PTV Rewind brings you the highlights of the latest and relevant news from March 29–April 4, 2025:
- PBBM ‘glad to help’ on FPRRD-VP Sara reconciliation — Palace
April 3, 2025
“Glad I could help.”
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. only had a short response to Vice President Sara Duterte’s latest statement thanking him for helping mend the relationship between her and her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The Vice President is currently in The Hague, Netherlands, where her father is detained by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity related to his war on drugs campaign as mayor of Davao City and as president.
READ MORE: PBBM reciprocates VP Sara’s gratitude on helping her mend ties with dad
- DMW: PH gov’t secures provisional release of 17 OFWs detained in Qatar
April 3, 2025
Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac announced that the Philippine government has secured the provisional release of the 17 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), who were arrested and detained in Qatar for illegal protest.
Cacdac said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has directed the DMW, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Philippine Embassy in Doha to coordinate with Qatari authorities and to continue providing legal and welfare assistance to the OFWs.
WATCH:
- PH deploys responders to quake-hit Myanmar for relief ops
April 1–2, 2025
The Philippine Inter-Agency Humanitarian Contingent arrived in quake-hit Myanmar to assist in the ongoing rescue and medical operations as the Southeast Asian nation grapples from the devastation of a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake.
The 89-member team is composed of personnel from the Philippine Air Force, Bureau of Fire Protection, Office of Civil Defense, Philippine Army, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, the Philippine Emergency Medical Assistance Team from the Department of Health, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources/private sector partnership.
RELATED NEWS: Filipinos feared trapped in Myanmar condo still unaccounted for
2nd batch of PH rescuers on its way to Myanmar
WATCH:
- Over 3,000 confirmed dead following magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Myanmar
April 4, 2025
The death toll from the 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar has risen above 3,000 as of April 4, according to Myanmar’s state media.
The March 28 quake flattened buildings and destroyed infrastructure across the country as well as neighboring Thailand, resulting in the collapse of a 30-storey skyscraper in Bangkok.
RELATED NEWS: Myanmar’s junta chief to head to Bangkok summit as quake toll surpasses 3,000
Myanmar quake toll passes 2,700; nation halts to honour victims
Myanmar quake victim rescued after 5 days as aid calls grow
WATCH:
- AFP chief reminds troops to prepare for possible ‘Taiwan invasion’ amid Chinese military drills
April 1, 2025
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. told the Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM) to be prepared for possible “invasion” of Taiwan as China intensifies its military drills around the self-ruled island.
Malacañang, however, allayed public concerns and stressed that the government would always be ready to respond to Filipinos in Taiwan should any conflict arise.
RELATED NEWS: Palace allays fears on Taiwan invasion but says contingencies ready
WATCH:
- Trade war: Trump slaps sweeping global tariffs on imports
April 2, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners with a 10% baseline tariff effective April 5 and steeper rates for those the White House deemed as “the worst offenders” starting April 9, calling it a “declaration of economic independence.”
RELATED NEWS: Trump escalates trade war with sweeping global tariffs
- DTI still optimistic despite 17% levy on PH goods entering U.S.
April 3, 2025
Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Cristina Roque said that they have anticipated the Philippines to be among the least affected U.S. key exporters and still in a “better position” compared to other ASEAN member states and Asian nations amid President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs.
WATCH:
- Inflation eases to nearly 5-year low in March 2025 as rice prices continue to decline
April 4, 2025
Headline inflation in the Philippines settled to 1.8% in March from 2.1% in February—the lowest since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
PSA Undersecretary Claire Dennis Mapa said the slower inflation rate was primarily due to slower price increases in food and non-alcoholic beverages, particularly lower prices of rice.
READ MORE: Lower rice prices ease inflation to nearly 5-yr low at 1.8% in March
Gov’t measures vs. inflationary pressures effective — NEDA
WATCH:
—bjlc/iro