Ramon H. Royandoyan

MANILA -- The newly signed agreement allowing Japanese troops to visit the Philippines for joint drills and training is seen as a potential launchpad to develop a robust security partnership between the two countries, as tensions in the South China Sea, most of which is claimed by China, continue to simmer.

MANILA -- The clear and present maritime threat from China in the South China Sea is compelling the Philippines to step up its newly-announced defense strategy and modernization of its arsenal.China made headlines on Tuesday last week when it intercepted vessels belonging to the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Philippine Coast Guard, which had about a dozen journalists -- including one from Nikkei Asia -- on board.

WEST PHILIPPINE SEA -- Tensions flared in the South China Sea on April 30 as Beijing disrupted a humanitarian mission by Manila.

Fortunato Villanueva Jr is preparing to harvest unhusked rice this month from land he has worked for more than 30 years.

As the Philippines chose a COVID-19 pandemic stimulus with no emphasis whatsoever on environment and sustainability, the battle to stop the construction of DMCI’s coal plant in Narra, Palawan continues for Teofilo Tredez and his allies.

Teofilo Tredez, a 55-year-old environmentalist and forest ranger, has won an onslaught of cases defending the environment, including trespass to dwelling and grave oral defamation.

The sound of clinking coins fills a narrow alley in Metro Manila. In the backstreets of Pasig City, children stream in and out of a corner shop, noisily exchanging bills for pesos before stampeding next door to a row of mini-internet vending machines: pisonets. “Pisonets are necessities,” said Madeleine Casim from behind the counter of her corner shop. It’s especially true in areas like this, she added, where phone signal is sparse.

In the heart of Makati City, Metro Manila, the once-busy nightlife hub Poblacion is quiet. The past year has taken its toll: over the past months, businesses that lined their streets closed their doors. Some have reopened (through an admirable, sheer force of will) but Poblacion’s usual haunts remain haunted, and not in a fun way. Some might say it’s the same Poblacion, sans the chaos.

When another strict lockdown shut down her furniture shop in Quezon City, Ana Patricia Non sat inside and stewed. The Covid-19 pandemic has been brutal in the Philippines, leaving millions of Filipinos hungry and unemployed, including her own workers. Government aid has been too little and wasn’t reaching the people who needed it most, and the country’s already wide inequality gap was growing by the day. Non came up with a simple plan.