Here鈥檚 a quick roundup of today鈥檚 top stories:
As the country marked the eight anniversary of the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling on the聽聽/ South China Sea on Friday, advocates renewed the call to declare July 12 as the 鈥淲est Philippine Sea Day.鈥�
Atin Ito leaders made the suggestion as it joined initiatives and expressions of support to uphold Manila鈥檚 landmark legal victory against Beijing.
On the eighth anniversary of the聽聽that the nation has exclusive sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea, the United States (US) said it remains 鈥渄eeply concerned鈥� over China鈥檚 assertion of territorial sovereignty over areas within the maritime jurisdiction of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.
鈥淭he US remains deeply concerned about [China鈥檚] assertion of territorial sovereignty over vast areas that are clearly within the maritime jurisdiction of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei, and where high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply under international law,鈥� US Secretary of聽 State Antony Blinken, in a statement on Friday.
Fugitive televangelist Apollo Quiboloy is still in the Philippines but the country is 鈥済etting smaller 鈥� for him, Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said Friday.
Abalos鈥� remark came amid reports that the founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ already fled to China.
It reportedly costs P300,000 for Chinese nationals to illegally obtain a valid Philippine birth certificate, passport, and driver鈥檚 license, said Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday, citing his sources within the Chinese community.
鈥淪inabi nila sa akin na ang running price pala para makakuha ng birth certificate 鈥� kasama na [ang] passport, kasama na ang driver鈥檚 license is P300,000,鈥� Gatchalian told reporters.
Controlling inflation remains the top concern for Filipinos, a polling firm Pulse Asia survey a month before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.鈥檚 State of the Nation Address (Sona) showed.
A report from Pulse Asia released on Friday showed that 72 percent of Filipinos feel controlling inflation should be immediately addressed by the administration, which is followed by increasing the pay of workers (44 percent), reducing the poverty of Filipinos (32 percent), creating more jobs (30 percent), and fighting graft and corruption in the government (22 percent).