Despite earlier assurances from lawmakers that unprogrammed appropriations would be scrapped, the bicameral conference committee yesterday agreed to restore the standby funds closer to the House of Representatives’ proposal of over P243 bill...

A mainstay in the national budget for years, the unprogrammed appropriations may have to be  removed in the 2026 budget program to ensure “immediate funding” for projects, Senate finance committee chair Sherwin Gatchalian said yesterday.

New Partido Demokratiko Pilipino president Sen. Robinhood Padilla has advised his the Senate colleague, Sen. Francis Tolentino, to resign from the erstwhile ruling political party.

Former senator Leila de Lima is preparing to file counter-charges against those who “politically persecuted” her during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

It was Speaker Martin Romualdez who was behind the distribution of cash amounting to as much as P20 million per district to bankroll the ongoing signature campaign as part of the people’s initiative for Charter change, Sen. Imee Marcos said yesterday.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning hit back at the Philippine armed forces over a plan to build a permanent structure at Ayungin Shoal in a bid to protect the country’s sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian yesterday sounded the alarm on the pervasive problem of bullying in schools, citing latest results of the Program for International Student Assessment.

Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco yesterday apologized to senators over the inappropriate behavior of an official who texted the senators to ask for VIP treatment for the Department of Tourism in the budget deliberations.

In this Flanders town in Belgium known for its strong local beer Duvel lies the vaccine manufacturing site of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, making its factory the center in the COVID-19 vaccine race.

Despite the Philippines being a secular state, the Commission on Human Rights may receive a “zero budget” next year after four male senators questioned the CHR’s position supporting a bill that decriminalizes abortion in the Philippines.

Former senator Richard Gordon has objected to the Supreme Court (SC) ruling that the Senate Blue Ribbon committee committed grave abuse of discretion in citing Pharmally officials in contempt.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senate finance committee chair Sonny Angara both defended the Office of the President (OP)’s P10.7-billion budget next year following the OP’s comprehensive report on its use of confidential and intelligence fund...

Calling China a bully, senators reminded yesterday the Chinese coast guard that it does not have the right to trespass into, much less remain, in Philippine waters.

Congress will convene for a special joint session after Undas to welcome Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his official visit to the Philippines from Nov. 3 to 4.

 It is China that is provoking the Philippines into resisting Beijing’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said yesterday.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo held a trilateral meeting in New York with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko to ensure cooperation in establishing a rules-based order in the South and East China s...

No way should the mandated SIM card registration be suspended just because of glitches that enabled fake ID cards to slip past its system, Sen. Grace Poe said yesterday as she urged telecommunication firms to make sure they do their part well in implem...

The Senate vowed to scrutinize the use of confidential and intelligence funds of close to 30 government agencies and realign the allocation for better use to national defense and security, through its recently activated oversight committee on the secre...

A Senate oversight committee will review the use of confidential funds of civilian agencies, including the controversial combined secret funds worth P650 million of Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte for her office and the Department o...