Triumphs, tribulations mark 2023

The year 2023 has been described by many as challenging, an understatement as the country reeled in the face of various obstacles.

The year's biggest events, which we are reviewing in this special yearend report based on their impact and not necessarily chronologically, astounded us, made us cry, or had us jumping with exhilarating joy.

Just past midyear, Filipinos felt relief when the Marcos administration finally lifted the State of National Health Emergency, three years after the onset of the dreaded Covid-19 pandemic that originated in Wuhan, China, and killed over a million people worldwide.

Through Proclamation 297 signed on 21 July, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. declared that all prior orders, memoranda, and issuances that were effective during the State of Public Health Emergency were withdrawn, revoked or canceled and shall no longer be in effect.

The pandemic exit came after the contagion had the Philippines entering its deepest recession in post-war history, with output declining by 9.6 percent, according to economic managers.

Mother Nature's wrath

Being one of the Southeast Asian countries frequently hit by typhoons, 11 devastating tropical cyclones hit the provinces, the strongest being typhoon "Egay" in July.

"Egay," which became a massive cyclone, made landfall in northern Luzon, claimed 30 lives and incurred millions of pesos in damage to the agriculture sector.

And being a country that lies in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines was not spared deadly tremors, the latest on 2 December, when a 7.4-magnitude quake devastated Hinatuan in Surigao del Sur, claiming three lives and damaging property, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

On 17 November, a Magnitude 6.8 earthquake also struck Sarangani province in Davao Occidental, killing nine and injuring 16 with about 1,500 houses damaged.

Terror attack

Mindanao reeled from a vicious terror attack with a deadly bombing on 3 December that rocked the Mindanao State University gymnasium during a Catholic mass attended by teachers and students alike.

President Marcos denounced it as the handiwork of "extremists who wield violence against the innocent (and as such) will always be regarded as enemies of our society."

Nations and the country's closest ally, the United States, condemned the attack, which the Islamic Group claimed a day later.

Degamo, 9 others killed

On 4 March, several armed men entered the residential compound of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and killed him, along with nine others.

The brazen assassination so shocked the world that a leading Australian daily, The Sydney Morning Herald, dubbed the Philippines one of the most dangerous places in the world for publicly elected officials.

And after the Philippine National Police arrested several suspects in the killing of Degamo, it identified Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. as the brains behind the killing.

Teves hid out in Timor Leste despite the calls of his colleagues, primarily House Speaker Martin Romualdez, for him to surrender, forcing the House of Representatives to expel him on 16 August.

Devastating oil spill

The pristine beaches of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, home to various aquatic resources that feed the whole province and adjacent provinces, were struck by an oil spill when the tanker Princess Empress, operated by RDC Reield Marine Services, carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil, sank on 28 February.

The resultant oil slick, stretching for 75 miles, threatened hundreds of fishing communities near the municipality of Pola, as well as the biodiversity in more than 20 marine protected areas.

Some environmental advocates, especially the Protect Verde Island Passage, called out San Miguel Corporation and its subsidiary, SL Harbour Bulk Terminal Corporation, for the extensive damage caused by the vessel they reportedly chartered.

Maharlika Investment Fund

Meanwhile, the country was once again polarized when the Maharlika Investment Fund, the country's first-ever sovereign wealth offering, hogged the headlines of major dailies. Marcos signed the MIF Act of 2023 in July to, according to him and the law's proponents, support the administration's economic goals.

With the signing of Republic Act 11954, the country will have the capability to invest more in agriculture, infrastructure, and digitalization, as well as in strengthening the value chain.

Alpha 400

The DAILY TRIBUNE exposed a "massive recruitment racket" by Alpha Assistenza SRL, which took money from the so-called Alpha 400, a group of about 200 jobseekers to Italy, and their counterpart Filipino sponsors in that country.

The Alpha 400 claimed they were tricked out of their hard-earned money by the couple Krizelle Respicio and Frederick Dutaro, co-CEOs of the allegedly bogus "immigration consultancy" firm Alpha Assistenza SRL.

The expose was aired over DAILY TRIBUNE's digital show Usapang OFW, which needled various government agencies, such as the Departments of Justice, Foreign Affairs and Migrant Workers, to investigate the "scam."

Some of the victims said they were forced to sell farmland and other properties to pay 3,000 to 5,000 euros to get working visas for what turned out to be a fake nulla osta or work permit.

The victims claimed that they had sought the assistance of Philippine Consul General to Milan Elmer Cato, but that their complaints allegedly fell on deaf ears. Videos and photos of Cato with Respicio would later surface, somehow lending credence to claim of their "closeness."

Israel-Hamas war

Peace-loving nations, including the Philippines, were shocked when Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, with hundreds of gunmen storming communities near the Gaza Strip.

Israel said about 1,200 people were killed, and more than 200 soldiers and civilians, including women and children, were taken to Gaza as hostages.

Israel would pound the Gaza Strip with airstrikes and later on a ground assault that is expected to spill over into this year.

Four overseas Filipino workers were killed by Hamas, namely, Ilongga caregiver Grace Prodigo Cabrera, who chose to be taken away by Hamas to save the 80-year-old Israeli woman under her care; Angelyn Peralta Aguirre, a 33-year-old carer who was killed along with her patient in Israel; Loreta Alacre, who was shot dead by Hamas while she was on her way back to her employer; and Paul Vincent Castelvi.

On 12 December, Jimmy Pacheco, held captive for nearly seven weeks by Hamas in Gaza, arrived home in the Philippines and was reunited with his family.