Attack on PH in S. China Sea Will Trigger U.S. Mutual Defense Obligation - State Dep't

“An armed attack against the Philippines’ armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea, will trigger our obligations under the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters (See Inquirer.net for story)..

PH Covid Cases Now More Than 800,000

The country’s total COVID-19 caseload exceeded 800,000 after the Department of Health (DOH) logged 8,355 new infections on Monday (See Inquirer.net for story).

PH Turns Up Heat on China for Boats Massing in South China Sea

Aides of President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday criticized China for what they called territorial incursions by hundreds of its vessels, which his legal counsel warned could damage ties and lead to "unwanted hostilities" (See ABS-CBN News for story).

PH Economy Goes from Bad to Worse

“The economic outlook in the Philippines has gone from bad to worse over the past month. The main headwind is a renewed surge in virus infections, with the country now reporting around 10,000 new cases of COVID-19 each day,” Capital Economics said (See Philstar for story).

Number of Filipinos Who View Religion as Very Important Drops from 83% to 73%

The number of Filipinos who believe that religion is “very important” in their lives has gone down by 10 percentage points – from the record high of 83% recorded in December 2019 to 83% as shown by a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) from Nov. 21 to 25, 2020 (See Inquirer.net for story)..

Pampanga Penitents Won't Be Nailed to the Cross Again this Year

Like last year penitents have to cancel their “panata” (vow) to be nailed to the cross for the 35th time as part of the local version of Calvary in Pampanga on Good Friday (See Inquirer.net for story)..

Fil-Canadian Wins SXSW Film Fest Jury Award for 'Islands'

Rogelio Balatas

Filipino Canadian actor Rogelio Balagtas has won the Special Jury Recognition Award for Breakthrough Performance at this year’s SXSW (South by South West) Film Festival (See Inquirer.net for story)

Comedian Jo Koy Releases Memoir 'Mixed Plate'

Filipino American stand-up comic Jo Koy has released his memoir Mixed Plate: Chronicles of an All-American Combo (See Inquirer.net for story).