Protesters in the Philippines alleged election fraud after the son of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jnr, secured a landslide victory in the presidential election on May 9, 2022. He received more than 56 per cent of the vote, more than twice that of his closest competitor, the liberal candidate Leni Robredo. Robredo’s supporters expressed shock and disappointment following her election loss to Marcos Jnr. International observers said the election was fair and conducted in a transparent manner, representing “the will of the Filipino people.”
 

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jnr clinched a landslide victory in the Philippine presidential election on May 9, 2022, in a stunning result following a day of voting marred by technical glitches and reports of violence. An unofficial tally showed the son of the late Philippine dictator had surpassed the 27.5 million votes needed for a majority. The victory marks a dramatic turn in the fortunes of the Marcos family, a political clan that has been synonymous with kleptocracy in Southeast Asia for decades. The official election result is expected by the end of May.

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jnr, the son of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, clinched a landslide victory in the country’s presidential election. An unofficial tally showed Marcos had a significant lead with nearly 30 million votes as of early morning on May 10, 2022, double the  tally for his rival, Vice-President Leni Robredo. 

Philippines voters turned out in large numbers to vote for their next president on May 9, 2022. In this election, vice-president Leni Robredo is up against the former dictator’s son Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Polls have shown that “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is the likely front runner as he leads Robredo by over 30 percentage points. Voting started at 6am and is due to close at 7pm. An unofficial count may show the winner within hours of the close of polling booths.
 

A nuclear plant in the Philippines, left dormant after Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship was toppled in 1986, could be revived if his son Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr wins the presidential election on May 9, 2022. Built at a cost of US$2.2 billion, the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is close to a fault line and volcanoes that make the area vulnerable to earthquake activity. Experts have said it’s possible to get the megawatt plant to operate again, but it may take years to upgrade the outdated analogue technology at a cost of another US$1 billion.
 

Former political prisoner Cristina Bawagan still has the dress she wore the day she was arrested, tortured and sexually abused by soldiers during the late Philippines' dictator Ferdinand Marcos' brutal era of martial law. Bawagan fears the horrors of Marcos' rule will be lost in history if his son wins the presidential election on May 9, 2022. Also known as “Bongbong”, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has benefited from what some political analysts describe as a decades-long public relations effort to alter perceptions of his family, accused of living lavishly at the helm of one of Asia's most notorious kleptocracies. Bongbong leads the latest polls with 56 per cent of the expected vote.

Only weeks before the Philippine presidential election, Ferdinand Marcos Jnr remains the front-runner ahead of his main rival Leni Robredo in polls of voters who will cast ballots in the May 9, 2022 contest. Known by his childhood nickname “Bongbong”, Marcos is the son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who during his martial law regime tortured and murdered thousands of Filipinos. Critics accuse candidate Marcos of using social media and misinformation to target young voters, many of whom have no memory of life under his father’s rule. While Leni Robredo, the current vice-president, is riding a recent wave of popularity, the latest surveys from March show Marcos Jnr continues to lead in opinion polls despite falling from 60 per cent to 56 per cent. Robredo’s support in the survey improved slightly from 15 per cent to 24 per cent.

On April 10, 2022, Tropical Storm Megi hit the central and southern Philippines. The storm’s heavy rains triggered secondary disasters like landslides and flooding, killing at least 28 people, according to local authorities. Rescuers could be seen weaving their way through flooded roads looking for survivors. Officials have said more than 13,000 people have fled to emergency shelters. 

A boxer and ex-convict from East London faces life in prison in the Philippines on accusations that he was the head of a gang that waged a “reign of terror” that included kidnapping, extortion and drug trafficking, over a Makati red-light district. Darren Wall was arrested on March 23, 2022, alongside his wife, 23-year-old Kharney Jane Abejo, after allegedly brandishing a gun at a nightclub. Police confiscated a 9mm Beretta pistol and six grams of cocaine. If convicted, the 44-year-old faces 18 years without parole in Manila’s notorious New Bilibid Prison.

Troops from the United States and the Philippines are taking part in live-fire exercises on the northern Philippine island of Luzon. Marines from both countries have also held an island defence drill in the area during the annual Balikatan or “shoulder to shoulder” joint military drills that began on March 28, 2022. The joint exercises were described as the largest in years to be held in the Philippines. US military officials said the objective is to demonstrate the strength of their alliance, while their Philippine counterparts stressed a need for readiness amid “unfolding events” internationally.
 

The Taal volcano at scenic lake near the Philippine capital Manila has erupted again, sending plumes of ash and steam into the sky. After the brief explosion on March 26, 2022, some nearby residents were warned to evacuate to safer areas amid fears of further eruptions.

Using a thin brush and resin, Jesstoni Garcia sprinkles strands of hair and clippings on a blank white canvas to create celebrity portraits.The Filipino artist, hair salon co-owner and cruise ship employee came up with the idea to deal with the stress of working on the large vessels. 
 

In response to a Covid-19 case surge after the Christmas holidays, the Philippines is expanding a lockdown of unvaccinated people in and around Manila. The rules were widened on January 5, 2022, to include the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite and Rizal surrounding the capital. Two days earlier, Metropolitan Manila and its population of about 14 million was placed under the restrictions barring those without jabs from leaving their homes, except for essential reasons. The Philippines is also among eight countries facing a two-week ban on flights into Hong Kong starting January 8.

Some of Hong Kong’s boldest domestic helpers slugged it out at the Muay Thai Fighters Club One-Day Tournament on Boxing Day on December 26, 2021. The showcase event is meant to empower one of the city’s most overlooked communities, with most of the participants having spent their Sundays, their only days off, for several months to train for the tournament. A local Muay Thai gym has been offering the helpers low-cost classes as well as a venue to socialise with their community and de-stress as Covid-19 has limited their activities and prevented most from being able to travel to their home countries to visit families. 
 

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the Philippines. From Santa Claus traffic officers to Christmas displays, people are getting into the spirit of the season. However, the threat of COVID-19 remains as the country recorded its third case of the Omicron variant on December 20, 2021.

Philippine journalist Maria Ressa arrived in the Norwegian capital Oslo on December 8, 2021, to collect her award for the Nobel Peace Prize. A prominent journalist and leading critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Ressa co-founded the online news platform Rappler, which challenged government policies, including on extrajudicial killings and human rights violations during Duterte’s war on drugs. She has since been indicted on tax violation and libel charges, among others. Ressa was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov on October 8 for their efforts “to safeguard freedom of expression”. 

The Nobel Peace Prize was jointly awarded to Philippine journalist Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov of Russia on October 8, 2021. Ressa is a prominent journalist and leading critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Her online news platform, Rappler, challenged the Duterte government’s claims and policies, including on extrajudicial killings and human rights violations from Duterte’s war on drugs. The Nobel Committee said Ressa was awarded the peace prize for her efforts “to safeguard freedom of expression” in her country. 

Philippine Vice-President Leni Robredo announced on October 7, 2021, that she will run for president in the 2022 election. Her announcement came just a day after Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jnr, the son of the late Philippine dictator, entered the presidential race. In the last election in 2016, Marcos Jnr lost the vice-presidential race to Robredo. The 56-year-old is a human rights lawyer who leads the opposition Liberal Party and has been critical of incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte and his war on drugs. If she wins at the polls on May 9, Robredo would be the third woman to lead the Philippines.

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jnr is running for president in the 2022 election in the Philippines. A son of the late Philippine dictator, the younger Marcos filed his certificate of candidacy on October 6, 2021, saying he intended to provide “unifying leadership” so the country could “face the Covid-19 crisis and reopen our economy”. At least 31 youth groups at the University of the Philippines have banded together to oppose his candidacy and more groups are expected to follow suit. His father Ferdinand Marcos became president in 1965 and imposed martial law from 1972 to 1981, an era known for the torture of suspected communists and extrajudicial killings. 

Philippine boxing icon Manny Pacquiao announced his retirement from the ring on September 29, 2021. Starting his professional boxing career at age 16, Pacquiao rose to become one of the world’s most highly paid athletes. Pacquiao fought 72 competitions throughout his 26-year career, with 62 wins, eight losses and two draws. He holds 12 world titles and is the only fighter in history to win titles in eight different weight classes. His decision to retire came after losing to Cuban boxer Yordenis Ugas in August, Pacquiao’s first fight in more than two years. The boxing legend, who’s also a serving senator in the Philippines, is shifting his focus to politics, after declaring his candidacy to run in the country’s presidential elections in 2022.

Boxing icon and politician Manny Pacquiao announced his candidacy in the Philippine 2022 presidential elections. Accepting the nomination of his PDP-Laban party at its national convention on September 19, 2021, Pacquiao pledged to campaign against poverty and corruption. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest boxers of all time, as the only fighter to hold world titles in eight different divisions. While some see Pacquiao as living proof that success is possible for anyone who works hard, critics say the high school dropout will merely be a puppet leader.

Mass circumcisions resumed in the Philippines after “circumcision season” was cancelled last year by the coronavirus pandemic. Seen as a rite of passage in the Philippines, hundreds of boys undergo the procedure daily to remove the foreskin. It’s also regularly practised in Muslim and Jewish populations, but around 90 per cent of Filipino males are circumcised for non-religious reasons, according to the World Health Organization. But as the practice has come under greater scrutiny worldwide, there is still strong social pressure for boys to undergo the procedure in the Philippines.
 

Philippine boxer Nesthy Petecio scooped a silver medal in the Olympic final of the boxing women’s featherweight (54-57kg) division in Tokyo on August 3, 2021. Emotions ran high as the 29-year-old’s family in the Philippines watched the gold medal bout against Japan’s Sena Irie. The country’s first female boxer to earn an Olympic medal said she dedicated her triumph to the LGBT community, which she said she is "proud to be part of".

Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced on July 30, 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to retract Manila’s letter notifying the termination of an agreement allowing US soldiers to conduct military exercises in Philippine territory. Duterte earlier sent a letter to Washington threatening to scrap the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). But following Duterte’s meeting with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in Manila on Thursday, Lorenzana said that the president has decided to recall the termination letter, noting that “the VFA is in full force again.”
 
Video source: AP
 

The Philippines’ first-ever Olympic gold medallist Hidilyn Diaz received a hero's welcome upon her arrival in the capital Manila on July 28, 2021. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte congratulated Diaz during a video chat, saying the nation is “extremely proud”.
 

Female weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz will be bringing home the first-ever Olympic gold for the Philippines, after ending the nation’s near 100-year wait for the top medal. The 30-year-old lifted a combined weight of 224kg in the 55kg category at Tokyo 2020 on July 26, 2021, setting an Olympic record and tying the world record in the process.

Corazon Enriquez’s 21-year-old son was shot dead by police in 2016, weeks after Rodrigo Duterte became president of the Philippines and ordered a crackdown on drug dealers and addicts. But five years later, workers at the cemetery in the capital Manila had to exhume the remains because a lease on the gravesite expired and the family could not afford to renew it. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said its preliminary investigation indicates that tens of thousands of civilian lives have been lost to the widely condemned war on drugs between 2016 and 2019. For 63-year-old Enriquesz and other relatives of those killed, a Catholic charity is trying to ensure exhumed remains are handled with dignity when gravesite leases expire. 

Five years since The Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled China had no historic claims on the South China Sea, Philippine fishermen say they are still being harassed by Chinese coastguards in the disputed waters. The international tribunal also ruled that China had interfered with the Philippines’ traditional fishing rights at Scarborough Shoal and breached Manila’s sovereign rights near the Reed Bank. China says the 2016 ruling is illegal and invalid. Philippine fishermen are calling on their government to provide them with better protection.
 

The Taal Volcano in the Philippine province of Batangas erupted on July 1, 2021, and continues to emit plumes of smoke with high levels of sulfur dioxide. Cameras monitoring the volcano recorded the moment the volcano sprang to life. It had been discharging sulphur dioxide for the previous week, creating a haze over the capital Manila. As smoke shrouded homes in the capital Manila around 70km (43 miles) away, nearly 4,500 people were evacuated from high-risk areas.