WThe ABS-CBN franchise renewal controversy is a national dispute in the Philippines regarding the renewal of the congressional franchise that would have allowed Philippine media network ABS-CBN continued broadcasting rights in the Philippines.
WThe Balangiga bells are three church bells that were taken by the United States Army from the Church of San Lorenzo de Martir in Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines, as war trophies after reprisals following the Balangiga massacre in 1901 during the Philippine–American War. One church bell was in the possession of the 9th Infantry Regiment at Camp Red Cloud, their base in South Korea, while two others were on a former base of the 11th Infantry Regiment at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
WThe Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL),, Republic Act No. 11054, also known as the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) and by its full title as the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, is a Philippine law which provided for the establishment of the autonomous political entity known as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
WOn April 26, 2018, the Philippine resort island of Boracay, one of the country's major tourist destinations, was temporarily closed to the general public as part of the government's efforts to rehabilitate and redevelop the island. As part of the closure, Boracay was closed for six months except to its registered residents and employees.
WDiwata-2 or Diwata-2B is a Philippine microsatellite launched on October 29, 2018. It is the second satellite of the Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Microsatellite (PHL-Microsat) program after Diwata-1.
WFalcis III v. Civil Registrar-General was a case which arose out of a petition filed by Filipino lawyer Jesus Falcis III before the Supreme Court of the Philippines. The Court promulgated its ruling on September 3, 2019.
WMaria Lourdes "Meilou" Aranal Sereno is a Filipina lawyer and judge who served as de facto Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 2012 until her removal in 2018.
WTyphoon Mangkhut, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Ompong, was an extremely powerful and catastrophic tropical cyclone that caused extensive damage in Guam, the Philippines and South China in September 2018. It was the strongest typhoon to strike Luzon since Megi in 2010, and the strongest to make landfall anywhere in the Philippines since Haiyan in 2013. Mangkhut was also the strongest typhoon to affect Hong Kong since Ellen in 1983.
WMaya-1 was a Filipino nanosatellite. It was developed under the Philippine Scientific Earth Observation Microsatellite program (PHL-Microsat) and was jointly implemented by the University of the Philippines and the Department of Science and Technology as part of the Kyushu Institute of Technology-led multinational second Joint Global Multi-nations Birds Satellite (Birds-2). Maya-1 is the first nanosatellite of the Philippines.
WMiss World Philippines 2018 was the 8th edition of Miss World Philippines, that took place at the Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City, Philippines on October 7, 2018.
WThe Philippine drug war is the anti-drug policy and actions of the Philippine government under President Rodrigo Duterte, who assumed office on June 30, 2016. According to former Philippine National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa, the policy is aimed at "the neutralization of illegal drug personalities nationwide".
WThe quo warranto petition against Maria Lourdes Sereno, filed before the Supreme Court of the Philippines, led to the landmark case Republic v. Sereno, which removed Maria Lourdes Sereno from her post as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, finding that she never lawfully held the office due to a lack of integrity for failing to file certain required financial documents. The Court handed down its ruling on May 11, 2018. The case began with a filing before the House of Representatives of an impeachment demand, the accusations in which Solicitor General Jose Calida used as the factual basis for his quo warranto petition.
WThe 2018 State of the Nation Address was the third State of the Nation Address delivered by President Rodrigo Duterte.
WTropical Depression Josie was a weak tropical system that impacted the Philippine archipelago of Luzon, bringing widespread flooding. The tropical depression was classified in the South China Sea on July 20, and steadily moved eastward while gradually intensifying. The storm reached its peak intensity of 1-minute sustained winds of 65 km/h while nearing the northern tip of the Ilocos Region. By July 22, the system moved northward and rapidly weakened. The system was last noted on July 23 to the northeast of Taiwan.
WTropical Depression Usman was a weak but deadly tropical cyclone that impacted the southern Philippines in December 2018. Tropical Depression Usman originated first as a low-pressure area to the east of Palau on December 23. Slowly intensifying, the system became a tropical depression two days later. The system maintained its intensity while moving in a general west-northwestward direction approaching the eastern portion of the Philippine islands. However due to unfavorable conditions, the depression weakened into a remnant low on December 29, while making landfall over Eastern Samar thereafter.
WTyphoon Yutu, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Rosita, was an extremely powerful tropical cyclone that caused catastrophic destruction on the islands of Tinian and Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, and later impacted the Philippines. It is the strongest typhoon ever recorded to impact the Mariana Islands, and is tied as the second-strongest tropical cyclone to strike the United States and its unincorporated territories by both wind speed and barometric pressure. Yutu was also the most powerful tropical cyclone worldwide in 2018. The fortieth tropical depression, twenty-sixth named storm, twelfth typhoon, and the seventh super typhoon of the 2018 Pacific typhoon season, Yutu originated from a low-pressure area that formed in the western Pacific Ocean on October 15. The disturbance organized into a tropical depression on the same day, as ocean sea-surface heat content increased. Shortly after becoming a tropical depression, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) assigned the system the identifier 31W. The system continued to strengthen, becoming a tropical storm several hours later, with the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) naming the system Yutu. Increasingly favorable conditions allowed Yutu to explosively intensify, as the system maintained deep convection and subsequently became a severe tropical storm and then a typhoon.