people have marched in the Philippine capital protesting what they say is a rising number of extrajudicial killings and other injustices under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The protesters, led by the rights groups alliance Karapatan, gathered at a public square on Saturday before marching toward the presidential palace in Manila to demand justice for victims.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will fly to a western Philippine island province at the edge of the South China Sea to amplify America’s support to its treaty ally and underline U.S. interest in freedom of navigation in the disputed waters.

The vice president is traveling to a region disputed by China, a delicate mission at a time of tension.

U.S. and Philippine officials say the United States is seeking an expansion of its military presence in the Philippines.

Vice President Kamala Harris will meet President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday to reinforce security and economic ties.

On Tuesday she'll fly to Palawan province, which lies along the South China Sea, to meet local fishermen, villagers, officials and the coast guard. Harris' visit is the latest sign of the growing rapport between Washington and Manila under Marcos Jr., who took office in June after a landslide electoral victory. “We continue to look to the United States for that continuing partnership and the maintenance of peace in our region,” Marcos Jr. told Biden. While aiming to deepen ties, the Biden administration has to contend with concerns by human rights groups over Marcos Jr. After her meeting Monday with Marcos Jr., Harris plans to meet civil society activists to demonstrate “our commitment and continued support for human rights and democratic resilience,” the U.S. official said.

Vice President Kamala Harris is visiting the Philippines to underscore America’s commitment to defend its treaty ally.

The Philippine police chief says law enforcers have killed 46 drug suspects and arrested more than 22,000 under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., figures he says shows efforts to avoid lethal force

Philippine authorities have killed 46 drug suspects and arrested more than 22,000 others under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s campaign, the national police chief said Monday, and added the lower death toll underscores efforts to avoid lethal force. Marcos Jr., who took office in June, has vowed to press on with his predecessor’s crackdown on illegal drugs, which left thousands of mostly petty suspects dead, but said it would be done differently and focus more on rehabilitating drug dependents. The widespread drug killings under Duterte were condemned by Western governments and human rights groups and sparked an investigation by the International Criminal Court as a possible crime against humanity.

He then publicly identified an inmate, Jun Villamor, who he said was assigned by detained gang leaders to call him and arrange Mabasa’s killing. The gang leaders later killed Villamor inside the prison by suffocating him with a plastic bag allegedly on orders of Bantag and Zulueta, officials said. He and Zulueta have also been charged for the killing of Villamor. Media watchdogs have condemned Mabasa’s killing, saying the attack underscores how deadly the Philippines remains for journalists. Nearly 200 journalists have been killed in the country since 1986, when dictator Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown, according to the journalists’ union.

Philippine authorities have filed murder complaints against the country’s top prisons official and an aide, accusing them of masterminding the killing of a radio commentator.

MANILA, Philippines — (AP) — Millions of students trooped back to public schools across the Philippines on Wednesday as the government enforced the mandatory resumption of in-person classes after more than two years of coronavirus pandemic lockdowns. The storm left more than 130 people dead and a trail of destruction, including damaged school buildings. Nearly 29 million students enrolled for the school year, including in privately owned schools, which can decide whether to resume in-person classes or maintain a mix of face-to-face or online classes each week. Many schools resumed in-person classes in August at the start of a transition period to normal classes. The prolonged school closures had sparked fears that literacy rates among Filipino children — already at alarming levels before the pandemic — could worsen.

Millions of students have begun trooping back to public schools across the Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines — (AP) — A strong earthquake rocked a large swathe of the northern Philippines, injuring at least 26 people and forcing the closure of an international airport and the evacuation of patients in a hospital, officials said Wednesday. Marcos Jr, who was in Manila, said authorities were inspecting roads and buildings, and welfare officials were providing help to affected residents in northern provinces. At least two towns in Cagayan province temporarily lost electricity due to damaged power lines. In July, a magnitude 7 earthquake set off landslides and damaged buildings in Abra and other northern provinces, killing at least five people and injuring dozens. In 1990, a magnitude 7.7 quake killed nearly 2,000 people in the northern Philippines and wrought extensive damage, including in the capital city of Manila.

Officials say a strong earthquake has rocked a large swath of the northern Philippines, injuring at least 36 people, forcing the closure of an international airport and prompting the evacuation of patients in a hospital.

Russia wants the Philippine government to honor a signed contract to purchase 16 military heavy-lift helicopters, which the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte had cancelled due to fears of possible U.S. sanctions.

Truck-mounted launchers blasted off rockets and U.S. stealth fighter jets streaked across the northern Philippine sky in a combat drill that marked the latest display of American firepower in a region where Washington has tried to deter what it warns as China’s growing aggression.

Philippine police have killed three detained militants linked to the Islamic State group after they stabbed a jail officer and briefly held a detained former opposition senator in a failed escape attempt at the police headquarters in the capital region.

But Marcos Jr., 65, is the namesake son of the dictator who was ousted in a 1986 pro-democracy uprising amid widespread human rights atrocities and plunder. Biden was the first world leader to call and congratulate Marcos Jr. after his landslide victory in the May 9 elections. I hope you feel the same way,” Biden told Marcos Jr. in a news conference. In an interview with The Associated Press while he was in New York, Marcos Jr. said it was useless to go into endless debates about the past. So, what’s the point?”“They put you there to help, to be of service and so, that’s what I will do.” Marcos Jr. said.

Saturday marks Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 100th day in office.

WASHINGTON — (AP) — Winning the Nobel Peace Prize often provides a boost for a grassroots activist or international group working for peace and human rights, opening doors and elevating the causes for which they fight. For the two journalists who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021, the past year has not been easy. All other major independent Russian media either closed down or had their websites blocked. One bright spot came in June, when his Nobel Peace Prize sold at auction for $103.5 million, shattering the old record for a Nobel. “And that’s not allowed in our rules, in our law.”The 2022 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday in Oslo.

When the Nobel Peace Prize is announced on Friday, it could provide a boost for a grassroots activist or international group working for peace and human rights.

Motorcycle-riding gunmen have killed a longtime radio commentator in metropolitan Manila in the latest attack on a member of the media in the Philippines, considered one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists.

A trip by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Singapore over the weekend to watch Formula One races has come under attack from critics who described it as “utterly callous” while thousands of Filipinos remain displaced due to a recent typhoon. Marcos Jr. confirmed his trip to Singapore for the Grand Prix event in a brief statement and pictures he posted on Facebook on Monday night after a flurry of online criticism. “They say that playing golf is the best way to drum up business, but I say it’s Formula 1,” Marcos Jr. said.

Poor, rural farmers have shouldered the brunt of natural disasters that have ravaged the Philippines in recent years. Super Typhoon Noru was no exception.

Typhoon Noru has left a trail of destruction in northern Philippine provinces with at least eight people dead, including a group of rescuers who were scrambling to save villagers trapped in floodwaters.

The United Nations was established on one simple notion above all others — that working together is better than going it alone.

Asked if Duterte went too far with his lethal drug crackdown, Marcos redirected the criticism toward those who carried out the plan. Marcos, 65, sat for a wide-ranging interview in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly's annual leaders' meeting. “I did not indulge in any of that political back-and-forth concerning the Marcos family," he said. "So what’s the point?”The elder Marcos placed the Philippines under martial law in 1972, a year before his term was to expire. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/anthonyted and, for more AP coverage of the UNGA, visit https://apnews.com/hub/united-nations-general-assemblyCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants to “reintroduce the Philippines” to the world.

Looking to “reintroduce the Philippines" to the world, new President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ambitious plans for his nation on the international stage and at home — if, that is, the twin specters of pandemic and climate change can be overcome or at least managed. Marcos, swept into office this spring, is already drawing distinctions both subtle and obvious between himself and his voluble predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who alienated many international partners with his violent approach to fighting drug trafficking and the coarse rhetoric he used to galvanize supporters. Asked if Duterte went too far with his lethal drug crackdown, Marcos redirected the criticism toward those who carried out the plan.

Biden also noted that the Philippines was among U.S. allies to quickly condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The "One China" policy recognizes Beijing as the government of China but allows informal relations and defense ties with Taiwan. He has said he wants to pursue closer ties with China, which has also sought to court him. He sees a rising China as the most threatening economic and national security adversary to the United States. The elder Marcos placed the Philippines under martial law in 1972, a year before his term was to expire.

Biden also noted that the Philippines was among U.S. allies to quickly condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “It's a critical, critical relationship,” Biden told Marcos at the start of the meeting. The United States' "One China" policy recognizes Beijing as the government of China but allows informal relations and defense ties with Taipei. The elder Marcos placed the Philippines under martial law in 1972, a year before his term was to expire. The Biden administration has sought to build strong relations with the younger Marcos administration.

President Joe Biden has pledged in his first face-to-face meeting with new Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to work to strengthen relations with the key Pacific nation after what he acknowledged had been some “rocky times” in the past.

Survivors of torture and other atrocities under Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos on Wednesday marked his martial law declaration 50 years ago by pressing their demand for justice and apology from his son — now the country’s president in a stunning reversal of fortunes for the once reviled family. Activists held street protests, a musical concert and unveiled a documentary at the state-run University of the Philippines.

Hope can be hard to find anywhere these days.

UNITED NATIONS — (AP) — The world’s richest people have put its poorest at risk, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. charged Tuesday at the United Nations, pushing for action on inequality, nuclear weapons and climate change. “The effects of climate change are uneven and reflect a historical injustice: Those who are least responsible suffer the most,” Marcos said. Among other issues, Marcos called for a reduction in nuclear arms and the creation of regulations governing cyberspace the weaponization of artificial intelligence. Marcos was swept into office in a stunning election victory, 36 years after an army-backed “People Power” revolt booted his father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., from office and into global infamy. The elder Marcos was known for tyrannical rule, though his son has rejected labeling him a dictator.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is telling leaders gathered at the United Nations that the world’s richest people have put its poorest at risk

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is telling leaders gathered at the United Nations that the world’s richest people have put its poorest at risk.

The world’s richest people have put its poorest at risk, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. charged Tuesday at the United Nations, pushing for action on inequality, nuclear weapons and climate change. Addressing the U.N. General Assembly for the first time since taking office in June, Marcos said “the time for talk about ‘if’ and ‘when’ has long since passed” on climate change, and he called on industrialized countries to fulfill obligations to cut greenhouse gases and aid developing countries.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said it’s wrong to describe his late father as a dictator and that his brutal martial law rule in the 1970s was not meant to prolong his grip on power — comments that were immediately rejected by human rights activists. It was the first time since he took office in June that Marcos Jr. has addressed some of the controversial issues that have hounded him and his family. A transcript of the interview on new broadcasting company ALLTV by TV host and actress Toni Gonzaga, who backed Marcos Jr.'s candidacy, was released by his press secretary.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is extending a state of calamity declared by his predecessor more than two years ago to deal with continuing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is extending a state of calamity declared by his predecessor more than two years ago to deal with continuing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, an official said Monday. Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles also said a previously announced plan to lift the compulsory wearing of masks outdoors will take effect immediately throughout the country, except in crowded areas where people cannot observe social distancing. The Philippines and Myanmar were the last two countries in Southeast Asia that still required the wearing of masks outdoors, Philippine officials said.

Human rights activists in the Philippines rejected on Saturday President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s move to proclaim the birthday of his late father, an ousted dictator, a special holiday in their northern home province. Marcos Jr., who took office in June after a landslide election victory, authorized the declaration of the non-working public holiday in Ilocos Norte province on Monday for celebrations marking the 105th birth anniversary of his namesake father. “It is but fitting and proper that the people of the province of Ilocos Norte be given the full opportunity to celebrate and participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies,” said the presidential proclamation, which was signed by Marcos Jr.’s executive secretary and posted on Facebook.

MANILA, Philippines — (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved a recommendation to end the mandatory wearing of face masks outdoors across the country more than two years after it was imposed at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, top officials said Wednesday. The Philippines and Myanmar are the last countries in Southeast Asia to ease the compulsory wearing of masks outdoors, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said. He appealed to people to keep maintaining distance and washing hands, and urged the elderly and those afflicted with other illnesses to continue wearing mask outdoors. The government move came after Mayor Michael Rama of central Cebu City declared the wearing of masks outdoors voluntary in a trial period ending at the end of the year. Among the hardest hit by coronavirus outbreaks in Southeast Asia, the Philippines imposed one of the longest lockdowns in the world, which caused its worst economic recession in decades and deepened poverty, hunger and unemployment.

Philippine officials say President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved a recommendation to end the mandatory wearing of masks outdoors across the country more than two years after it was imposed at the height of the coronavirus pandemic

Philippine officials say President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved a recommendation to end the mandatory wearing of masks outdoors across the country more than two years after it was imposed at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved a recommendation to end the mandatory wearing of face masks outdoors across the country more than two years after it was imposed at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, top officials said Wednesday. The Philippines and Myanmar are the last countries in Southeast Asia still requiring the compulsory wearing of masks outdoors, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said, adding the change in the country’s masking policy will take effect after Marcos Jr. issues an executive order. A study showed the lifting of the mandatory requirement in other countries has not led to an alarming upsurge in infections when people continue to take precautions, he said.

U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, who was once banned from the Philippines by former President Rodrigo Duterte, has met a long-detained Filipino opposition leader, whom he says was wrongfully imprisoned under Duterte and should be freed.

Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos has been laid to rest in a state funeral.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says China should not hold talks on important global matters such as the climate crisis “hostage,” after Beijing cut off contacts with Washington in retaliation for U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan earlier this week.

Philippine officials say the government has scrapped a deal to purchase 16 Russian military transport helicopters due to fears of possible U.S. sanctions.

A strong earthquake has killed at least five people, injured dozens and damaged buildings in the northern Philippines.

Philippine police say a gunman opened fire on university campus in the Philippine capital region, killing a former town mayor and two others in a brazen attack ahead of a graduation ceremony.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on China to comply with a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated its vast territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has praised his father’s legacy and glossed over its violent past as he was sworn in as Philippine president.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa says her Rappler news website is operating as usual and will let Philippine courts decide on an order to close the outlet.

Sara Duterte, the daughter of the outgoing populist president of the Philippines, has taken her oath as vice president following a landslide electoral victory she clinched despite her father’s human rights record that saw thousands of drug suspects gunned down.

A top State Department official has met with Philippine President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila, part of an ongoing diplomatic outreach in the Asia-Pacific region by Washington to try and blunt growing Chinese influence.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been proclaimed the next president of the Philippines by a joint session of Congress following a landslide electoral triumph 36 years after his dictator father was ousted in a pro-democracy uprising.

Allies of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the presumptive next president of the Philippines, appear set to dominate both chambers of Congress, alarming activists after the late dictator son's apparent election victory restored his family to the seat of power.

President Joe Biden has called Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to congratulate him on his apparent landslide victory in the Philippine presidential election.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared victory in this week's presidential elections in the Philippines.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s apparent landslide victory in the Philippines presidential election is raising immediate concerns about a further erosion of democracy in Asia.

The powerful alliance between the son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and the daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte is set to usher in six years of governance in the Philippines that are concerning to human rights activists.

The namesake son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos appears to have been elected Philippine president in an astonishing reversal of the 1986 “People Power” revolt that ousted his father.

Voters in the Philippines are choosing their next leader, senators, representatives and thousands of local office holders Monday.

The son and namesake of ousted Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos has taken a commanding lead in an unofficial count in the presidential election in the deeply divided Asian democracy.

Voters in the Philippines will be choosing their next leader between the son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and a human rights lawyer, the current Vice President Leni Robredo.

Memories of the “People Power” revolt by millions of Filipinos who helped overthrow Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos are bittersweet for Loretta Rosales, who opposed him as an activist and was arrested and tortured by his forces before his downfall.