Manila Times

1. Early survey shows VP Sara leads 2028 race

   MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte and Sen. Bong Go have emerged as the early frontrunners for the 2028 presidential and vice presidential races, respectively, according to the latest non-commissioned survey by research firm Tangere.

   The mobile-based poll, conducted from June 20 to 22, showed Vice President Duterte leading the presidential race with 35 percent voter preference — a six-point jump from the previous month — driven largely by support from the Davao and Northern Mindanao regions. Former vice president Leni Robredo followed with 19 percent, buoyed by voters in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, and the Bicol Region. On the vice presidential front, Go garnered 38 percent support, up by two points, while incoming Sen. Bam Aquino placed second with 22 percent.

   The survey revealed strong pairing preferences: 90 percent of Duterte's supporters also chose Go as their preferred VP, while 8 to 9 out of 10 Robredo supporters selected Aquino.

   The survey also explored a hypothetical scenario in which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. endorses Robredo for president. Under this condition, Robredo could close the gap and post a statistical tie with Duterte — and even leadi by two percentage points. Tangere also identified Go as a “wild card.”

   Among those who selected him for president, 51 percent said Duterte would be their second choice if Go does not run, while 45 percent chose Robredo as an alternative.

   The non-commissioned survey, conducted June 20-22, 2025, was administered via a mobile-based respondent application with a sample size of 2,000 participants (+/- 2.15 percent margin of error at a 95 percent confidence level) using a stratified random sampling method (quota based sampling).

   The proportion was spread throughout the Philippines, with 12 percent from the National Capital Region, 23 percent from Northern Luzon, 22 percent from Southern Luzon, 20 percent from the Visayas, and 23 percent from Mindanao. 

2. AI fakes duel over Sara Duterte impeachment in Philippines

   MANILA, Philippines — Days after the Senate declined to launch the impeachment trial of the country's vice president, two interviews with Filipinos arguing for and against the move went viral.

   Neither were real.

   The schoolboys and elderly woman making their cases were AI creations, examples of increasingly sophisticated fakes possible with even basic online tools.

   "Why single out the VP?," a digitally created boy in a white school uniform asks, arguing that the case was politically motivated.

   The House of Representatives impeached Sara Duterte in early February on charges of graft, corruption and an alleged assassination plot against former ally and running mate President Ferdinand Marcos.

   A guilty verdict in the Senate would result in her removal from office and a lifetime ban from Philippine politics.

   But after convening as an impeachment court on June 10, the senior body immediately sent the case back to the House, questioning its constitutionality.

   Duterte ally Senator Ronald dela Rosa shared the video of the schoolboys — since viewed millions of times — praising the youths for having a "better understanding of what's happening" than their adult counterparts.

   The vice president's younger brother Sebastian, mayor of family stronghold Davao, said the clip proved "liberals" did not have the support of the younger generation.

   When the schoolboys were exposed as digital creations, the vice president and her supporters were unfazed.

   "There's no problem with sharing an AI video in support of me. As long as it's not being turned into a business," Duterte told reporters.

   "Even if it's AI... I agree with the point," said Dela Rosa, the one-time enforcer of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte's drug war.

   Five minutes' work

   The video making the case for impeachment — also with millions of views — depicts an elderly woman peddling fish and calling out the Senate for failing to hold a trial.

   "You 18 senators, when it's the poor who steal, you want them locked up immediately, no questions asked. But if it's the vice president who stole millions, you protect her fiercely," she says in Tagalog.

   Both clips bore a barely discernible watermark for the Google video-generation platform Veo.

   Agence France-Presse fact-checkers also identified visual inconsistencies, such as overly smooth hair and teeth and storefronts with garbled signage.

   The man who created the fish peddler video, Bernard Senocip, 34, told AFP it took about five minutes to produce the eight-second clip.

   Reached via his Facebook page, Senocip defended his work in a video call, saying AI characters allowed people to express their opinions while avoiding the "harsh criticism" frequent on social media.

   "As long as you know your limitations and you're not misleading your viewers, I think it's fine," he said, noting that — unlike the Facebook version — he had placed a "created by AI" tag on the video's TikTok upload.

   While AFP has previously reported on websites using hot-button Philippine issues to generate cash, Senocip said his work was simply a way of expressing his political opinions.

   The schoolboy video's creator, the anonymous administrator of popular Facebook page Ay Grabe, declined to be interviewed but said his AI creations' opinions had been taken from real-life students.

   AFP, along with other media outlets, is paid by some platforms including Meta, Google and TikTok for work tackling disinformation.

   'Grey area'

   Using AI to push viewpoints via seemingly ordinary people can make beliefs seem "more popular than they actually are", said Jose Mari Lanuza of Sigla Research Center, a non-profit organization that studies disinformation.

   "In the case of the impeachment, this content fosters distrust not only towards particular lawmakers but towards the impeachment process."

   While some AI firms have developed measures to protect public figures, Jose Miguelito Enriquez, an associate research fellow at Nanyang Technological University, said the recent Philippine videos were a different animal.

   "Some AI companies like OpenAI previously committed to prevent users from generating deepfakes of 'real people', including political candidates," he said.

   "But... these man-on-the-street interviews represent a grey area because technically they are not using the likeness of an actual living person."

   Crafting realistic "humans" was also getting easier, said Dominic Ligot, founder of Data and AI Ethics PH.

   "Veo is only the latest in a string of rapidly evolving tools for AI media generation," he said, adding the newest version produced "smoother, more realistic motion and depth compared to earlier AI video models".

   Google did not reply when AFP asked if they had developed safeguards to prevent Veo from being used to push misinformation.

   For Ligot, guardrails around the swiftly evolving technology are a must, warning AI was increasingly being used to "influence how real people feel, pressure decision-makers and distort democratic discourse."

3. VP Sara’s impeachment trial to be delayed

   MANILA, Philippines — The Senate impeachment court announced today that it will postpone the start of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte until the House prosecution panel is realigned according to the composition mandated by the 20th Congress. Senate President Francis Escudero, who will preside over the impeachment court, said the legal teams for the defense and prosecution panels should be constituted first.

   Escudero explained that the House of Representatives will have to form a new prosecution panel under the 20th Congress. This change is necessary due to the departure of some lawmakers following the recent elections, and the transition of others to different positions.

   Despite the delay, Escudero reassured the public that preparations for the impeachment trial will continue as the 20th Congress convenes. He said that several vital matters need to be addressed before the trial can begin, including the establishment of impeachment rules and the resolution of pending inquiries regarding the complaints filed against the Vice President.

4. Jinggoy Estrada asks court to let him travel to US

   MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Jinggoy Estrada asked the Sandiganbayan's Fifth Division to let him travel to the United States from July 6 to 27, 2025.

   Estrada, who is out on bail, is facing graft charges in connection with the use of his Priority Development Assistance Fund.

   In a hearing on Wednesday morning on his motion, the court directed his lawyer to submit a return flight ticket and detailed itinerary of the senator’s trip.

   The prosecution has filed an opposition to Estrada's motion.

    

5. LRT-2 offers free rides

   MANILA, Philippines — The Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2) will offer free rides from June 25 to 26 following a technical problem that disrupted train operations Wednesday morning.

   In a statement, the LRT-2 management said train service was temporarily delayed earlier in the day but limited operations resumed at 7 a.m., with trains running from Recto Station to Antipolo Station. However, by 9 a.m., the line was reduced to provisional service between Recto and Araneta Center-Cubao stations only.

   The exact cause of the technical issue has yet to be disclosed, but authorities assured that repair efforts are ongoing to restore full operations as soon as possible.

   To assist stranded commuters, the Department of Transportation provided free bus rides between Antipolo and Cubao stations, and vice versa. The move follows a directive from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to ensure uninterrupted access to public transport despite the incident.

   “We thank the public for their understanding and cooperation,” the LRT-2 advisory said.

   The free rides are expected to ease the burden on thousands of commuters affected by the disruption during peak hours.

6. Marcos: Mideast tensions 'no significant effect' on PH economy

   MANILA, Philippines -- President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said the impact of the ongoing tensions in the Middle East on the Philippine economy remained "manageable."

   The President issued the statement a day after his meeting with his economic team to assess the effects of the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel.

   "We looked at it and analyzed what would happen and we saw that the effect on the economy should be manageable," Marcos said after he led the destruction of P9.48 billion worth of seized illegal drugs at the Clean Leaf International Corporation in Capas, Tarlac.

   "So, so far, there is no effect. So, there is no significant effect on the economy. That's all we're watching now is price gouging," he added.

7. LRT-2 limits operations due to technical problem, stranding commuters

   MANILA, Philippines — Hundreds of commuters were stranded on Wednesday morning after the Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2) limited its operations due to a technical issue that caused delays in the opening of the railway system.

   In an advisory, LRT-2 management said train operations resumed partially at 7 a.m. from Recto Station and Antipolo Station. However, full line operations could not be restored immediately.

   By 9 a.m., LRT-2 began provisional service, with trains running only between Recto Station and Araneta Center-Cubao Station, and vice versa.

   “We thank the public for their understanding and cooperation,” the advisory said.

   The rail operator has not yet disclosed the exact cause of the glitch, but assured commuters that efforts were underway to resolve the issue and restore full operations as soon as possible.

8. No winner in Ultra, Super lotto draws for June 24

   MANILA, Philippines — There were no winners in the Ultra lotto 6/58 and Super lotto 6/49 draws on Tuesday night, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) said.

   The winning combination for Ultra lotto 6/58 was 30-20-31-12-03-23 which had a jackpot prize of P151,270,025.60.  

   There was also no winner for the Super lotto 6/49 draw, which had a winning combination of 40-12-36-15-08-13 for a jackpot prize of P91,915,425.20.

9. Govt urged to reconsider cut on motorcycle taxi fleet

   MANILA, Philippines — A consumer advocacy group called on the government to reconsider its plan to slash the motorcycle taxi fleet of Move It, warning that the move could worsen the daily ordeal of thousands of Filipino commuters and strip thousands of riders of their livelihoods.

   The group Malayang Konsyumer urged the Motorcycle Taxi Technical Working Group (MCT-TWG) to prioritize the interests of the riding public as it deliberates on Move It’s pending appeal against an April 2025 directive ordering the removal of 14,000 riders from Metro Manila, Cebu, and Cagayan de Oro.

   “The hardships that commuters face every day due to insufficient public transportation will definitely be worsened by the order to remove 14,000 riders of Move It,” said Mark Jansen Magsano, the group’s convenor.

   Instead of addressing persistent transportation woes, the government appears to be aggravating them, he said.

   “Instead of solving this problem and other issues in public transportation that make life difficult for commuters, it seems the government wants to worsen and add to the burdens of Filipinos,” Magsano said.

   Move It, one of the few accredited motorcycle taxi platforms in the country, has claimed that the government’s order was issued without due process and relied on outdated data. Two major rider groups appealed to the MCT-TWG to reconsider the reduction, citing the severe impact on both commuters and drivers.

   “The concerned government agency should think of the plight of the commuters. This isn’t just a matter of compliance,” said Magsano, who emphasized that riders, many of whom are family breadwinners, face job loss if the cuts proceed.

   “They are earning an honest living, and now they risk being added to the growing number of unemployed in our country,” he added.

   Magsano also painted a bleak picture for commuters who already endure long queues, delayed rides, and crowded terminals.

   “Isn’t their daily struggle enough — the long lines, the race to catch a ride to work and back home to their families? Is the government truly trying to make the lives of Filipinos better?”

   In its April directive, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) ordered Move It to stop onboarding new riders for one year and submit a verified list of its active riders within 30 days. The board also emphasized the need for stricter transparency and oversight through the MCT-TWG.

   According to LTFRB records, Move It had exceeded its approved rider allocation by nearly 8,000 units. The board warned that failure to comply with the directive could result in the suspension or outright revocation of the company's authority to operate.

   The MCT-TWG has yet to decide on Move It’s motion for reconsideration and supplemental appeal. 

10. Cash, health, transport assistance offered to 31 Filipino repatriates from war-hit Middle East

    (UPDATE) MANILA, Philippines — A package of assistance awaits the 31 Filipinos whom the government brought home safely from war-hit Middle East.

    The repatriates were given P150,000 each  in immediate financial support by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Office of  Workers' Welfare Administration (OWWA) and  airport assistance that included temporary shelter or transportation to their provinces.

    The Department of Health (DOH), in coordination with the DMW, offered physical and mental assessment services, recognizing the potential trauma and stress experienced by those evacuated from conflict-affected areas.

    In a statement late on Tuesday, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac thanked the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), which also coordinated in bringing home the Filipinos, along with the Philippine ambassadors to Israel, Jordan, Qatar, Iran, and Lebanon, the governments of the Middle Eastern countries and Migrant Workers Office attachés and OWWA officers.

    Arriving home from Doha, Qatar through Qatar Airways Flight QR 934 were 26 OFWs from Israel, three from Jordan, and one each from Palestine and Qatar. They were accompanied by Cacdac and Assistant Secretary Venecio Legaspi.

    Their flight home was delayed in Doha because of the closure of Qatari airspace due to an Iranian air strike at an American air base.

    “We experienced flight delays due to airspace restrictions but what’s really important is that we are here at home, safe and sound,” Cacdac told reporters.

    The OFWs arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 at 7:52 p.m. on Tuesday, after taking off from Qatar at 5:33 a.m. Qatar time or 10:33 p.m. in the Philippines.