2023 is indeed a newsworthy year, with several highlights shaping our direction.

Republicasia has compiled some of the hottest news and information to look back to, as we welcome the year of the wooden dragon.

Here are some the 2023 highlights during the first six months:

January

BLACKPINK’s Jisoo announces solo debut, opens YouTube channel (January 3, 2023) 

• BLACKPINK’s Kim Ji-soo is making her debut as a solo artist

Ateneo bags int’l debate championship (January 4, 2023) 

• The Ateneo de Manila University team won the 43rd World Universities Debating Championship held in Madrid, the first time a team from the Philippines emerged on top in the competition.

1.2M devotees attended Nazareno rites (January 10, 2023) 

• APPROXIMATELY 1.2 million devotees have participated in the religious activities organized by the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, Quiapo Church Operation Center said Tuesday.

Kylie Jenner bashed for lion head dress in Paris fashion (January 25, 2023) 

• REALITY-STAR Kylie Jenner became a head-turner at the Paris Fashion Week on Monday, January 23 as she walked with her life-sized lion head on her velvet Schiaparelli haute couture gown.

Bondee is your new virtual hangout space (January 26, 2023) 

• Bondee was created by Metadream, an independent tech company based in Singapore. It is a cute virtual place where users could create an avatar that could mirror their real lives. 

February 

Pregnant Rihanna performs at Super Bowl  (February 13, 2023) 

• Rihanna performed on stage at the Super Bowl with her baby bump. 

China’s New Scare Tactic (February 13, 2023) 

• The Philippine Coast Guard has accused China of flashing a “military-grade” laser light at one of its ships in the disputed West Philippine Sea

Facebook, Instagram to roll out paid subscription for verified accounts (February 20, 2023) 

• Meta’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Monday, February 20, that the new product  called “Meta Verified” would certify that the holder of the account is authentic and not an impostor.

Filipinos one of the most prayerful people on earth (February 21, 2023) 

• According to the Fourth Quarter 2022 Social Weather Survey released early Tuesday morning, most Filipino Catholics spend a few minutes of their day in prayer.

Taylor Swift named IFPI’s 2022 Global Recording Artist of the year (February 23, 2023) 

• Twelve-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift received another trophy to display in her overflowing award cabinet as she was recently hailed as one of the awardees of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

March  

What’s behind the week-long transportation strike? (March 1, 2023) 

• In 2017, the Department of Transportation issued an order that aims to replace old and dilapidated PUVs with “safe, efficient and environment-friendly” vehicles.  The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board said the implementation of the modernization program, which was initially set in 2020, has been delayed owing to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, and a new deadline has been set. 

Inflation rate slows down to 8.6% in February (March 7, 2023) 

• The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday that the consumer price index (CPI) last month rose to 8.6 percent, which is slightly slower than the 8.7 percent recorded in January 2023. 

Gender digital divide limits Filipino Women’s access to life-saving information (March 8, 2023) 

• The gender digital divide refers to the gap between men and women’s ability to access and use the internet and digital technologies. 

Taylor Swift’s ‘All Too Well’ is now a course in Stanford (March 10, 2023) 

• As announced by Stanford University, the institute is rendering a Taylor Swift course cleverly titled “All Too Well (10 Week Version)” in the upcoming winter quarter of the elite university’s academic curriculum.

Lawmakers push to outlaw ‘no permit, no exam policy’ but differ on who should benefit (March 22, 2023) 

• House Bill 6483, which was passed in December last year, aims to allow college students with unpaid tuition and other school fees to take the periodic and final examinations on “good cause and justifiable grounds” such as force majeure and emergencies

April 

KaladKaren becomes first trans woman to win MMFF best supporting actress (April 12, 2023)

• Celebrity impersonator and comedian KaladKaren made history as the first trans woman to be recognized as best supporting actress in the inaugural Summer Metro Manila Film Festival.

3,992 pass 2022 bar exams; top 5 from UP (April 14, 2023)

• The Philippines now has 3,992 new lawyers! The Supreme Court  announced the results of 2022 Bar examinations and said 43.47 percent passed the test. The top five examinees came from the University of the Philippines College of Law. 

Sinigang, Bulalo still among best soups in the world – Taste Atlas (April 17, 2023)

• Sinigang and bulalo, two well-known Filipino dishes, fell this year in the rankings but still made the list of the world’s top soups. According to Taste Atlas’ Top 50 Best Soups in the World List for 2023, sinigang and bulalo dropped to the 42nd and 43rd spots, respectively, scoring 4.4 out of 5 stars each. 

Fil-Canadian Tyson Venegas makes it to Top 12 of American Idol (April 25, 2023)

• FILIPINO-Canadian teenager Tyson Venegas has made it to the top 12 of the singing competition American Idol, after dazzling judges and audiences with his original song 180. The 17-year-old Venegas capped off his advancement to the next phase of the show with a performance of Elton John’s Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.

May

Drag queen Precious Paula Nicole dreams of building homes for the golden gays (May 1, 2023)

• JUST like another beauty queen, drag queen Precious Paula Nicole is showcasing what beauty with a purpose truly means. This is because Precious has a mission, which is to provide a haven for elderly, homeless gays who have no one else to turn to. Their comfortless situation inspired Precious’ advocacy of providing a permanent residence for elderly gays, particularly the old former drag queens who have once given joy and entertainment to the people.

King Charles UK Coronation (May 6, 2023)

• LONDON, United Kingdom– Charles III on Saturday finally met his date with destiny after a lifetime as heir to his late mother Queen Elizabeth II, as he was officially crowned king in the first coronation in Britain since 1953.

It’s official: TVJ announces separation from TAPE Inc. (May 31, 2023)

• Eat Bulaga pillars Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon announced their departure from Television and Production Exponents Inc. (TAPE).

29% of Filipinos say quality of life better than a year ago; 25% think it got worse – poll  (May 30, 2023)

• A poll by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) found that nearly a third of Filipinos believe their quality of life has improved in the last 12 months, while a quarter think otherwise. The survey, which was conducted from March 26 to 29, 2023, revealed that 29% of the 1,200 adult participants stated their lives had improved from the previous year, while 25% answered the opposite. Meanwhile, 46% of the respondents said that it was unchanged from a year before. 

Philippine debt inches up to P13.91T in April (May 31, 2023)

• The Philippine government’s running debt hit a new record high of P13.91 trillion as of end-April, data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed. The latest figure is P54.24 billion, or 0.4% higher than the P13.856 trillion posted as of March 31, 2023.

June 

More than just a parade of colors, QC Pride makes history (June 27, 2023)

• Over a hundred thousand members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) community and its allies attended the record-breaking Pride March in Quezon City. This figure was four times bigger than last year’s 25,000 participants. This made the LoveLaban Festival the biggest Pride event in Southeast Asia, as per the organizers.

Philippine police rescue over 1,000 alleged trafficking victims (June 27, 2023)

• Philippine police have rescued more than 1,000 people allegedly trafficked into the country to work for an online casino in Manila. Chinese, Vietnamese, Singaporean and Malaysian nationals were among those found when police raided buildings inside a compound in the capital on Monday night. Police said the alleged victims had accepted jobs posted on Facebook to work in the Philippines as “assistants in online gaming”.

‘Love the Philippines’ is the country’s new tourism slogan (June 27, 2023)

• The Philippines unveiled a new tourism slogan as the global travel industry continues to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new slogan, ”Love the Philippines,” was introduced during an event to celebrate 50 years of Philippine tourism at the Manila Hotel, which was attended by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. It replaced “It’s More Fun in the Philippines,” which had been the country’s tourism slogan since 2012.

5 PH schools make it to QS World University Rankings 2024 (June 28, 2023)

• Five schools in the Philippines made it to the QS World University Rankings 2024. The University of the Philippines led the group, placing 404th, up from No. 412 previously. Ateneo de Manila University improved to 563rd from its previous rank of 651–700. De La Salle University jumped from the 801-1000 bracket to the 681-690 bracket, while the University of Santo Tomas, which was in the 801-1000 bracket in 2023, settled in the 801-850 bracket. The University of San Carlos debuted in the 1201–1400 band.

Marcos on his first year in office: Still many things to do (June 29, 2023)

• President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assessed his first year in office, saying while there have been accomplishments, there is still more to be done. “We have achieved a lot of growth. We are beginning to see the systemic changes that are going to be part of the new bureaucracy, but there is still a long way to go,” Marcos told reporters following the launch of the Kanegosyo Center of Cebuana Lhuillier in Parañaque City.