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JANUARY 9 - 15, 2026
T h e F i l i p i n o A m e r i can C o m mu n i t y N e ws pap e r
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Marcos signs P6.793-trillion national DATELINE USA Medical concerns halt budget, the largest in Philippine history FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA
deportation of elderly The 2026 spending law bars lawmakers from participating in aid distribution and trims unprogrammed 70-year-old Filipina funds, as the administration frames the budget as a response to economic, climate, and governance pressures AJP detained by ICE ress
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AN elderly Filipina woman facing deportation was temporarily prevented from being removed from the United States after airline officials determined she was medically unfit to fly, according to her family. The woman, identified by relatives as Rebecca Pinyerd, 70, had been scheduled for removal to the Philippines on a commercial flight departing from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Friday morning. The deportation was halted after her family presented documentation outlining multiple serious health conditions, including advanced kidney disease, thyroid complications, and uncontrolled hypertension. According to the family, those concerns were raised directly with United Airlines, which subsequently declined to transport her, citing fitness-to-fly considerations. Air-
MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law the national budget for 2026 on January 5, 2026, approving a P6.793-trillion General Appro-
priations Act, the largest spending plan in Philippine history, while vetoing P92.5 billion in unprogrammed appropriations. In remarks following the signing, Marcos said the law includes provisions intended to ensure that gov-
When rules don’t apply: What US action on Venezuela means for Philippines The question for Manila now is how it can concretely call out its primary defense ally for violating the very legal framework that’s supposed to protect it from its main threat — China — in the South China Sea by Cristina Chi Philstar.com
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ICE announces historic manpower surge after nationwide recruitment drive WASHINGTON, D.C. — Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that it has expanded its workforce by roughly 120 percent following a nationwide recruitment campaign that federal officials described as unprecedented in scope and scale. According to a statement released by the Department of Homeland Security, the campaign resulted in the hiring of approximately 12,000 officers and employees, exceeding the agency’s original recruitment target. ICE said interest in the effort was significant, with more than 220,000 applications submitted nationwide. The agency reported that the new hires include personnel assigned to enforcement operations, investigative units, and operational support roles. With the additional staff, ICE said its total workforce now stands at an estimated 22,000 employees, more than double its previous size. u PAGE 4
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signs the 2026 General Appropriations Act into law at Malacañang Palace, as members of the Cabinet and other officials look on. During the signing ceremony at Malacañan Palace, President Marcos assured the public that the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) or Republic Act No. 12314 is appropriately aligned with the government’s medium- and long-term development plans and is focused on uplifting the lives of Filipinos. “We are committing to implement a budget that serves the people.” the president added. Photo courtesy of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO)
Unprogrammed funds challenged before SC by Daphne Galvez, Jose Rodel Clapano Philstar.com
MANILA — The constitutionality of unprogrammed appropriations in the 2026 national budget faces a challenge before the Supreme Court (SC) for allegedly being repugnant to the Charter and violating constitutional principles on public finance, budget accountability and Congress’ power of the purse. Caloocan 2nd District Rep. Edgar Erice and Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima filed a petition before the SC that sought to declare null and void Section XLIII of the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA),
Philstar.com
MANILA — As President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. faces slipping public trust amid corruption controversies, Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson said national leaders must be prepared to confront growing public anger over the misuse of public funds. Lacson made the remarks as multiple reputable survey firms showed waning popularity for Marcos, a trend Malacañang has attributed to the administration’s efforts to make difficult decisions against corruption.
Lacson, a presidential candidate in the 2025 elections, said he hoped Marcos would remain firm in pursuing accountability. “I hope the president will not waver in his remaining years in office. I thought the momentum was already on his side with his famous ‘Mahiya naman kayo!’ SONA (State of the Nation Address) remark. Unfortunately, the Filipino people’s perception has not been kind to him, as what the latest surveys have indicated,” Lacson said in a statement. “With a more awakened and angrier citizenry who have nevu PAGE 2
MANILA — For years, Washington has cast itself as chief guardian of a “rules-based international order,” a phrase Manila invokes regularly when China harasses its vessels in the South China Sea. But events that have unfolded and are still unfolding in Venezuela — and the United States’ long record of selective adherence to international law — are sharpening an old question in the Philippines: How firm are those rules when the U.S.’ interests are at stake? On January 3, U.S. forces carried out an operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his forced transfer to the U.S. for trial. Washington is justifying the action as one driven u PAGE 3
News Feature
the provision containing the unprogrammed funds. They also sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the implementation of the funds pending adjudication on the matter. In their 41-page petition, Erice and De Lima argued that the inclusion of unprogrammed appropriations in the national budget was committed with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction. They said the allocations posed a serious threat to transparency, accountability, and the balance of powers in the government by allowing the expenditure of public funds withu PAGE 4
Lacson to Marcos: Don’t ICC rejects Duterte’s waver against corruption expert report bid by Jean Mangaluz
ernment assistance reaches its intended beneficiaries and is not used for political patronage. The budget, he said, bars elected officials from participating in the distribution or handling of financial and other u PAGE 2
by Janvic Mateo Philstar.com
MANILA — Pre-trial judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) have denied the request of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s defense team for an additional expert report on his medical condition. In a five-page decision dated Jan. 7, the ICC PreTrial Chamber I said the three-member expert panel was appointed for a “limited purpose” of assessing Duterte’s medical condition in relation to his fitness to take part in the pre-trial proceedings.
“The Panel has fulfilled its mandate with the submission of the Panel’s Reports, which are available to the Defense and, should it wish to do so, can be referred to in its observations regarding the review of Mr. Duterte’s detention,” read the decision. “In these circumstances, the Chamber sees no reason to order the Panel to prepare any additional report that exceeds its mandate,” it added. In his Dec. 19 request, defense lawyer Nicholas Kaufman asked the Pre-Trial Chamber to direct the panel of medical experts
As one of the world’s largest recurring religious gatherings, the Black Nazarene procession stands apart for its scale and consistency - an annual event that continues to define the place of faith in Philippine public life. Photo Credit CC BY-SA 3.0
INSIDE THE BLACK NAZARENE PROCESSION:
The Philippines’ largest annual religious gathering Observed each year during the Feast of the Black Nazarene, the Traslación draws millions of devotees to Manila’s streets, driven by sacred vows, physical devotion, and a centuries-old tradition that continues to shape Philippine public life by AJPress
servance of the Feast of the Black Nazarene. Together, the feast MANILA — Once a year, the and procession form the largest streets of Manila are transformed recurring religious event in the by a religious gathering unlike Philippines and one of the largest any other in scale or intensity. in the world. Millions of devotees converge for At the center of the obserthe Traslación, the annual Black vance is a life-sized image of u PAGE 2 Nazarene procession, held in obu PAGE 2