Crisis Chronology | Philippines

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PHILIPPINES

11/13/2023

A court grants bail for opposition leader Leila de Lima, freeing her after seven years of a drug trafficking sentence.

11/03/2023

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is in Manila for a summit with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as Tokyo attempts to draw closer to partners in Southeast Asia to hedge against China.

10/22/2023

Philippine officials say a Chinese coast guard ship and an accompanying vessel rammed a Philippine coast guard ship and a military supply boat in the South China Sea in waters that Beijing claims. The Chinese coast guard claimed the Philippine vessels “trespassed” “without authorization” despite several radio warnings and blamed the Philippines for the collisions.

05/15/2023

Leila de Lima is acquitted in second of three cases of drug charges initiated after she began an investigation into Duterte’s war on drugs.

05/01/2023

Philippines President Marcos meets US President Biden in Washington, DC, in what is probably meant by the US to be a signal to China. However, the Philippines is deeply involved with China in economic matters.

02/02/2023

Philippines allows US military access to four additional bases, speeding up the imposition of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement in response to Chinese expansionism.

01/10/2023

Philippine Supreme Court nullifies a contract with China and Vietnam as unconstitutionally allowing a foreign country to develop Philippine resources.

12/06/2022

Inflation reaches fourteen-year high, mainly due to increase in food prices.

05/20/2022

Philippine government says it has established three military bases on the Spratly Islands.

05/10/2022

Marcos elected president

With almost all the votes counted, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., has at least double the votes of Robredo and will certainly win the election.

05/09/2022

General election for national offices. Marcos Jr. is the leading candidate for president. He has emphasized investments in agriculture and infrastructure. Voters select a vice-president separately. Marcos’s vice-presidential candidate is Sara Duterte Carpio, Roderigo Duterte’s daughter. The main opposition candidate is Leni Robredo, currently the vice-president.

02/08/2022

Three-month campaign period for president begins. Bongbong Marcos thought to be the leading candidate.

12/14/2021

Duterte quits senate race after few hours after Bong Go withdraws from presidential race.

11/30/2021

Go drops out of presidential race to avoid “more problems” for Rodrigo Duterte, leaving the ruling party without a candidate.

11/15/2021

Rodrigo Duterte files candidacy for the Senate.

11/13/2021

Sarah Carpio-Duterte files candidacy for vice-president. She will run on the Partido Federal and Lakas-CMD, on the ticket with Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. The election will be held 5/22.

10/14/2021

Ronald dela Rosa, who ran Duterte’s war on drugs and has long been accused of extreme insensitivity about violence and killings.

10/05/2021

Ferdinand Marcos Jr, son of the later dictator, says he will run for president. He ran for vice-president in 2016 and had been expected to support Duterte’s candidate. Manila City Mayor Francisco Domagoso has also registered to run.

10/02/2021

Duterte says he is retiring from politics and will not run for vice-president.

09/30/2021

Vice-president Leni Robredo nominated to run for president by a coalition named 1Sambayan, a group that includes legal and foreign policy experts, human rights and civil rights advocates as well as opposition politicians, farmers groups, students and retired military officials.

09/29/2021

The Sandiganbayan, the Philippines' anti-graft court, orders Royal Traders Holding Co. Inc., a bank formerly controlled by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, to pay the government an estimated PHP1 billion ($32.446 million) in bank certificates that were confiscated by the United States Customs Service after Marcos was deposed in 1986.

09/22/2021

Former actor and mayor of Manila Isko Moreno (his screen name; he was born Francisco Domagoso) announces candidacy for president. Polls show he has strong support. Along with Pacquaio, Senator Panfilo Lacson has also said he will run.

09/19/2021

. The PDP-Laban party nominates former boxer Manny Pacquiao for president. Pacquaio and Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III lead a faction of the party at odds with the faction that nominated Bong Go and Duterte. Pacquaio was formerly allied with Duterte but now accuses him of corruption. That latter faction says it will ask the Commission on Elections to declare Pacquiao and his allies illegitimate.

09/02/2021

Sara Duterte-Carpio says that several politicians have offered to run with her, including Bong Go.

08/24/2021

Duterte is nominated to be the vice-presidential candidate of the PDP-Laban Party for the 2022 election. The party is expected to nominate Duterte’s aide, Christopher “Bong” Go, to be president, but Go has said he does not want to run for office. Duterte’s daughter and mayor of Davao City, Sara Duterte-Carpio has said she is considering running for president. She is not a member of the PDP-Laban Party. The president and vice-president are elected separately, though candidates can join to be a team.

07/30/2021

Government restores defense pact with US.

07/12/2021

Chinese ships, both military and private, usurping waters that are rightfully belong to the Philippines, according to a world court judgement.

03/27/2021

Government sends out air force patrols over Chinese militia ships in Philippine waters, the Whitsun Reef.

03/21/2021

The Philippines demands that China remove a massive fleet of armed maritime militia masquerading as fishing boats from waters where the Philippines has exclusive economic rights. There were 220 boats carrying what are called “little blue men” in reference to their uniforms. China denies any governmental involvement. However, Duterte has been soft on China, arguing that the Philippines cannot anger such a powerful country, so there is little likelihood he will confront China on the issue.

01/28/2021

Economy contracted 9.5% in 2020, its worst year since 1998, following the Asian financial crisis of 1997.

11/18/2020

Vice-president Leni Robredo criticizes Duterte for a lax response to the devastation of recent hurricane Vamco.

11/15/2020

Fifteen Asia-Pacific nations sign the world's largest free-trade agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in Vietnam. It replaces the Trans-Pacific Partnership, from which the US withdrew the United States in early 2017. The countries are: Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.

07/20/2020

Increased cases of COVID-19 lead to new stay-at-home enforcement by police.

06/03/2020

Government decides not to leave defense pact with the US due to China’s aggressive stance in the South China Sea.

05/14/2020

Typhon Vongfong hits the country, which is also suffering a widespread COVID-19 epidemic. The Philippines has about 12,000 cases and 800 deaths, although testing may be sporadic.

05/08/2020

Vietnam rejects China fishing ban. The Philippines also objects.

05/05/2020

Government orders the country’s largest broadcaster, ABS-CBN, to stop broadcasting. The channel’s license expired on 5/4, it believed it could continue broadcasting until its license was renewed by Congress, but the National Telecommunications Commission ordered it to stop immediately. Congress intends to take up the issue and some in Congress believe that only the Congress can issue or revoke a license. The channel has often criticized Duterte in the past and refused to air his campaign ads in 2016.

04/07/2020

Government extends stay-at-home order until 4/30. There has been some flattening of the curve of COVID-19 infections. There are more than 6000 confirmed cases and more than 400 deaths.

03/17/2020

Government declares state of calamity for as long as six months. Local governments issuing stay-at-home orders.

03/16/2020

Government issues stay-at-home order for Luzon.

03/12/2020

Government orders partial shutdown of subways in Manila.

02/10/2020

Pres Duterte terminates military agreement with US.

02/02/2020

Philippines confirms its first case of COVID-19.

12/10/2019

Pres Duterte says he will end martial law in Mindanao by the end of the year.

11/24/2019

Vice-president Leni Robredo is removed as head of anti-drug war after she vows to end killings by police.

05/14/2019

General legislative elections for Senate and House of Representatives and for local offices.

03/15/2019

Philippines withdraws from the International Criminal Court, fearing that Duterte will be charged with crimes against humanity for actions during the recent drug war. The court, however, will continue to investigate the charges.

03/10/2019

Islamic State an increasingly strong force in southern province.

11/14/2018

China reports progress with Southeast Asian countries (including Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam) on an agreement about the “code of conduct” in the South China Sea. The United States is not involved.

10/10/2018

Government ends protectionist restrictions on rice imports. With inflation rising, and prices for rice soaring, the government has tried various measures to halt a sharp decline in Duterte’s popularity among the poor and middle-class. Some observers say that the National Food Authority has failed to take into account various market pressures.

09/25/2018

Senator Antonio Trillanes, a critic of Duterte, is arrested on charges of rebellion. Duterte had previously revoked amnesty for Trillanes in regard to two coup attempts and one other revolt against Arroyo from 2003 to 2007.

06/29/2018

Peace talks with National Democratic Front, lead by Fidel Agcaoili, have been halted. There are rumors that the defense ministry has asked to review the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees, both signed under previous governments.

01/25/2018

Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand agree to share information about terrorism, an unusual sign of mutual cooperation, in a program named “Our Eyes.”

12/13/2017

Philippines extends martial law in Mindanao for another year.

12/05/2017

Despite stated agreements to negotiate access to islands in the South China Sea, China continues to build up its forces there.

11/20/2017

South Korea offers substantial aid to Philippines, as a counter to China and attempt to keep Philippines as part of alliance of Asia-Pacific countries.

11/08/2017

Philippines Ombudsman office files charges against Benigno Aquino for mistakes in 2015 raid that resulted in 44 police deaths.

11/05/2017

Philippines battle with Islamic State in Marawi generated rare if limited cooperation between government and the Moro Liberation Front.