OpenPinas: Weekly Review

Lawyer Andre de Jesus filed the first impeachment complaint against President Marcos, endorsed by Pusong Pinoy Rep. Jett Nisay, citing the ICC arrest of Rodrigo Duterte, alleged drug use, and the flood-control scandal. A second leftist complaint on January 22 alleged the House blocked receipt. Legal observers noted that a dismissed complaint would give Marcos a one-year impeachment bar just as the House rewrote rules for a new case against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Lipa City RTC issued a second warrant against Ang and 20 others for six kidnapping-with-homicide counts, and CIDG asked Interpol for a red notice. Seventeen of 18 first-warrant co-accused were already arrested; PNP revoked Ang's firearms licenses. Remulla called him armed and dangerous, with immigration records still showing no departure.

Tacloban RTC Branch 45 convicted journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, 26, and lay worker Marielle Domequil, 28, of terrorism financing and acquitted them of firearms and explosives charges. Both have been detained since February 2020. CPJ and RSF called the verdict a failure of press-freedom pledges; the defense said it would seek bail pending appeal.

Retrieval at Binaliw ended with 36 workers dead and 18 injured. Mines and Geosciences Bureau cited oversaturated waste, slope instability, and poor drainage at a site found to be violating the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. Metro Cebu remained without its primary dump under the DENR cease-and-desist order.

Ada killed at least two people in Matnog, Sorsogon, when a landslide destroyed a house, flooded Albay towns, and sent lahar down Mayon toward Legazpi. More than 5,000 passengers were stranded at Matnog port. The storm weakened to a low-pressure area on January 21 after flooding Caraga, Eastern Visayas, and Bicol.

PHIVOLCS kept Alert Level 3 and counted 50 pyroclastic density currents in 24 hours as Ada's rain raised lahar risk in channels around Mayon. More than 4,000 residents remained in 14 shelters. Director Teresito Bacolcol said a jump to Level 4 was still unlikely.

The Singapore-flagged MV Devon Bay, crewed by 21 Filipinos and carrying iron ore, capsized about 55 nautical miles from Scarborough Shoal. Two sailors died, four were missing, and 15 were rescued after Chinese coast-guard ships reached the scene first and the Philippine Coast Guard launched vessels and aircraft. Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority opened an investigation in disputed waters.

The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office projected 5.3 percent Philippine growth in 2026, second in Southeast Asia after Vietnam, even after Manila cut its official target to 5–6 percent following the flood-control scandal. Capital Economics was more cautious at 4.5 percent. Inflation was seen at 3.2 percent, with a 25-basis-point BSP cut still expected in the first quarter.