2024 in the Philippines details notable events that occurred in the Philippines in 2024.
Incumbents
President: Bongbong Marcos (PFP) Vice President: Sara Duterte (HNP) Congress (19th): Senate President: Migz Zubiri (Independent) (until May 20) Francis Escudero (NPC) (from May 20) House Speaker: Martin Romualdez (Lakas-CMD) Chief Justice: Alexander Gesmundo
Ongoing events 2023–2024 transport strikes in the Philippines 2024 constitutional reform attempts in the Philippines 2024 Philippine census Congressional inquiries on Alice Guo and Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (from May 2024) 2023–2024 mpox epidemic in the Philippines (from August 2024; see Mpox in the Philippines) House of Representatives Quad Committee inquiries on the Philippine drug war (from August 2024)
Events January January 1 – Transition period for the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program begins. Non-consolidated PUVs, whose operation has been extended for a month, will be prohibited from operating in the country after January 31. However, on January 24, President Marcos extends the deadline for consolidation until April 30.Citations:
January 2–5 – A massive power outage occurs in the entire Western Visayas following the tripping of multiple power plants in Panay.Citations:
January 4 – PIRMA, the group behind a charter change campaign in 1997, renews its attempts at constitutional reform through the People's Initiative. January 5 – President Marcos signs into law Republic Act No. 11976, allowing digitalization for simplified tax compliance. January 10 – The Sandiganbayan dismisses the ill-gotten wealth case against ten members of the Nieto group, alleged associates of former president Ferdinand Marcos and First Lady Imelda Marcos involving the Eastern Telecommunications Philippines shares, citing lack of evidence. January 15–20 – Heavy rains brought by a shear line affect Caraga, Davao Region, Northern Mindanao and parts of the Visayas; causing declarations of a state of calamity in Davao del Norte, Davao de Oro, Davao Oriental, and parts of Agusan del Sur.Citations:
January 15 – Full implementation of the Anti-Terrorism Act (RA No. 11479), whose procedural rules had been approved by the Supreme Court through an en banc resolution on December 5, 2023, begins.Citations:
January 17 – The Ombudsman orders the dismissal of Jo Mark Libre as a commissioner in the Commission on Higher Education due to nepotism and grave misconduct. January 18 – The Supreme Court releases its October 2022 decision, dismissing the petition of property developer Ortigas & Company Limited Partnership for the recovery of the land allegedly forcibly donated to then president Ferdinand Marcos and later sequestered by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), thus affirming the 2020 Sandiganbayan ruling.Citations:
January 19 – The Sandiganbayan acquits Senator Jinggoy Estrada and Janet Lim-Napoles of plunder in relation to the pork barrel scam. However, the court convicts Estrada of bribery with a prison sentence of 10–12 years in total, and Napoles of corruption of public officials. On August 22, Estrada's bribery conviction is overturned by the Sandiganbayan following an appeal. January 22 – The Sandiganbayan acquits former Makati mayor Elenita Binay of graft and malversation charges filed over the anomalous purchase of in medical equipment for the Ospital ng Makati in 2001. January 23: The National Telecommunications Commission orders the indefinite suspension of the broadcast operations of Sonshine Media Network International citing the network's failure to comply with an earlier suspension order. The Senate committee on women conducts a public hearing regarding the alleged abuses within the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Three women, two Ukrainian nationals and one Filipino, accuse church leader Apollo Quiboloy of sexually abusing them. January 24 – The province of Nueva Vizcaya is declared "insurgency-cleared" by the government. January 25 – Nine suspected Dawlah Islamiyah–Maute group members, including their leader who was the alleged mastermind in the Mindanao State University bombing, are killed in an encounter between the Philippine Army and around 15 militants in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur.Citations:
January 26: The Antipolo Cathedral is officially declared as the first international shrine in Southeast Asia. The Department of the Interior and Local Government dismisses Rosendo Labadlabad as mayor of Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte following an order from the Ombudsman to remove him for the illegal issuance of cockfighting permits. January 28–February 3 – Floods and landslide caused by torrential rain, brought by the northeast monsoon and the trough of a low pressure area, hit Mindanao, with damages reaching ; Davao and Caraga regions are the worst-hit;Citations:
Agusan del Sur, Butuan, and the municipalities of Las Nieves in Agusan del Norte, Lingig in Surigao del Sur and Maco in Davao de Oro, are placed under a state of calamity. January 28 – President Marcos formally launches Bagong Pilipinas, the official campaign of his administration, at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila. January 29: The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) halts the implementation of Resolution No. 10650, which serves as the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Initiative and Referendum Act (RA No. 6735). This action thereby suspends all proceedings regarding the People's Initiative to amend the Constitution of the Philippines. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines officially designates the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila, as a national shrine.
February February 6 – A landslide near a gold mine in Maco, Davao de Oro, kills 98 people and injures 32; eight others remain missing.Citations:
February 15 – Myrna Mabanza, an alleged financier of Al-Qaeda and a supporter of Islamic State is arrested in Indanan, Sulu. February 16 – The Supreme Court convicts former Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) director Leocadio Santiago Jr. of serious dishonesty over the anomalous purchase of used helicopters in 2008. February 20 – The Philippines becomes the first Asian country to ratify the Violence and Harassment Convention (C190) of the International Labour Organization. February 21 – Murder of Jullebee Ranara: A Kuwaiti court upholds the conviction of Ranara's killer. February 22 – COMELEC awards a ₱17.9 billion-contract to a joint venture led by South Korean firm Miru Systems to provide voting machines and other logistics for the 2025 general election, officially ending Smartmatic's role as the country's provider of voting machines since the automation of elections in 2010. The agreement is finalized on March 11. February 23 – The Sandiganbayan convicts Maria Cristina Vizcarra, an officer of the non-governmental organization (NGO) GabayMasa Development Foundation, Incorporated, of graft for her role in a case of the pork barrel scam involving deceased Eastern Samar representative Teodulo Coquilla. February 26–June 7 – A state of calamity is declared in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Zamboanga City, Occidental Mindoro, Antique, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato, Negros Oriental, Iloilo, Cebu Province, Bohol and parts of Cebu City, Cotabato, Guimaras, Ifugao, Ilocos Norte, Negros Occidental, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Romblon, Sarangani, and Zamboanga del Norte due to agricultural damage caused by the El Niño phenomenon. By May 21, the amount of agricultural damage from El Niño nationwide surpasses ₱9.5 billion.Citations:
February 26: President Marcos signs into law Republic Act No. 11981, also known as the Tatak Pinoy Law, seeking to promote domestic production of sophisticated goods by creating the Tatak Pinoy Council. The Sandiganbayan releases a February 23 decision dismissing the ill-gotten wealth case against former Philippine Jai Alai and Amusement Corporation director Olympio Bermudez, deceased former energy minister Geronimo Velasco, and deceased Manila Bulletin chair Emilio Yap, alleged associates of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, involving the properties of the Bataan Shipyard and Engineering Company, Inc. and two other firms, citing lack of evidence. February 27 – The Office of the President orders the dismissal of Assistant Solicitor General Derek Puertollano for sexually harassing two legal interns. February 29 – The Sandiganbayan releases a February 28 decision dismissing with finality a forfeiture case filed by the Presidential Commission on Good Government against three firms involved in the Coco Levy Fund scam, citing inordinate delays on the part of the plaintiff.
March March 4 – The Department of Agriculture announces the suspension of 139 officials and employees of the National Food Authority (NFA), including its administrator Roderico Bioco, for their alleged involvement in the controversial sale of rice buffer stocks. On March 11, the Ombudsman also suspends the NFA's acting administrator Piolito Santos, over the same case. March 5: The Supreme Court strikes down the ticketing and licensing regulations for traffic violations of 14 cities and the municipality of Pateros in Metro Manila and orders them to comply with the single ticketing system imposed by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority. The Supreme Court rules in favor of allowing the Department of Energy to take over the operations of private firms in the oil industry in times of emergency. The Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Sindangan figures in a collision with a China Coast Guard vessel during a resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre in Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. Four people are injured after two China Coast Guard vessels fire water cannons on another boat participating in the resupply. March 6 – The Supreme Court releases an April 25, 2023 decision dismissing the petition of various groups which questioned the authority of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation over Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs). March 7 – The Supreme Court releases a July 11, 2023 decision dismissing a petition challenging the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program, which is being opposed by several transport groups. March 11 – President Marcos signs into law Republic Act No. 11984 or the No Permit, No Exam Prohibition Act, allowing students with unpaid school fees to take examinations, and Republic Act No. 11983 or the New Philippine Passport Act, which allows for online Philippine passport applications. March 12 – The Supreme Court releases a June 13, 2023 decision dismissing a petition to require the COMELEC to issue guidelines on automated election systems. March 13 – A raid by security forces on a POGO suspected of criminal activities in Bamban, Tarlac leads to the rescue of 871 individuals inside, including 371 Filipinos and 432 Chinese nationals, and an investigation into the origins and possible involvement of the town's mayor, Alice Guo from May 2024. March 15 – The Sandiganbayan releases a March 13 decision ordering Myrna Bayucan, the treasurer of the NGO Focus on Development of Goals Foundation, Inc. (Focus), to repay ₱4.6 million to the government in a case of the PDAF scam involving Senator Lito Lapid. March 17 – Four soldiers are killed in an ambush by Dawlah Islamiyah militants in Datu Hoffer Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur. Later that day, a bomb is detonated at a PNP compound in Shariff Saydona Mustapha, but does not cause casualties. March 20 – The Supreme Court issues a ruling banning legal officers of local government units from representing their respective officials in cases involving the Ombudsman, citing conflict of interest. March 21: San Miguel Corporation begins construction of the 76.8-kilometer Pangasinan Link Expressway (PLEX) project.