Good day. Here are the stories of The Manila Times for Friday, April 4, 2025.

Today’s episode is brought to you by Wilcon Depot, The Philippines’ leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer—your Trusted Building Partner.

READ: Dela Rosa wants govt officials subpoenaed

SEN. Ronald Dela Rosa, who has expressed fears of his own arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC), wants the Senate to subpoena all government officials involved in the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte, after some 30 of them skipped Thursday’s hearing. In his first appearance at the Senate since Duterte was arrested and extradited to The Hague to stand trial for crimes against humanity in connection with his bloody war on drugs, Dela Rosa expressed frustration over the lack of crucial resource persons during the April 3 hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, headed by Sen. Imee Marcos. Senate President Francis Escudero, however, said he would not decide on requests for the issuance of subpoenas against executive officials until the legal department studied the issue of executive privilege and made a recommendation. He emphasized the importance of caution to prevent a potential constitutional crisis and to maintain unity among Filipinos. Escudero noted that it would be helpful to determine how to proceed if Senator Marcos decides to issue subpoenas for the absent executive officials, given that none of the nearly 30 invited officials attended Thursday’s hearing. The Senate chief shared details about Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin’s letters explaining that the Cabinet is invoking executive privilege to justify their absence at the hearing. Past Supreme Court decisions support the executive’s right to decline specific inquiries.

Get the latest news


delivered to your inbox
Sign up for The Manila Times newsletters

By signing up with an email address, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

READ: Widespread vote-buying seen

NEARLY seven out of 10 Filipinos believe that vote-buying will be widespread and that it would hurt the outcome of the May 2025 midterm elections, according to a noncommissioned survey conducted by OCTA Research. In the survey conducted from Feb. 22-28, 66 percent of registered voters in the country said that vote-buying will be widespread in the upcoming elections, while 34 percent think otherwise. The perception is also high among major areas in the country and among socioeconomic Class D and E, while Class ABC, at 54 percent, disagreed that vote-buying will be widespread.

READ: Filipinos detained in the US

THE Philippine Embassy in Washington said that most of the Filipinos under the custody of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are set for deportation. The undocumented Filipino migrants in the US range between 150,000 and 370,000, said Consul General Donna Rodriguez. She said fewer than 20 undocumented Filipino migrants in the US are currently detained amid the implementation of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal migrants. Rodriguez, however, said not all of them were detained as a result of the Trump administration’s crackdown. Some faced charges during the Biden administration.

READ: China arrests 3 Filipinos for spying

China on Thursday said it had “destroyed” an intelligence network set up by the Philippine espionage agency and arrested three spies from the country. The announcement comes as the two countries continue to confront each other over disputed territory in the South China Sea and tensions mount over the Philippines’ security ties with ally the United States. At least five Chinese were arrested on suspicion of espionage in January and another two in February by Philippine authorities. The latest arrests in China come two days after Beijing’s embassy in Manila issued a travel warning to its citizens about frequent “harassment” from Philippine law enforcement agencies.

READ: ‘PH not going to war over Taiwan’

MALACAÑANG on Thursday said the Philippines has no plans to go to war in the event of a Taiwan invasion “unless they involve us.” Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin issued the statement after Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. urged Philippine troops to prepare for China’s possible invasion of Taiwan amid tension over the Chinese military’s conduct of large-scale exercises in the East China Sea. Speaking to reporters in Malacañang, Bersamin said that these preparations have long been discussed as a contingency measure in case of an invasion.

BUSINESS: ‘Opportunities’ seen in Trump tariffs

Over to business, Philippine government officials were guardedly optimistic on Thursday after the country, which sells more goods than it buys from the United States, was included in a list of markets to be levied reciprocal tariffs by US President Donald Trump. Reports said the rate would be 17 percent, although an annex to the executive order (EO) issued by Trump on Wednesday put it at 18 percent. Based on White House fact sheet, a base rate of 10 percent will be applied to all nations starting April 5, after which individualized rates — ranging from 11 percent to as much as 50 percent depending on the country — take effect April 9. The US is the Philippines’ biggest export market and officials said they were still studying the likely impact, but noted that neighboring countries had been slapped with much higher rates. The reciprocal duty for Cambodia, for example, was set at 49 percent; Vietnam’s was at 46 percent; Thailand at 36 percent; Indonesia at 32 percent and Malaysia at 24 percent.

SPORTS: Meralco clashes with Converge

Headlining sports, Meralco kicks off its title defense when it battles vastly improved Converge at the start of the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Malate, Manila. The Bolts, who won the all-Filipino conference for the franchise’s first league title last season, face off with the FiberXers at 7:30 p.m. The opening game at 5 p.m. features Terrafirma and Phoenix. Meralco is itching to make a big splash in the All-Filipino conference just a few months after crashing out in the first round of the Commissioner’s Cup playoffs against Barangay Ginebra. The Bolts managed to play through a banged up roster during the mid-season, import-spiced conference to reach the quarterfinals. Meralco will have a stable of veterans leading the way such as Gilas Pilipinas mainstay Chris Newsome, Raymund Almazan, Allein Maliksi and the vastly improved Bong Quinto.

READ: Opinion and editorial

Rigoberto Tiglao and Francisco Tatad are today’s front page columnists. Tatad criticizes the purchase of a new US military chopper, while Tatad pays tribute to the late former solicitor general Estelito Mendoza.

Today’s editorial says vaccine hesitancy is still a major health problem. Read more on the paper’s opinion section or listen to the Voice of the Times.

For more news and information, read The Manila Times on print, subscribe to its digital edition or log on to www.manilatimes.net. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and LinkedIn; and be part of our communities on Viber, Telegram, and Mastodon.