January 22 –Mayon Volcano's alert status is raised to Alert Level 4 due to intensified volcanic activities. The day before, the volcano shoots 200 m (660 ft) to 500 m (1,600 ft) to the air and generated ash plumes that reached 1.3 km (0.81 mi) above the summit.[3][4] The province ofAlbay declares a state of calamity days earlier on January 16 due to continuous volcanic activity.[5]
January 23 – TheSupreme Court approves the funding for the₱3.8-billion Motor Vehicle License Plate Standardization Program (MVPSP), clearing the way for the release to motorists of 700,000 license plates turned over by theBureau of Customs (BOC) to theLand Transportation Office (LTO) as constitutional.[6]
January 25 – Police Officer 3 Carlos Baccali Bocaig, a survivor of the2015 Mamasapano firefight, dies from a grenade explosion during a fireworks display inLa Paz, Abra on the third anniversary of the clash.[7]
January 29 – TheOffice of the President orders a 90-day preventive suspension order against Overall DeputyOmbudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang for alleged grave misconduct and grave dishonesty for the unauthorized disclosures of the alleged bank transactions of President Rodrigo Duterte and his family.[8]
February 2 – President Duterte signs Republic Act No. 10969 or the Free Irrigation Service Act, a law that waivesirrigation fees for farmers who own 8 hectares of land or less.[11]
ThePhilippine Government signs an administrative order to completely ban the deployment of all workers toKuwait.[14] Following the February 9 confirmation of the death of a Filipina domestic worker in the gulf country allegedly due to abuse.[15]
OmbudsmanConchita Carpio-Morales orders the dismissal from service of formerCebu governor and incumbent 3rd District RepresentativeGwendolyn Garcia for grave misconduct in connection with the purchase of a sprawling property for close to P100 million.[16]
The Senate orders the arrest of former Commission on Elections (COMELEC) chairAndres Bautista over his non-attendance of a probe into his alleged ill-gotten wealth.[18]
Former president Benigno Aquino III and former budget secretaryButch Abad face a House investigation into their administration's deployment of Dengvaxia, adengue vaccine, that was then at the center of ahealth scare.[19]
March 1 – President Duterte signs Republic Act No. 10973, restoring the power of select officials of thePhilippine National Police (PNP) to issuesubpoenas on cases under investigation.[21]
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee orders the release of former Customs commissionerNicanor Faeldon after he promises to SenatorRichard Gordon that he will no longer engage in backtalking and will heed Senate summons.[25]
The Department of Justice cleared alleged drug lords Kerwin Espinosa, Peter Lim, and 20 others of charges related to the narcotics trade due to lack of evidence.[26]
March 14 – President Duterte announces that the Philippines is withdrawing from theInternational Criminal Court (ICC), which was looking into whether it has jurisdiction to probe allegations of state sanctioned killings in his war on drugs.[27] The Philippines issued a formal notification of its withdrawal from theRoman Statute, which was received by theSecretary-General of the United Nations on March 17. The effectivity date of the withdrawal shall be exactly one year from receipt of the notification.[28][29]
April 26 –Boracaycloses to tourists for six months and undergoes rehabilitation. The closure is officially announced on April 4.[33] Checkpoints staffed by police officers and soldiers are set up at piers in Boracay to turn away visitors from the island. Passes are given to residents of Boracay.[34]
May 11 – The Supreme Court votes 8–6 to grant a quo warranto petition by the Solicitor General against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, removing her from office for violating requirements on the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth.[35]
May 30 – President Duterte declares his plan to make the entire island of Boracay aland reform area, saying that he wants to prioritize Boracay's first inhabitants. Duterte adds that his Cabinet and Congress may conduct a study on the possibility of putting up "only a small area for tourism" in Boracay and the majority of the island for land reform.[39][40]
June 29 – President Duterte signs Republic Act No. 11053 or the Anti-Hazing Act of 2018, that bans hazing in all forms and imposes higher penalties for those convicted of hazing.[42]
ThePhilippine Coast Guard detains cruise ship MVForever Lucky inBataan on suspicion of involvement inhuman trafficking. The NBI rescues 139 alleged victims from the vessel and charges Johnny Cabrera, the alleged lessor of the ship.[44]
July 4 – The AFP clashes with militants from the ISIL-affiliatedBangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), inMaguindanao after the latter attempt to occupy a town center. After 12 hours, the BIFF withdraws to the hills, leaving four militants dead, while two militants, a government soldier and a militiaman are wounded.[45]
August 31 – President Duterte signs Proclamation No. 572, voiding the amnesty of opposition SenatorAntonio Trillanes IV for supposed failure to "fulfill all the necessary requirements."[54]
President Duterte repeats his call to shut all mines in the country following deadly landslides, hours after Environment and Natural Resources SecretaryRoy Cimatu orders all mining to be stopped in the Cordillera region.
Typhoon Mangkhut triggers a landslide inItogon, Benguet, killing more than 40. The total death toll of the typhoon includes at least 81 people and at least 59 others are recorded missing.
December 14 – Four Hong Kong nationals are sentenced to life in prison by a Philippine court for possession of half a kilogram of illegal drugs. There are complaints and doubts about the fairness of the convictions as well as the proportionality between the alleged quantity of the drugs and the jail terms.[68]
December 31 – An improvised explosive device explodes outside the South Seas Mall inCotabato City, killing two and injuring 11.[69]
February 23 – ThePhilippine Olympic Committee holds elections for the post of President and chairman after the 2016 elections results were declared null and void by the Pasig Regional Trial Court. The court requiresRicky Vargas andCavite congressmanAbraham Tolentino to be candidates for the post of President and chairman respectively.[77] Vargas and Tolentino eventually won over incumbents Peping Cojuangco and Ting Ledesma.[78]
July 2,Basketball – Abench-clearing brawl between theAustralia and thePhilippines men's national basketball teams take place during the2019 FIBA Basketball World Cupqualifier at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue. Four Australian players and nine Filipino players were suspended, Philippines head coachChot Reyes and assistant coachJong Uichico are sanctioned, while the Australian and Philippine national federations are fined byFIBA. The match is eventually abandoned in the third quarter with Australia winning by default due to lack of eligible Filipino players.[85]
November 13–December 6,Association football – The Philippines national team co-hosts the2018 AFF Championship. The Philippines finished second in Group B, but lost to eventual championsVietnam on 4–2 aggregate in the semi-finals.[90][91]
January 11 – TheSecurities and Exchange Commission revokes the certification of incorporation it issued toRappler, Inc. after it found the issuance of the media firm of Philippine Depositary Receipts toOmidyar Network to be in violation of the Constitution's provisions on foreign ownership saying that Rappler "sold control" to foreigners.[92][93][94][95]
January 24 – Miss Philippines Katarina Rodriguez wins the 1st runner-up in the Miss Intercontinental 2017 pageant which was held in SUNRISE Garden Beach Resort in Hurghada,Egypt.[97]
February 26 – Miss Philippines Sophia Senoron was crowned as the first winner of the Miss Multinational 2018 pageant night, which was held in New Delhi, India.[99]
March 3 – The 3 letters ofAndrés Bonifacio toEmilio Jacinto, that narrating the massive cheating in the Philippines' first election, known as theTejeros Convention held on March 22, 1897, together with the paintings of Jose T. Joya, Fernando Zobel, Vicente Manansala andFernando Amorsolo were sold in an auction which was held in León Gallery in Makati.[101]
March 18 –Catriona Gray, a Filipino-Australian model, was crowned as Miss Universe Philippines 2018 during the coronation night of the Binibining Pilipinas 2018 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
April 30 – TheDepartment of Tourism receives their₱60,000,000 ad placement given to government-ownedPeople's Television Network for airing it onBen Tulfo's programKilos Pronto produced by Bitag Media Unilimted, Inc. (in which the blocktimer sells its production time to the network); the contract was not supported with proper documents such as the Memorandum of Agreement and Certificate of Performance contrary to Section 4 of Presidential Decree 1445 and COA Circular No. 2012-001. An investigation on the alleged advertisement anomaly is being conducted by Malacanang, Tourism secretaryWanda Tulfo Teo said that Ben along with his brotherErwin Tulfo will return its₱60 million ad placement from DOT to prove there was no anomaly in the advertisement deal and there was no conflict on the deal because it was a government-to-government deal between the DOT and PTV. Teo was later resigned on May 8 because of the controversy.
INC members participate in the charity walk, "Worldwide Walk to Fight Poverty", in Manila.
May 6 – More than 1.5 million members join the Iglesia ni Cristo's (INC) Worldwide Walk to Fight Poverty along Roxas Boulevard and in selected sites around the Philippines and abroad to successfully break the Guinness World Records for the largest human sentence, largest charity walk in a single venue and largest charity walk in multiple venues in 24 hours.[103]
September 16—Sharifa Akeel of Sultan Kudarat is a Muslim Maguindanaoan crowned as Mutya ng Pilipinas-Asia Pacific International 2018 during the coronation night held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
^Calyag, Keith (March 21, 2018)."Duterte's claim on Rome Statute ratification 'grossly incorrect'".Sun Star Manila. RetrievedMarch 21, 2018.The United Nations said Monday, March 19, that it received the official notification of the Philippines' decision but "the withdrawal shall take effect for the Philippines one year after the date of receipt, i.e., on March 17, 2019."
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