Faces of the News: May 25, 2025
Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Dismayed by the defeat of half of the senatorial candidates he endorsed in the May 12 polls, President Marcos ordered members of his Cabinet, presidential advisers and heads of state agencies to submit their courtesy resignations for a possibly sweeping overhaul of the executive branch.
The President said the failure of the Alyansa ticket to dominate the midterms—the opposite of what two previous administrations had accomplished—showed that Filipinos “expect results, not politics, not excuses.” Mr. Marcos, whose leadership style had been criticized for supposedly being laid back, said this was not the time to be complacent and that the “time for comfort zones is over.”
His decision to push what the Palace called a ‘’bold reset’’ was followed swiftly by four top-level adjustments. Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga was replaced in her post by Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, while three other Cabinet members—Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo and Urban Development Secretary Jerry Acuzar—were given other positions. —MARLON RAMOS
Francis Escudero
There’s no stopping the Senate from convening as an impeachment court as Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero notified the House of Representatives of the initial schedule for the historic trial of impeached Vice President Sara Duterte.
In a letter dated May 19, Escudero told his Batasan counterpart, Speaker Martin Romualdez, that the Senate would be ready to receive the House panel of prosecutors to formally start Duterte’s trial once Congress resumes session on June 2.
He said the prosecutors were expected to read in open session the charges stated in the articles of impeachment against Duterte, the first vice president to be impeached by Congress. The Senate leader said he and his fellow senator judges would formally convene as an impeachment court a day later to allow them to issue summons and other orders in connection with the trial.
Escudero earlier said that the actual impeachment hearings would be conducted when the 20th Congress, now including 12 newly elected senators, opens in July. —MARLON RAMOS
Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga
When President Marcos on Thursday ordered all of his Cabinet members to step down, one of the first to heed the call was Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga.
In filing her courtesy resignation, the head of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on Thursday morning that she “serve[s] at the pleasure of the President and trust[s] in his wisdom on what is best for our country.”
She had since kept mum even after Malacañang announced a day later that she was the first to be axed in the ongoing evaluation of Cabinet members. According to Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, there were “perceptions” that she was always on foreign trips and was, therefore, seen as underperforming.
Bersamin, however, clarified that she had kept a clean record with no whiff of corruption. “The evaluation showed that it was time to have her rest for now,” he said of the DENR chief. Yulo-Loyzaga will be replaced by Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, who was sued last year for endorsing a power plant expansion project in Cebu despite an ongoing coal moratorium. —KATHLEEN DE VILLA
Manny Pacquaio
Manny Pacquiao is coming out of retirement to try and knock Mario Barrios off the World Boxing Council welterweight throne. The Filipino boxing icon made the announcement on his Instagram page on May 21.
The bout will be on July 19 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, nearly four years since his last professional match where he lost to Yordenis Ugás at T-Mobile Arena also in Sin City on Aug. 21, 2021.
Since going into retirement, the former eight-division champion-turned-politician has appeared in exhibition bouts. He made an unsuccessful run for the Presidency in 2022 and tasted another defeat in the recent senatorial race.
Reentering the sport that has made him a household name, he currently holds a 62-8-2 professional record and is scheduled to be enshrined into the International Boxing Hall of Fame on June 8.
For his comeback fight, he will face a 29- 2-1 Mexican-American champion who is 16 years younger. Pacquiao is being prepared for it by his longtime crew, led by trainer Freddie Roach and cornerman Buboy Fernandez. —DENISON REY A. DALUPANG
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
In naming its Most Valuable Player this season, the NBA kept its international flavor with the selection of Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the highly coveted honor. Gilgeous-Alexander’s performance throughout the Thunder’s run to the Western Conference Finals swayed voters to pick the Canadian-born guard over the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, who was the MVP in 2021, 2022 and 2024.
The 26-year-old “SGA” got 71 first-place votes and 29 second-place votes to beat Jokic and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo. The last seven seasons have seen players born outside the United States taking home the MVP trophy, starting with Antetokounmpo of Greece in 2019 and 2020. The Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid of Cameroon got the nod in 2023.
Behind Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder is getting a closer shot at the NBA Finals after taking a 2-0 lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the West Finals. Oklahoma is just glad to have SGA, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019 along with Chris Paul in exchange for Paul George. —JONAS TERRADO
