With the year about to end, there have been certain personalities who shaped the headlines this year, thanks in part to their pronouncements, achievements, and controversies that followed their names.
President Rodrigo Duterte
As his term draws closer to the end, President Rodrigo Duterte made several hints that he would run again for a national position after his presidential stint.
He made several hints over the past months that he would run as vice president, which could ultimately pit him against his daughter Sara Duterte, who also later announced her vice-presidential bid.
However, the president took a sudden turn and filed his candidacy for senator, saying that he was prompted by the Senate's treatment of his Cabinet officials during the probe on pandemic purchases.
He slammed in particular, Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, who has been investigating officials of the embattled firm Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation regarding the government's overpriced deal with the company.
Duterte, however, would later pull out of the Senate race.
Maria Ressa
Journalist and Rappler founder Maria Ressa bagged the Nobel Peace Prize this year, making history by becoming the first Filipino to be named as Nobel Laureate.
Ressa received the prize alongside fellow journalist Dmitry Muratov, who are both cited for their efforts to "safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace."
The journalist won the award amid cases filed in court against her and other Rappler directors and staff.
In her acceptance speech, Ressa said that attacks against her and the news outlet she founded only made them stronger.
She also underscored how American companies are biased against facts and journalists.
"I've said this repeatedly over the last five years: without facts, you can't have the truth. Without truth, you can't have trust. Without trust, we have no shared reality, no democracy, and it becomes impossible to deal with the existential problems of our times: climate, coronavirus, now, the battle for truth," she said in her speech.
Bongbong Marcos
Aside from his announcement to run for president, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. became the subject of headlines late this year because of the disqualification petitions later filed against his candidacy.
Marcos Jr., who has been leading presidential surveys as of late, was hit with a series of disqualification petitions from various groups, citing his tax evasion conviction.
His camp dismissed the cases as "nuisance petitions."
In addition, Marcos was also alluded to by President Duterte regarding a presidential aspirant that is using cocaine.
Marcos's camp, however, said they did not feel alluded to by the president, whose daughter Sara Duterte is his running mate for the 2022 polls.
Vice President Leni Robredo
Vice-President Leni Robredo made the decision in October to run for the presidency in the 2022 elections, following strong encouragement from her supporters who would eventually refer to themselves as "Kakampinks."
Robredo, who has been a critic of President Rodrigo Duterte's leadership, said in her announcement that she would fight in order to free the country from the current brand of the government.
"Kung parehong uri ng pamamahala at pareho ang pagkatao ng mga magwawagi sa araw ng halalan, wala tayong aasahang pagbabago," she said in her declaration.
(If the same kind of governance and same kind of people will win on the day of the elections, we will not expect to see any changes.)
Francisco Duque III
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III became the subject of headlines and memes alike for his emotional rant before House lawmakers.
Duque was defending the Department of Health (DOH) after the Commission on Audit questioned how the agency used over P67 billion in pandemic funds.
"Winarak na ninyo kami, eh. Winarak na ninyo ang dangal ng DOH, hindi na kami makaharap sa mga tao, wala na po akong tulog," Duque said.
(You ruined us. You ruined the honor of DOH. We can no longer face the people, I can no longer sleep.)
"This is really unfair, unjust that this judgment had been handed down clearly without giving the DOH the full 60 days within which we should have given our rejoinder and reported on the actions onto their recommendations," he continued.
However, COA Chairperson Michael Aguinaldo refuted Duque's statement and said the DOH was given 60 days to act on the commission's recommendations.
Duque was also accused of mishandling the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines that resulted in the delay of the arrival of the jabs.
He later denied this and claimed it was because rich countries bought the majority of supplies that left little for poor countries.
Later on, similar accusations were faced by Duque this time from Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, who claimed that the Health Secretary "dropped the ball again" in the procurement for 50 million syringes.
The accusations led to a heated exchange between both officials, where Duque said Locsin had no basis of making such claims.
Locsin later stated that Duque should never question his motives on the matter.
Dennis Uy
Davao businessman Dennis Uy made the headlines after his company Dito Telecommunication Corporation was launched commercially in March 2021. It became the country's third major player in the telecommunications industry and has attracted nearly five million subscribers as of early December.
However, Uy also became the subject of reports after allegations of fraudulent importation of petroleum products emerged against him.
Reports claimed that Uy, president and chief executive officer of Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, and customs broker Jorlan Cabanes were involved in the importation of petroleum products at the Davao and Batangas ports in 2010 and 2011.
This was later dismissed, however, by the Supreme Court.
In another pressing issue, Uy's company, Udenna Corporation, also allegedly acquired 90% of the offshore gas field on the Malampaya deal. The Board of Trustees of the Makati Business Club (MBC) called on the Senate to investigate the said deal, which Uy slammed.
He said that the MBC should have invited him to meet if it had concerns about the business deal. He added that those who are managing the Malampaya gas field under Chevron and Shell remain unchanged.
Julian Ongpin
Julian Ongpin, son of businessman Roberto Ongpin, made the headlines this year after he was tagged in illegal drug possession and the death of the late visual artist Bree Jonson.
Jonson, Ongpin's late partner, was found dead in September inside the room she shared with Ongpin.
The police later seized 12 grams of cocaine inside their shared room, with Ongpin testing positive for drugs.
He was initially indicted for drug possession, but a La Union court later cleared him from the drug charges, citing a "lack of probable cause to issue an arrest warrant" against Ongpin.
He was also removed as a person of interest in the death of Jonson, with the Philippine National Police saying it found no sign of foul play in the passing of the visual artist.
