2015 in the Philippines details the important and significant events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 2015. International events that are connected, or concerned with the Philippines are also included in this article.
January 8 – An inmate died and 19 were hurt after a grenade exploded in the maximum security compound of the NBP.[4] This lead Bureau of Corrections order a lockdown of 14,500 prisoners in the compound on January 9, suspending their visitation rights. Gang leaders were isolated from the rest of the prisoners.[5]
January 9 – The Supreme Court has declared its decision on the unconstitutionality of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), popularly termed as the pork barrel funds, final and executory. It can be remembered in November of the previous year, the said court held that "PDAF and previous pork barrel funds violated the constitutional principle of separation of powers in allowing lawmakers to wield, in varying gradations, non-oversight, post-enactment authority in vital areas of budget execution."[6]
January 12 – Sandiganbayan had found former Board of Nursing member Virginia Diodola-Madeja guilty of violating the Anti-Corrupt Practices Act and the PRC Modernization Act of 2000 and was sentenced to 7 years in prison for leaking questions in the June 2006 Nursing Licensure Examinations. In addition to her imprisonment, she was also ordered to pay a fine of 100 thousand pesos and was barred from holding any public office.[7]
January 23 – An explosion occurred near the bus terminal in Barangay Guiwan, Zamboanga City; 2 people were killed and 53 were injured. The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) were tagged behind the explosion after the failed jailbreak attempt of several ASG members in the prison.[13]
The 44 police officers who perished during the clash.
January 31 – Two Philippine Air Force (PAF) pilots were killed after the PAF trainer aircraft SF-260FH Number 1034 crashed around 300 meters off the shoreline of Barangay Bucana, Nasugbu, Batangas while attending their performance for the upcoming 70th Anniversary of the liberation of Nasugbu from the Japanese Imperial Forces during World War II.[20]
February 3 – The Supreme Court affirms the unconstitutionality of the Disbursement Acceleration Program on its new ruiling. Voting 13-0, the SC partially granted the government's Motion for Reconsideration on the DAP. Projects and programs that not covered by the General Approriations Act is valid and the authors may be liable.[22]
AFP declared its all-out offensive campaign against the MILF break away group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.[30] On March 3, Maguindanao was placed under the state of calamity due to the continuing battle between the military forces and the BIFF.[31] In an encounter happened on March 7, the AFP confirmed that 139 members including commanders of the BIFF were killed, including a kin of BIFF founder Ameril Umbra Kato.[32] On March 30, The Armed Forces of the Philippines announced the termination of the all-out offensive against the rebel group.[33]
March 6 – The Office of the Ombudsman's special panel of investigators filed complaints against Vice President Binay, Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, and 22 individuals, in connection with the overpriced Makati City Hall II Parking Building. Ombudsman will start the preliminary probe after the filing of the cases.[37] On March 11, The Ombudsman was suspended Makati Mayor Junjun Binay and other city officials for 6 months in connection with this case. Binay has not followed the decision.[38] On March 16, plunder and graft charges were filed against Vice President Binay and Mayor Binay for the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Hall Building II. The elder Binay was then city mayor and the younger Binay a city councilor at the time of the construction.[39] On the same date, the Court of Appeals has released a temporary restraining order for the preventive suspension of Mayor Binay.[40] On April 6, The Court of Appeals has indefinitely extended its halt order on the preventive suspension of embattled Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay, as the appellate court issued a writ of preliminary injunction in favor of the local chief executive.[41] On the other hand, Acting Mayor Romulo Peña was ordered by the Department of Interior and Local Government to step down and return from his previous post as Vice Mayor.[42] On November 10, Dismissed Makati Mayor Binay has won his case in the Supreme Court against the Office of the Ombudsman in relation to his case.[43]
Sajid Ampatuan, the son of Andal Ampatuan Sr., has been ordered to be temporarily released by a Quezon City court after he posted bail for an amount of P11.6 million; Sajid was charged with murder in connection with the Maguindanao massacre on November 23, 2009 that had killed 57 people including 31 journalist.[47]
March 15 – Justice for Islamic Movement founding chairman and former vice chairman of the BIFF, Mohamad Ali Tambako and five others were arrested in General Santos City.[48]
March 20 – The Armed Forces of the Philippines transported 17 suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf Group from the Zamboanga City jail to Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig over security concerns raised by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.[50]
March 26 – President Aquino III has signed Republic Act No. 10656 into law that postpones the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections to October 2016.[52] This postponement was the fourth time. On March 25, the Commission on Elections had deferred the SK elections to April 25.[53] Previously, the election was supposedly to be held on October 28, 2013; it was again postponed to February 21, 2015.[54][55]
April 6 – Gemma Adana, the Municipality Mayor of Naga, Zamboanga Sibugay was abducted by a heavily armed group in her house.[56] On October 12, Mayor Adana has been released after over six months in captivity.[57]
April 7 – Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay faced another graft complaint at the Office of the Ombudsman after the former Makati Cockpit Sports Arena operator Jose Orillaza had filed a complaint against Binay and other city officials for giving a new operator the permit to run the arena.[58]
On April 14, Janet Lim Napoles was found guilty for the serious illegal detention case.
April 22 – SC released a Temporary Restraining Order for the memorandum issued by the Commission on Higher Education on the removal of Filipino and Literature college subjects as part of the K to 12 education program.[62]
May 6 – The Court of Tax Appeals has lifted the warrant of arrest it issued against Jeane Catherine Napoles, the daughter of Janet Lim Napoles, after she failed to show up for her arraignment on a P17.46-million tax evasion case.[69]
Philippine Ambassador to Pakistan Domingo D. Lucenario died in a helicopter crash in Pakistan; other diplomats and the two helicopter pilots, who were with Lucenario, were also killed in the said incident.[72]
May 11 – The Court of Appeals has frozen 242 bank accounts and insurance policies belonging to Vice President Jejomar Binay, some members of his family and close associates, who are suspected of being his dummies.[74]
May 13 – At least 72 were killed in a big fire inside the Kentex Manufacturing slippers factory in Brgy. Ugong, Valenzuela City.[75][76] The incident was the third worst fire in Philippine history.[77]
May 20 – The Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed the complaint filed by former Iloilo Provincial Administrator Manuel Mejorada against Senator Franklin Drilon, DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson, DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr., and other officials involved in the construction of the Iloilo Convention Center.[78]
June 3 – The United States Embassy turned over to the Philippine government a check amounting to some $1.3 million as the second tranche of proceeds from the forfeited assets of former Armed Forces of the Philippines military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia.[79][80]
June 22 – Vice PresidentJejomar Binay resigned from his post in President Benigno Aquino III's Cabinet as the chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers is effective immediately.[84]
The Office of the Ombudsman has filed graft charges against Optical Media Board chairman Ronnie Ricketts and four others for allegedly allowing the return of confiscated pirated DVDs and VCDs to the Sky High Marketing Corporation in 2010.[85]
All local airlines can now enter the European airspace after the European Commission had removed the Philippines from the European Union Air Safety List.[87]
July 3 – Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales has ordered the filing of graft charges against former Metro Rail Transit 3 General Manager Al Vitangcol III and five incorporators of Philippine Trans Rail Management and Services Corporation in connection with alleged irregularities in the MRT-3's interim maintenance contract.[98]
July 15 – Major General Eduardo Año, who was linked to the disappearance of activist Jonas Burgos in 2007, was instated the new chief of the Philippine Army.[102]
July 17 – Nine miners were killed when a mining site collapsed following a rain-induced landslide in Caluya, Antique.[103]
July 21 – President Benigno Aquino III signed into law two of his priority economic bills the Philippine Competition Act (Republic Act 10667), as well as amendments to the 50-year-old Cabotage Law (Republic Act 10668), during a ceremony in Malacañang attended by members of Congress.[105][106]
The Manalo Family
July 23 – The Iglesia ni Cristo has expelledTenny Manalo, the widow of INC's former executive minister Eraño Manalo, and their son, Angel Manalo after they appeared in a YouTube video claiming their lives are in danger and that some ministers have allegedly been abducted.[107]
July 28 – Two environmental groups Basel Action Network and BAN Toxics have submitted the case questioning the Canada's imported trash in the Philippines to the Basel Convention.[110]
July 29 – The Court of Appeals has granted Krisel Mallari's plea for the issuance of a temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary injunction against Sto. Niño Parochial School.[111]
August 20 – Two Coast Guard officers who kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf Group were escaped after the massive operation by the military against the terrorist group in Sulu.[118][119]
August 24 – President Benigno Aquino III has given instructions for the Bureau of Customs to stop the physical inspections of balikbayan boxes unless X-ray and K-9 examinations give rise to suspicions that they contain prohibited items.[121] On the Senate hearing last September 3, Bureau of Customs chief Alberto Lina went apologized to the inconvenience brought about the alleged opening of balikbayan boxes by Customs personnel.[122]
August 27-31 – Iglesia ni Cristo members staged demonstrations near the DOJ office and later in EDSA to call on Sec. De Lima to focus on important issues such as the SAF 44 case and not on the case filed by an ex-INC minister against Sanggunian members. They protests on alleged violations of the separation of church and state.[123]
September 7 – The PNP's Highway Patrol Group started their duties as traffic enforcers deployed in the Epifanio De los Santos Avenue (EDSA), particularly in 6 major chokepoints where traffic build-up had identified. [124]
September 8 – President Aquino III has announced the appointment of former Liberal Party (LP) Secretary General Mel Senen Sarmiento as the Secretary of Interior and Local Government, replacing Mar Roxas.[125]
September 18 – 1 person was killed in a bomb explosion on a bus in Zamboanga City; 28 were injured.[130]
September 20 – Joel Reyes, former Palawan governor and his brother, Mario, former Coron, Palawan mayor were arrested by Thai police due to overstaying in Phuket, Thailand. The Reyes Brothers are primary suspects in the killing of Palawan environmental journalist Gerry Ortega in January, 2011, the two deported back to Manila, four days later.[131]
September 30 – Former Abra governor Vicente Valera, found guilty with 2 counts of murder, sentenced to up to 40 years in prison in relation to the killing of his rival, former Abra Representative Luis Bersamin in 2006.[133]
October 9 – The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the dismissal in service and the eventual perpetual disqualification to run in any political positions for former Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay, in connection with the overpriced Makati City Hall Building II.[134]
October 17-28 – PAGASA confirmed that the haze from Indonesia had reached Mindanao. Typhoon Lando and the northeast monsoon were linked to the haze that had affected the island.[136][137] Haze has affected operations of airports in Mindanao and Visayas.[138] On October 28, PAGASA declared the country was free from haze.[139]
Typhoon Lando's Track
October 18 – 46 dead, 82 injured and 295,835 families were affected after heavy rains and floods due to Typhoon Lando shuts down Luzon.[140]
October 21 – Ombudsman sacked five officials of the Technology Resource Center, particularly Deputy Director General Dennis Cunanan for their alleged participation in the PDAF scam.[141]
November 3 – The Court of Appeals had started to hear the writ of amparo and habeas corpus petitions of expelled Iglesia ni Cristo minister Lowell Menorca II against the leaders of the church, including executive minister Eduardo Manalo and three members of the Sanggunian, in connection with the illegal detention and abduction of Menorca by the church officials.[144]
November 24 - The Quezon City RTC has found Jason Ivler, the principal suspect in the ambush of the Renato Ebarle, Jr. son of former Presidential Chief of Staff Undersecretary Renato Ebarle, Sr. guilty over the crime of murder, happened 6 years ago. He was sentenced reclusion perpetua or at least 30 years in jail and ordered to pay more than P9.3 million pesos in damages to the Ebarle family members.[150]
2015 will be the 119th year of the commemoration of Dr. Jose P. Rizal's death.
On July 17, 2014, the government had already announced at least 18 Philippine holidays for 2015 as declared by virtue of Proclamation No. 831, series of 2014.[154] Note that in the list, holidays in italics are "special non-working holidays," those in bold are "regular holidays," and those in non-italics and non-bold are "special holidays for schools."
In addition, several other places observe local holidays, such as the foundation of their town. These are also "special days."
January 12 – Low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific was fined an amount of 50 million pesos by the Civil Aeronautics Board after more than ten thousand passengers were affected by 288 flight delays and 20 flight cancellations caused by the airline from December 24 to 26 of last year.[159]
January 20 – The International Monetary Fund has upgraded its economic growth forecasts for the Philippines. In the said forecast, the country's economic growth in 2015 is expected to be at 6.3%, and 6.2% in 2016.[160] In the 2nd quarter report, the forecast slightly raised to 6.7% percent compared to 6.6% due to higher government spending.[161]
January 28 – In the 2015 Index of Economic Freedom, the country ranked 76th freest economy and one of the ten most improved economies in the world. The country had ranked 89th in 2014.[162]
October 12-14 – The Philippines hosted the 15th Forbes Global CEO Conference; this was held in Manila. CEOs and business leaders from different parts of the world attended the event.[165]
Department of Health (DOH) released a report on the recorded cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in the country last 2014 alone had reached 6,011. Records in previous years had showed that the prevalence of the disease was high compared to the 2013 record cases of 4,814. All in all, there were already 22,527 cases of HIV disease since 1984.[166][167]
A 32-year-old Filipinonurse from Saudi Arabia, who was also 1 month pregnant, was the country's first Middle East respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (MERS-CoV) case, DOH confirmed after the test turned out to be positive of the said virus.[168] The Evangelista Medical Hospital in San Pedro, Laguna, the facility where the patient was first admitted, was temporarily closed by DOH for fourteen days. On February 17, all those who had exposure or had contact with the said nurse were tested negative of the said virus.[169] On March 6, The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed three Filipino female healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia who were infected with MERS-CoV.[170]
February 23 – DOH confirmed the death of a returning female OFW musician from China, few days after she arrived last February 14. The death might be a possible case of the Bird Flu virus.[172]
July 6 – DOH confirmed the second detected case of MERS-CoV in the country.[173] The patient who had contracted the virus was from the Middle East and was referred to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine last July 4. Another person, who was also showing symptoms, was placed in isolation after he had close contact with the said patient;[174] eight others, who also had contacted with the patient, were identified. DOH is in the process of tracking all the people whom the patient had contacted with.[175]
October 1 – Bulacan province, officially now placed under State of calamity due to increase of cases of dengue virus. Since January, more than 11 were recorded deaths due to the strain virus.[181]
March 8, Triathlon – Australian Tim Reed and Great Britain national Parys Edwards claimed the championship title in the inaugural edition of Century Tuna Ironman 70.3 held in Subic Bay, Zambales.[186]
March 14, Volleyball – The Ateneo Lady Eagles has won their second straight championship of the UAAP Women's Volleyball in the Season 77 Finals. Alyssa Valdez was named as the Most Valuable Player of the season, while Amy Ahomiro claimed her Finals MVP award.[187]
May 3-9, Multi-sport – The City of Tagum of the province Davao del Norte hosted the 2015 Palarong Pambansa. More than 12,000 student-athletes, coaches, and officials from 17 regions participated in the multi-sports event.[194]
Basketball – Chito Narvasa was named as the newest PBA commissioner, replacing Chito Salud. Narvasa will start his work on the start of Season 71 of the said league.[195]
June 8, Basketball – UCLA-commit Kobe Paras successfully defended his title in the FIBA 3x3 Slam Dunk Contest in Hungary, fending off challengers from the United States, Uruguay, and the host nation.[200]
July 12, Boxing – Donnie Nietes, known as the longest-reigning Filipino boxing champion, successfully won the title defense against Mexico's Francisco Rodriguez via majority decision in Cebu.[204]
July 19, Boxing – Nonito Donaire made short work of his French opponent, stopping Anthony Settoul in just two rounds of their 10-round bout at the Cotai Arena in Macau.[205]
August 26 – President Aquino III signed the Republic Act 10676 or more known as the Student-Athletes Protection Act that lead to the removal of the 2-year residency rules in collegiate leagues including UAAP.
February 28 – Aiko Melendez, for her portrayal in the film Asintado, was awarded as the Best Actress in a Foreign Language Film in the prestigious International Filmmakers Festival of World Cinema in London, England.[215]
April 11 – Cherie Gil hailed as the Best Actress in the 2015 ASEAN International Film Festival and Awards Night, on her role as opera singer in the movie "Sonata". Nora Aunor, known as the Philippine movie industry's Superstar honored as the Lifetime Achievement Awardee.[220]
May 7 – In a formal rites, Vigan City was formally introduced to the public as part of the "New 7 Wonder Cities".[221]
May 31 – Angelia Gabrena Ong, of Manila was hailed as the 2015 Miss Philippines Earth, on its Grand Coronation Night that held at the Mall of Asia Arena.[223]
June 16 – The Supreme Court released a Temporary Restraining Order for the construction of the controversial Torre de Manila condominium also known as the National photobomber, which culture advocates have slammed for destroying the view of the historic Rizal Shrine.[227]
July 22 – American singer Chris Brown has been placed under the Philippine government's immigration lookout bulletin, hours before his solo concert at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.[228] Brown was able to leave Manila on July 24 after he had filed a departure clearance due to a legal issue between him and Iglesia ni Cristo that prevented him from leaving the Philippines.[229]
August 15 – Martika Ramirez Escobar's creation "Pusong Bato" and Angelie Mae Macalanda's Wawa was given top honors for both Best Short Film, and Special Jury Prize, respectively in the 2015 Cinemalaya Awards Night.[230]
September 13 – Reniel Villareal, an Overseas Filipino Worker designated in the Middle East, won the crown of Mister International Philippines 2015.[231]
October 24 – Eat Bulaga! held a benefit concert dubbed as "Sa Tamang Panahon" ("In the Right Time") at the Philippine Arena to raise funds for libraries in certain schools in the Philippines. With sold out tickets, the concert highlights Kalyeserye's Maine Mendoza and Alden Richards or the AlDub love team. The Twitter hashtag #ALDubEBTamangPanahon made 41 million tweets, becoming the most tweeted event in the world for 2015.[234]