CoverStory

05/09/2026

Animal lovers walk their elaborately dressed pets during a show dubbed "Dog Pawshion Show" at the newly opened Seniors Citizens Park and Pet Park Plaza Azul in Manila on Friday, Sept. 4.

More than 20 dogs of different breeds paraded on the ramp. The crowd also brought their own pets.

📸: Bullit Marquez

04/09/2026

Workers rally near the Presidential Palace on Friday, Sept. 4, demanding the implementation of a wage increase that was recently approved by the government's Wage Board.

The ₱85 raise in pay for workers in Metro Manila was suspended by a Pasig court. Workers have accused the Department of Labor and Employment of justifying the court’s temporary restraining order.

📷: Bullit Marquez

03/09/2026

When we spoke with writer-director Jose Javier Reyes in an exclusive interview for CoverStory last year, the chair of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) used Ishmael Bernal’s screen drama “Relasyon” and Joey Gosiengfiao’s cult classic “Temptation Island” as tragic examples of cinematic loss to emphasize the urgent need for massive, immediate film preservation before more reels of our movie classics deteriorate beyond repair.

In that interview, Reyes told us that “Relasyon”—the film that won movie queen Vilma Santos a grand slam best actress sweep in 1983—could no longer be restored due to incomplete or damaged reels.

Fast-forward a year, and Direk Joey happily reversed that grim outlook at a press conference last week detailing the 6th Philippine Film Industry Month (PFIM)—a monthlong celebration launching today, Sept. 4, under the theme “Pelikula: Ginintuang Ikalawa.”

Read: https://coverstory.ph/2026/09/04/vilma-santos-starrer-gets-a-new-lease-on-life-as-fdcp-celebrates-50th-year-of-ph-cinemas-second-golden-age/

02/09/2026

One of Vice President Sara Duterte’s “most trusted” officials acknowledged on Wednesday, Sept. 2, that he was unaware that she had tasked a security officer, Lt. Col. Dennis Nolasco, with handling multimillion-peso confidential funds at the Department of Education (DepEd).

01/09/2026

Two Army officials stated Tuesday that their units received no confidential or regular funds in 2023 from the Department of Education (DepEd) under Vice President Sara Duterte for anti-insurgency and anti-terrorism programs for the youth, contrary to its claim.

They also told the Senate impeachment court that DepEd officials requested that the certifications they issued on these programs would highlight the activities’ success or the department’s participation, and not to justify its spending of ₱15.54 million in confidential funds as reward payments for its informants.

Two Army officials stated Tuesday that their units received no confidential or regular funds in 2023 from the Department of Education (DepEd) under Vice President Sara Duterte for anti-insurgency and anti-terrorism programs for the youth, contrary to its claim.

01/09/2026

A lawyer-diplomat in Singapore, a founder of a grassroots development organization in Bangladesh, and a former political prisoner in Myanmar are the recipients of the 2026 Ramon Magsaysay Award, widely regarded as Asia’s premier prize and highest honor.

31/08/2026

Members of civil society and religious groups gather at the launch of “Network Opposed to Pax Silica” (No To Pax Silica) on Monday, Aug. 31, in Quezon City. The campaign aims to scrutinize Pax Silica, a US-led digital infrastructure project believed to secure global supply chains, semiconductors, and critical minerals.

The No To Pax Silica network highlighted potential long-term impacts of the AI hub, such as the marginalization of Indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands, environmental harm, and threats to national sovereignty. | 📷: Bullit Marquez

30/08/2026

As it stands, Pax Silica risks becoming a deal where the Philippines absorbs the environmental, fiscal, legal, and governance costs, while the benefits—the computing power, the profit, the strategic control—flow outward. That is not a reason to abandon digital infrastructure altogether. It is a reason to demand a different kind of infrastructure, designed around who owns it and what it is built for, rather than around speed and cost alone.

𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘: https://coverstory.ph/2026/08/31/pax-silica-a-case-for-caution-and-a-better-path-forward/

29/08/2026

A testament to the dignity of manual craft and the delicate threads of familial legacy in an era dominated by rapid digital automation earned the coveted Best Short Film award at the 22nd Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival.

A Dipolog/Dumaguete short film, “Silkscreen” is Rey Anthony Villaverde’s second appearance on the festival’s stage, after his 2024 comedy “Ambot Wa Ko Kabalo Unsay I-Title Ani.”

“Silkscreen” will next compete as part of Lumayagan Shorts of the 6th Oroquieta Film Festival in Misamis Occidental on Oct. 12-15.

28/08/2026

In the first three years of Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s presidency, the first district of Leyte, represented by his cousin, then House Speaker Martin Romualdez, received P57 billion in DPWH funds, according to budget records obtained by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).

In the first three years of Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s presidency, the first district of Leyte, represented by his cousin, then House Speaker Martin Romualdez, received P57 billion in DPWH funds.