More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
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| https://business.inquirer.net/574022/anti-money-laundering-council-flags-p35b-suspicious-financial-transactions |
Various forms of cyberfraud became the leading predicate offenses tied to money laundering in the Philippines during the pandemic and its economic aftermath, underscoring how lockdowns accelerated a broad shift to digital platforms that criminals were quick to exploit.
In its latest evaluation of the country’s exposure to dirty money flows, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said it had received 1,295,627 suspicious transaction reports (STRs) with a total value of P35.49 billion from 2021 through the first half of 2024.
Of the total, 758,621 STRs or 58.55 percent came from covered entities like banks that flagged cyber-enabled financial crimes, including phishing, vishing (voice phishing), business email compromise and user account hacking.
Swindling ranked second, comprising 24.17 percent of the total volume, while child exploitation activities made up 6.55 percent. Together, the three predicate offenses accounted for the majority of suspicious transaction reports analyzed by the council.
P14-B swindling transactions
By value, however, swindling topped the list, with transactions amounting to P14 billion, or 39.49 percent of the total. Cyberfraud followed with P8.1 billion, representing 22.86 percent, while graft and corrupt practices accounted for P4.1 billion, or 11.68 percent.
The council said year-on-year data showed a sharp increase in both the volume and value of cyberfraud-related STRs between 2021 and 2023, particularly in domestic transactions.
Yet even as the number of reports surged from 2021 to 2022, their total value fell by more than half—a shift that suggested a proliferation of smaller, lower-value transactions.
Cyber threat
A closer look at transaction flows underscored the largely homegrown nature of the cyber threat. The council said 99.88 percent of STRs linked to e-commerce violations were domestic transactions, amounting to 757,705 reports with a combined value of P6.57 billion, or 81.04 percent of the total peso value recorded.
“This points to a strong internal threat landscape,” the AMLC said.
The council’s assessment is intended to provide data-driven insights to help regulators, financial institutions and other stakeholders strengthen antimoney laundering, counterterrorism financing and counterproliferation financing strategies.
This is a depressing state of affairs and this article offers no solutions to the problem. But at least the public knows it's happening.
A celebrity couple has finally divorced. The wife wanted to do it during the pandemic but was forced to wait.
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| https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2026/02/14/2507955/priscilla-meirelles-confirms-john-estrada-divorce-actors-multiple-affairs |
Celebrity couple John Estrada and Priscilla Meirelles are officially no longer married, the Brazilian host-model announced.
Priscilla said as much during her February 13 guesting on "Fast Talk with Boy Abunda," stating her right as a Brazilian national to divorce.
She confirmed returning to Brazil in 2024 to process divorce papers, explaining while she and John married in the Philippines, Priscilla registered their union in her home country after a law was updated.
Divorce is legal in Brazil, in fact, only the Philippines and Vatican City are the only nations where divorce is prohibited.
The host-model admitted attempting to file for annulment, which is allowed in the Philippines; however, the pandemic intervened.
"I don't see myself sharing a life with that person anymore," Priscilla explained, feeling the marriage was no longer valid.
John was not pleased with Priscilla's decision, she revealed, even as she reiterated not being able to see John as a partner and companion in the future.
The former beauty queen listed all the attempts she made to save their marriage, including couple's therapy and going to church, all to no avail.
"My mindset was one thing, his was different," Priscilla continued. "I wanted to save my family, and he was having fun mag-isa."
Boy then asked if a third party was involved and Priscilla laughed as she answered that there was more than individual in the picture.
She acknowledged that John had a "colorful life" and a failed marriage to Janice de Belen, but upon entering a relationship, Priscilla mentioned that John promised to become a different man for her.
That vow in her eyes never materialized and was just one of the many elements why their own marriage never worked, though it did produce a child in Samantha Anechka whom Priscilla said understood the reason for her parents' separation.
"I do believe that John loves me as a person... but what I'm looking for is a partner who respects, loves, considers, and treats me as an equal," Priscilla carried on. "I don't want to just be in a sidecar like a spectator in someone else's life."
Boy and Priscilla also talked about an interview John gave before where he mentioned wanting to "remarry" Priscilla if given the chance, as apparently at the time both were aware of Priscilla's plan to divorce.
The host-model admitted feeling sad hearing that was John's response, but after he reached out she stressed "what's done is done" and instead shifted the focus on co-parenting Anechka, praising John as a good provider.
Priscilla did joke that hopefully John would date someone pretty for Valentine's Day, and as for herself wished she'll end up with a godly man.
But the pandemic has been over for years! It appears this happened a while ago back in 2024.
It appears China has not been as financially invested in the Philippines since the pandemic as in the past.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1269099 |
Think-tank Stratbase Institute rejected claims made by the Chinese Embassy in Manila that millions of Filipinos would lose their jobs should Philippine-Chinese diplomatic relations sour.
Stratbase, in a Facebook post late Sunday night, said the assertion is not supported by official economic data from the Philippine government.
Per the latest data coming from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows from China for the period January to November 2025 amounted to USD3.10 million, or 52.43 percent lower than the USD6.52 million recorded during the same period in 2024.
The inflows represented only 0.27 percent of total FDI received by the Philippines.
"In 2024, China accounted for just 0.55 percent of total net FDI inflows. This continues a steady downward trend in China’s investment share, which declined from 12.04 percent in 2019 to just over one percent in 2023, before falling further in 2024. The data clearly indicate that China currently plays a relatively minor role in overall FDI inflows to the Philippines," Stratbase said.
The think-tank added China also lags behind other countries in terms of approved but unrealized investment commitments.
Data recently released by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that in 2025, Chinese investment pledges amounted to PHP10.25 billion, or just 3.76 percent of the total PHP272.58 billion in pledges received by the Philippines.
While Chinese investment commitments surged during the administration of former president Rodrigo R. Duterte, rising from PHP2.33 billion in 2017 to PHP50.69 billion in 2018 and peaking at PHP88.67 billion that represented 22.7 percent of total pledges in 2019, the commitments fell sharply to PHP15.59 billion in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic and global lockdowns.
Since then, Chinese pledges have remained comparatively low. At the same time, Stratbase said the Philippines faces structural vulnerabilities, particularly a widening trade deficit largely driven by imports from China.
"While China is often cited as among the country’s top trading partner(s), the relationship is heavily skewed toward imports. This persistent and expanding imbalance, especially after former President Duterte’s pivot toward Beijing in 2019, heightened dependence on foreign goods, increased exposure to supply chain disruptions and put pressure on the country’s balance of payments," it added.
Taken together, Stratbase said government data showed that China’s contribution to Philippine investment inflows is limited, while trade relations remain structurally imbalanced.
"Claims that diplomatic strain would automatically lead to catastrophic job losses are therefore exaggerated and not supported by empirical evidence," it noted.
Of course this is all swagger from the Chinese government to get the Philippines to remain quiet about the issues in the West Philippine Sea.
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