Can Russia help Asean on China’s SCS moves? By Samuel P. Medenilla
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RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is eyeing to secure “concrete contributions” from Russia in the ongoing efforts of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to maintain regional peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region as Beijing continues to tighten its grip in the South China Sea. The chief executive issued the statement through a video message before he left for Kazan, Russia on Tuesday to attend the Asean–Russia Commemorative Summit on June 17 and 18 to mark the 35th anniversary of rela-
BOBET’S FINAL JOURNEY Oversized billboards depicting various stages in the career of
Rene Clert “Bobet” N. Baterbonia, the 18-year-old basketball player and Palarong Pambansa 2025 Most Valuable Player, rise behind his casket as his townmates and relatives grieve at his wake at the evacuation gymnasium of Talacogon, Agusan del Sur. Public viewing for Baterbonia, who drowned during an Ateneo de Manila University team-building activity, opened here Tuesday, drawing residents who had waited through the night for his remains to come home. The local government began the viewing at 1 P.M. on June 16 at the Municipal Evacuation and Gymnasium in Barangay San Agustin. He drowned on June 8 in Dipaculao, Aurora, where he was an incoming freshman recruit of the Ateneo Blue Eagles. Story in B8 Sports. KURTNHY LOVE MADERAL
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tions between the two groups. It will be the first time Marcos visits Russia as President. “As Chair of Asean, the Philippines is committed to ensuring that this commemorative summit produces substantive and forward-looking outcomes that deepen Asean’s strategic partnership with Russia and contribute in concrete terms to regional peace, stability, and shared prosperity,” Marcos said. Marcos and other members of the Philippine delegates in the summit left at 11:55 pm on June 16 and arrived at 12:49 pm (Philippine time) on Wednesday. During the summit, Marcos will lead Asean in pushing for peace
and security, trade and investment, food and energy security, science and technology, digital transformation, education, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges with Russia, one of its. “We travel to Kazan with purpose, and we return with renewed commitment to our partnership,” Marcos said. “Together with my fellow Asean leaders and President Vladimir Putin, we will take stock of 35 years of Asean-Russia cooperation and help chart the course for the decades ahead,” he added. Russia is one of the dialogue partners of Asean together with Australia, Canada, European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand,
Republic of Korea, United Kingdom, United States, and China. Marcos will also hold a bilateral meeting with Putin to discuss trade, education, culture, agriculture, energy, and science. “We look forward to building on these foundations and opening new avenues of cooperation for the future,” Marcos said. Russia is currently among the countries which maintain good relations with China. Last year Beijing affirmed its “no limits” strategic partnership with Moscow. Marcos is seeking ways that will encourage Beijing to comply with international laws when it comes to the South China Sea, which See “Russia,” A2
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Thursday, June 18, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 247
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
SENATE REBOOT Senator Win Gatchalian is sworn in as Senate President during a special session at the Senate of the Philippines on June 17, 2026, as the upper chamber moves to formalize a leadership transition following weeks of political impasse and shifting bloc alignments. Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III takes his oath as Senate President Pro Tempore, while Senator Migz Zubiri assumes the role of Majority Leader. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had sought the Special Session to allow lawmakers to tackle priority bills that were stalled by the weeks-long standoff between two Senate blocs. Story in A5 Nation. ROY DOMINGO
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By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
HE Philippines successfully raised $2.5 billion from its second tripletranche global bond offering this year, backed by strong investor demand and favorable market conditions, allowing the government to increase the deal size.
The order book reached a 4.4 times oversubscription rate, the Bureau of the Treasury said on Wednesday, enabling the Republic to upsize the transaction to $2.5 billion from the initial offering size of $2 billion. Broken down, the Treasury generated $550 million in 5.5-year bonds, $1.65 billion in 10-year bonds and $300 million from the 2051 bond tap. The 5.5-year bonds were priced at a yield of 4.699 percent, equivalent to 55 basis points (bps) over comparable US Treasuries. The 10-year tranche was priced at
5.355 percent, or 92.5bps above US Treasuries, while the 25-year bond was priced to yield 5.85 percent. Due to robust investor appetite, Manila was able to tighten pricing by 25 to 32.5bps across the three tranches from the initial price guidance released to investors earlier in the day. At Asia open last Tuesday, the Republic announced tentative, estimated yield for the 5.5-year at around 85bps over US Treasuries and about 125bps over US Treasuries for the 10-year tranche. Meanwhile, the tap of the See “$2.5B,” A2
LAGGING IN SCHOOL WEAKENS DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDEND–CPD By Justine Xyrah Garcia
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HE Philippines’s demographic dividend could be at risk if a significant share of young Filipinos continues to fall behind in school, according to the Commission on Population and Development (CPD). CPD Executive Director Lisa Grace S. Bersales warned that about one in four Filipino youth are already off track in their education by age 18—having fallen behind the expected grade level for their age due to late school entry, grade repetition, or missed school years—a trend
that could weaken the quality of the country’s future workforce. “If one in four of our youth transition to working age, we have 25 percent of them who will not get good employment,” Bersales told reporters in a chance interview on Wednesday. Her remarks came after findings from the Longitudinal Cohort Study on Filipino Children (LCSFC) showed that while school enrollment is nearly universal among 10-year-olds, about 24 percent of the cohort had fallen off track by age 18. The study identified several factors associated with poor See “Dividend,” A2
Proposed $1.15‑T US Defense Bill cites PHL By Malou Talosig-Bartolome
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HE powerful US Senate Armed Services Committee has endorsed to the plenary a sweeping $1.15‑trillion defense budget for Fiscal Year 2027, embedding the Philippines into Washington’s expanded Indo‑Pacific posture. The measure—formally the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)—creates the First Island Chain Security Cooperation Initiative (FICSCI), a broadened framework that makes Manila eligible for US military assistance. This includes support for third‑party equipment purchases, emerging technology cooperation,
and access to American stockpiles, alongside infrastructure planning for rotational US forces in the Philippines and Australia. The committee’s action is a key step, but the NDAA remains a proposal that must still secure final passage by both the US Senate and House of Representatives before becoming law.
Largest US defense package for PHL
THE Philippines’s inclusion in FICSCI builds on a record US$3.5‑billion (P205.5‑billion) defense package approved under the FY 2026 NDAA and signed into law by US President Donald Trump on December 18, 2025. See “Defense,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 60.3840 n JAPAN 0.3765 n UK 81.1199 n HK 7.7085 n CHINA 8.9359 n SINGAPORE 47.1198 n AUSTRALIA 42.6734 n EU 70.1239 n KOREA 0.0400 n SAUDI ARABIA 16.0912 Source: BSP (June 17, 2026)