2020 in the Philippines

2020 in the Philippines details events of note that have occurred in the Philippines in 2020.

This year is largely defined by COVID-19 pandemic that caused of the national economic recession and continued until the state of public health emergency was lifted in the country on July 21, 2023.

Incumbents

President: Rodrigo Duterte (PDP–Laban) Vice President: Leni Robredo (Liberal) Congress (18th): Senate President: Tito Sotto (NPC) House Speaker: Alan Peter Cayetano (Nacionalista) (until October 13) Lord Allan Velasco (PDP–Laban) (from October 13) Chief Justice: Diosdado Peralta

Events

January

January 7 – The Philippine Army ordered the relief of Lieutenant Colonel Napoleon Pabon, the commanding officer of the 2nd Infantry Battalion, in connection with the release of a "manipulated" photo of the surrendered of 300 New People's Army rebels in Masbate in December 2019. January 8 – President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Salary Standardization Law of 2019, increasing the salaries of over 1.4 million government employees starting this year. January 12 – Taal Volcano begins to erupt, prompting PHIVOLCS to raise the alert level to 4 until January 26. The eruption was the first major eruption of Taal since 1977. In response, President Duterte signed Proclamation No. 906 on February 21, declaring a state of calamity in the Calabarzon region for one year unless lifted. January 15 – The Philippine government imposed a total deployment ban to Kuwait after an NBI autopsy revealed the grim circumstances surrounding the death of Filipino worker Jeanelyn Villavende in the Gulf state in December 2019. On February 13, the ban was officially lifted, as the two governments reached an agreement for better working conditions of overseas Filipino workers. January 16 – The Department of Justice (DOJ) found probable cause to charge former Philippine National Police chief Police General Oscar Albayalde and a dozen police officers over an allegedly anomalous anti-drug operation in Pampanga in November 2013. January 20 – Three Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officials Ramoncito Roque, Maribel Bancil, and Veronica Buño were ordered dismissed from service by the Ombudsman in connection with the questionable implementation of the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA), a controversy that broke out in August 2019. January 21 – The Sandiganbayan acquitted former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Alan Purisima and ex-PNP Special Action Force chief Getulio Napeñas of graft and usurpation charges for their involvement in the antiterrorist operation that led to the deaths of 44 SAF commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on January 25, 2015. January 22 – President Duterte signs Republic Act No. 11467, which hikes the excise taxes on alcohol and imposes new duties on heated tobacco and vapor products effective January 1, 2020. January 30: The Nueva Ecija Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 88 found Ma. Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao, the recruiters of overseas Filipino worker Mary Jane Veloso guilty of illegal recruitment in a separate case filled by Lorna Valino, Ana Marie Gonzales, and Jenalyn Paraiso. First case of coronavirus disease 2019 is confirmed by the DOH. January 31 – The Sandiganbayan found former MRT General Manager Al Vitangcol III and PH Trams incorporator Arturo Soriano, guilty of graft and violation of Procurement Law, for awarding MRT3's maintenance contract to an unqualified joint venture, PH Trams and CB&T, in 2012.

February

February 3 – A state of calamity is declared by the provincial government of Davao Occidental, due to the African Swine Fever outbreak, a first for the Davao Region. February 5 – The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee recommended the filing of criminal charges against individuals involved in the Good Conduct Time Allowance controversy, including the near-release of former Calauan, Laguna, mayor Antonio Sanchez, the mastermind in the June 1993 rape and murder of UPLB students Eileen Sarmenta and Allan Gomez. On February 12, the Senate adopts the said recommendation. February 8 – A group of archaeologists led by the National Quincentennial Committee, unearthed the grave of Filipino World War II guerilla and scientist Maria Orosa at the Malate Catholic School compound in Manila, nearly 75 years since her death on February 13, 1945. February 10 – The DOJ cleared Vice President Leni Robredo and several opposition figures of sedition but indicted former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and 10 others for "conspiracy to commit sedition" over an alleged ouster plot against President Duterte. On February 14, a Quezon City court issued an arrest warrant against Trillanes and nine others and four days later, Trillanes posted a bail for the case. February 11 – The Philippines announced that it will terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement with the U.S. The announcement is rescinded on June 1. February 15 – President Duterte leads the inauguration of the commercial operations at Sangley Airport in Cavite, 8 months after he ordered the start of its general aviation operations. February 17: President Duterte signs Executive Order No. 104, or the Improving Access to Healthcare Through the Regulation of Prices in the Retail of Drugs and Medicines, that imposing a limit on the prices of several medicines and drugs. Senator Risa Hontiveros revealed the alleged "pastillas" modus operandi within the BI that allows the entry of Chinese nationals to the country in exchange for ₱10,000 each. On February 20, President Duterte relieved all Immigration officials and employees involved in the said bribery scheme that allegedly gives VIP treatment to Chinese visitors. On September 2, the NBI filed a complaint against 19 BI personnel in connection with the said scheme. On September 22, Joshua Paul Capiral, a NBI official was arrested in an entrapment operation for allegedly accepting bribes from Bureau of Immigration personnel involved in the said scheme. On September 28, DOJ filed extortion and graft charges against NBI legal assistance chief Joshua Paul Capiral and his brother Christopher John, an immigration officer, before the Manila Regional Trial Court for allegedly accepting bribes from Bureau of Immigration personnel involved in the said scheme. February 18 – Former Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) chairman and New People's Army (NPA) commander Rodolfo Salas was arrested in Angeles City. February 19 – Former official of BuCor Fredric Anthony Santos was shot dead in Muntinlupa. February 21: The NBI filed a complaint for murder against Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office board member Sandra Cam and six others over the killing of Charlie Yuson III on October 9, 2019. The BIR shut down the operations of SAFYI, the first Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) to be given a license by the government, after it failed to pay the 5% franchise tax. President Duterte signs Executive Order No. 106, that prohibits vaping in public and prohibited the sale and manufacture of unregistered e-cigarettes due to their potential health risks. February 24 – The Senate public services committee begins its hearing on the issues surrounding the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation. On February 26, President Duterte accepted the apology of ABS-CBN over his unaired campaign ads during the 2016 presidential election. February 27 – The Philippine government lifted the suspension on negotiations and signing of loan and grant agreements with countries that sponsored and voted in favor of a United Nations investigation on the country's human rights situation. February 28 – The Sandiganbayan acquitted former PNP chief Alan Purisima of eight counts of perjury over his alleged failure to declare his wealth in full for 6 years.

March

March 2 Former security guard Archie Paray takes more than 60 people hostage at the Greenhills shopping mall complex in San Juan City, Metro Manila. The Bureau of Customs (BOC) confirms that suspected syndicates brought in an estimated $370 million into the Philippines in December 2019, with the help of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP) and airport police escorts. March 3 – Ombudsman Samuel Martires filed graft and indirect bribery charges against former Nayong Pilipino Foundation, Inc. (NPFI) chairman of the board Patricia Ocampo-Desiongco and five other ex-NPFI officials for accepting free transportation to and accommodation in Jeju Island, South Korea from a private firm during negotiations on a lease contract involving the same firm. March 9 – President Duterte signs Proclamation No. 922, that declared a public health emergency over the country due to the increasing number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the country. March 12 – Code Red Sublevel 2 was declared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and a partial lockdown was issued on Metro Manila to prevent a nationwide spread of the said disease. March 16: The Department of Agriculture (DA) confirmed reports that bird flu or the H5N6 avian flu was detected in Jaen, Nueva Ecija. President Duterte signs Proclamation No. 929, placing the entire Philippines under a state of calamity amid the ongoing situation of COVID-19. On September 16, President Duterte signs Proclamation No. 1021, that extends until September 12, 2021, the state of calamity in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued Memorandum Order March 1, 2020, that all broadcast and communications companies would have the authority to stay on air with their permits automatically renewed while the entire Luzon is placed under enhanced community quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. March 17 – Luzon was placed under an enhanced community quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country as announced by the President in his evening address last March 16, 2020. This expanded the community quarantine imposed in Metro Manila on March 15. Quarantine measures in other parts of the country of varying levels were imposed as well in the following months. March 25 – President Duterte signs the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act of 2020 (Republic Act No. 11469), a measure that gives him additional powers to strengthen government's response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic after Congress urgently deliberated and passed the measure within a day. On July 1, the Supreme Court (SC) dismissed the petition filed by Jaime Ibañez questioning the constitutionality of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.

April

April 6 – Diwata-1, the Philippines' first micro-satellite for scientific earth observation built by Filipino scientists, was officially decommissioned after re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. April 14 – The government began its mass testing processes on persons suspected of having COVID-19. April 17 – The Supreme Court conducted a special en banc session, the first-ever done online in its 119-year history as the judiciary seeks to deal with urgent matters amid a Luzon-wide lockdown imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). April 24 – The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines received criticism after releasing a music video about the relations of China and the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic. April 27: 15 senators, files a resolution that seeks to amend the Senate rules to allow the conduct of plenary sessions and committee hearings via teleconference amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation. President Duterte signs Executive Order No. 111, which abolished the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO), which served as his chief message-crafting body.