Good day. Here are the stories of The Manila Times for Tuesday, February 3, 2026.
Today’s episode is brought to you by Wilcon Depot, The Philippines’ leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer — your Trusted Building Partner.
READ: Impeachment cases filed against VP Sara
CIVIL society leaders and members of a left-wing coalition filed impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, restarting a process sidelined by the country’s Supreme Court last year. Both cases accuse Duterte of misusing public funds during her term as Education secretary, while one revives allegations that she threatened to assassinate former ally President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The complaints allege culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes.
READ: Complaints vs Marcos found sufficient in form
THE House Committee on Justice ruled that the two impeachment complaints filed against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. were sufficient in form and is set to determine whether these are sufficient in substance on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro, the committee chairman, said in a press briefing on Monday that what they finished on Monday is what they call under the rules as sufficiency in form. Meaning, the impeachment complaint should be signed by the complainant, verified based on personal knowledge and authentic records, [and] has an endorsement — resolution of endorsement by a member of the House. On Tuesday, the lawmakers will move to the determination of sufficiency in substance, Luistro said. Sufficiency in substance means that the wrongs alleged “must constitute the offense which is the ground for impeachment.” Stating alleged wrongs in an impeachment complaint is not enough, Luistro said. The question is whether the alleged wrongs are impeachable offenses.
READ: Marcos trust, performance ratings decline in 4Q 2025 — Octa
PUBLIC trust in President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declined in the fourth quarter of 2025, while Vice President Sara Duterte recorded gains in both trust and performance ratings, according to the latest Tugon ng Masa (TNM) nationwide survey released by Octa Research on Monday. The independent and nonpartisan survey showed Marcos’ trust rating dropped by nine percentage points, from 57 percent in September 2025 to 48 percent in December. He continued to post majority trust ratings in most regions, except in the National Capital Region (NCR) at 42 percent and in Mindanao at 36 percent. His highest trust rating was recorded in Balance of Luzon at 54 percent. Octa said 31 percent of Filipinos expressed distrust toward the president, with the highest level recorded in Mindanao at 52 percent, while 22 percent of respondents remained undecided. Marcos’ performance rating also declined slightly, from 54 percent to 51 percent. His strongest performance rating was again in Balance of Luzon at 58 percent, while the lowest was in Mindanao at 42 percent.
READ: ICC sets deadlines for Duterte appeal
THE Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has ruled that the appeal filed by former president Rodrigo Duterte against his continued detention will be resolved through written submissions, dispensing with oral hearings. In an order dated Jan. 29, 2026 but made public on Monday, the five-judge panel directed Duterte’s defense team to submit an appeal brief, limited to 20 pages, by Feb. 5, 2026. The Office of the Prosecutor and the Legal Representatives of Victims were given until Feb. 12, 2026 to file their responses, also capped at 20 pages. The directive follows the filing of Duterte’s notice of appeal on Jan. 28, 2026, challenging a ruling by Pre-Trial Chamber I that upheld his detention.
BUSINESS: Manufacturing PMI up but confidence plunges
THE Philippine manufacturing sector saw conditions improve in January, with output growing for the first time in five months, but the gain could be short-lived given a marked drop in business confidence. The purchasing managers index (PMI) for the sector hit a nine-month high of 52.9 from 50.2 in December, S&P Global reported on Monday, moving further from the 50.0 mark that separates growth from contraction. S&P Global economist Maryam Baluch said that “after a prolonged period of subdued growth in the second half of 2025, the first PMI data release for 2026 points to a marked shift in momentum.” Growth in new orders accelerated and also approximated the rebound in output.
SPORTS: Eala, Tjen open doubles campaign in Abu Dhabi
FILIPINO tennis ace Alexandra ‘Alex’ Eala and fellow Southeast Asian Janice Tjen of Indonesia face the Canadian-French duo of Leylah Fernandez and Kristina Mladenovic at the Abu Dhabi Open doubles in the United Arab Emirates Tuesday. Time of the round of 16 match is yet to be determined as of writing. Ranked 135th in doubles, Eala last saw action in the pair game at the just concluded Australian Open. Eala and Brazilian partner Ingrid Martins fell to the Japanese-Polish tandem of Shuko Aoyama and Magda Linette, 6-7 (3), 6-2, 3-6, in the opener.
Opinion and editorial
Antonio Contreras and Orlando Mercado are today’s front page columnists. Contreras talks about the power of the judicial system while Mercado discusses the reforms needed in basic education.
Today’s editorial says that the change in the curriculum is not the solution to the learning crisis.
For more news and information, read The Manila Times on print, subscribe to its digital edition or log on to www.manilatimes.net. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and LinkedIn; and be part of our communities on Viber, Telegram, and Mastodon.
