(PAGASA 24-HOUR PUBLIC WEATHER FORECAST as of Tuesday, 15 July 2025) The Southwest Monsoon (Habagat) continues to affect Mindanao. FORECAST: The Zamboanga Peninsula will experience cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms due to the Southwest Monsoon. These conditions may lead to possible flash floods or landslides, especially during moderate to occasionally heavy rainfall. The rest of Mindanao will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms also influenced by the Southwest Monsoon. Winds will be light to moderate from the southwest, with slight to moderate seas (wave height between 0.6 to 2.1 meters).


TOP STORIES - Wednesday, December 21, 2022

TODAY’S TOP STORIES (from online news monitoring)

21 December 2022, Wednesday, as of 5PM

1. Marcos vetoes three items in 2023 national budget

[GMA News, PhilStar, Inquirer, CNN PHL Online, Manila Bulletin, ABS-CBN News Online] ©PIA-PMU

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1707406/marcos-jr-vetoes-three-items-in-2023-national-budget

2. Marcos leads groundbreaking of housing project in Nueva Ecija; reaffirms vow to build 1M housing units yearly

[ABS-CBN News, Inquirer, CNN PHL Online, Manila Bulletin, PhilStar, GMA News, News5] ©PIA-PMU

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/21/22/marcos-reaffirms-vow-to-build-1-million-houses-yearly

3. Marcos orders DA to expedite 64,050 metric tons sugar importation

[GMA News Online, ABS-CBN News Online, Inquirer, Daily Guardian, Business Mirror, PhilStar] ©PIA-PMU

https://www.philstar.com/business/2022/12/21/2232378/marcos-orders-urgent-importation-64050-mt-sugar-amid-stubborn-inflation

4. WEST PHL SEA

-DFA: New Chinese construction in Spratlys violates int'l law

-Philippines 'concerned' over China's reclaimed land in disputed sea

-Marcos must assert PH’s sovereign, legal rights in WPS in state visit to China—Hontiveros

-Dela Rosa: US statement vs China’s swarming in West PHL Sea ‘a welcome development’

[Manila Bulletin, CNN PHL, GMA News Online, ABS-CBN News Online, Pilipino Star Ngayon] ©PIA-PMU

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/855097/dfa-new-chinese-construction-in-spratlys-violates-int-l-law/story/?just_in

5. PRESS FREEDOM

-CHR concerned by Cimatu conviction, pushes for decriminalization of libel

-Gov’t urged to protect right to expression following journalist Cimatu’s libel conviction

[PhilStar, GMA News Online, Inquirer, Manila Bulletin] ©PIA-PMU

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/12/21/2232371/chr-pushes-decriminalization-libel

6. Jan-Nov budget deficit drops 7% to P1.24T

[PhilStar, Inquirer, GMA News Online, Manila Bulletin] ©PIA-PMU

https://business.inquirer.net/378943/jan-nov-budget-deficit-drops-7-to-p1-24t

7. LPA unlikely to develop into tropical depression; may still bring rains over Visayas, Mindanao

[Manila Bulletin, Manila Times, GMA News] ©PIA-PMU

https://mb.com.ph/2022/12/21/lpa-unlikely-to-develop-into-tropical-depression-may-still-bring-rains-over-visayas-mindanao/

8. Elon Musk says he will step down as Twitter CEO once successor found

[ABS-CBN News, PhilStar, GMA News] ©PIA-PMU

https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/12/21/22/elon-musk-says-he-will-step-down-as-twitter-ceo-once-successor-found

—Philippine Information Agency | PIA Monitoring Unit—