MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED 7:00 p.m.) — The National Library of the Philippines head on Thursday issued a statement addressing the criticisms hounding his name, including his controversial appointment to the highest post of the organization. Cesar Gilbert Adriano, was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte as the executive director of the NLP on March 17, 2017 and was sworn into office on April 6, 2017. Adriano’s appointment, however, is being questioned by registered librarians since he is

(Updated July 11, 4:48 p.m.) The House Committee on Legislative Franchises on Friday denied ABS-CBN’s request to be granted a 25-year year extension of broadcast franchise after a series of hearings. A total of 70 members voted “yes” in favor of rejecting ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal while 11 lawmakers voted no. Two solons inhibited from voting and only one abstained. Rep. Alfred Vargas (Quezon City, 5th District), an actor-politician, inhibited himself from voting, citing “conflict of Interes

(Updated 10:14 p.m.) The National Museum Bohol last Tuesday presented online the second Megalodon or “giant shark” tooth fossil discovered in Bohol in time for the end of the observance of #CelebrateTheSea last month. Local resident Christian Gio Bangalao found the tooth fossil, which measures 7.6 centimeters x 6.5 cm, in Barangay Jandig, of Maribojoc town and donated it to the National Museum last May 28. In its “Shark Encounters in Bohol” series, the Bohol-based museum said it is the second

Life After Lockdown: Restos pivot to delivery as Filipinos’ social life moves away from dining Philstar.com's Life After Lockdown is a compendium of references on Filipinos' shift to a new normalcy during a coronavirus pandemic. MANILA, Philippines — Food and beverage businesses were buzzing with walk-in guests offered with culinary experiences before the health crisis. Now, the pandemic is forcing the already strained industry to reinvent the dining experience as cities graduate from the lock

'Left with nothing': Aeta community in Batangas among affected during Taal eruption TAGAYTAY CITY (UPDATED August 10, 2020; 9:46 p.m.) — An Aeta community of around 69 families in San Luis, Batangas were among the residents who were forced to relocate when the Taal Volcano erupted last January 12. This community, composed of almost 300 individuals, were residents in a seaside area in Barangay Banoyo, San Luis, Batangas. Their ancestors were formerly from Tayabas, Quezon but some of them reloca

MANILA, Philippines — The “gentle giants” of southern Cebu have placed the small village of Tanawan in Oslob on the world map. Local and foreign tourists are flocking its shores to watch and swim with the endangered, harmless whale sharks more than a dozen times their size. Tourists travel for almost four hours from Cebu City to have their encounters with the whale sharks, locally called “butanding” or “tuki,” the world’s largest fish species. They swim freely within 200 meters of the shore and

A well-loved thrift bookstore called Books from Underground which has been a pitstop for bibliophiles in Manila for a decade now is among the latest casualties of Manila Mayor Isko Moreno’s clean-up drive. The bookshop, which was visited for its piles of secondhand paperbacks and magazines in the Lagusnilad Underpass, was demolished on Monday along with several other stalls at the tunnel, upon orders from the Manila government. The local government’s move drew mixed reactions from the public.

MANILA, Philippines — It is unclear where a bridge symbolizing the fusion of two cultures—or ties of two states—is leading, as its construction faces opposition from local and international organizations and from some government agencies. The construction of China-funded Binondo-Intramuros "Friendship" Bridge last year made headlines as the proposed project is feared to overstep the edge of the San Agustin Church’s buffer zone in the walled historic area of Intramuros in Manila. Encroachment o

BANGKOK, Thailand (Update 4 11:36 a.m.) — Two years after landing the top five of the Miss World 2016 pageant, Catriona Gray now conquered the universe as she has been named this year’s Miss Universe title-holder. Catriona made the Philippines’ Christmas wish come true as she bested out 93 other beauties from across the globe. In her final answer, Catriona said her experience working in the slums of Tondo, Manila taught her to “look in the beauty of the children” and be grateful. “And I will

Show must go on: How Boracay's closure created the Calamity Survival Band AKLAN, Philippines — Before April 26, musicians were performing to full-house crowds in the different business establishments on Boracay . When the island was closed to tourists, they found themselves performing to an audience of a few to none. But the show, as they say, must go on so six of them converged and were absorbed by a beach resort and sports bar on Station 2. The unfortunate circumstance fortunately led them

The Holy Bible's Book of Genesis tells us that God created man from dust. The Philippine creation myth, on the other hand, claims that man emerged from inside a bamboo tree split in half by a magical bird. Philippine lore states that Malakas or "The Strong One" and Maganda or "The Beautiful One" surfaced from both sections of the bamboo. They are considered as Filipino versions of Adam and Eve. In the 70s, the glory days of the Marcoses, then President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and his wife Imelda

n June 30, Rodrigo Duterte, long-time mayor of Davao City, became president of the Republic of the Philippines and promised a relentless and sustained fight against crime, drugs and corruption. "My adherence to due process and the rule of law is uncompromising," he promised in his inaugural speech. His administration has pointed at a 31-percent drop in the number of index crimes -- 11,800 in July this year against 17,105 in July 2015 -- as proof of that the rule of law is being observed. Acco