2015 in the Philippines


2015 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in 2015. International events that are connected, or concerned with the Philippines are also included in this significant and important article.
The year was designated by the Department of Tourism as Visit the Philippines Year.

Incumbents

Events

January

February

March

April


May

June

July

August

September

October

  • October 9 – The Ombudsman orders the dismissal in service and the eventual perpetual disqualification to run in any political positions for former Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, in connection with the overpriced Makati City Hall Building II.
  • October 13 – The MILF and the Moro National Liberation Front sign a "unified declaration" calling for the approval the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law as an embodiment of each other's separate peace pacts with Malacañang.
  • October 17–28 – PAGASA confirms that the haze from Indonesia has reached Mindanao. Typhoon Lando and the northeast monsoon are also linked to the haze. The haze affects operations of airports in Mindanao and the Visayas. On October 28, PAGASA declares that the country was free from haze.
  • October 18 – 46 are killed, 82 are injured and 268,877 families are affected after heavy rains and floods due to Typhoon Lando hits Luzon.
  • October 21 – The Ombudsman sacks five officials of the Technology Resource Center, particularly Deputy Director General Dennis Cunanan for their alleged participation in the PDAF scam.
  • October 26 – President Aquino signs the amended Public Employment Service Office bill into law during the 15th National PESO Congress at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay.
  • October 30 – The United Nations backs the Permanent Court of Arbitration on its ruling that it has the jurisdiction to hear the maritime claim of the Philippines against China.

November

December

  • December 1:
  • *U.S. Marine L. Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton, suspect in the death of Jennifer Laude one year ago, is found guilty of homicide by the Olongapo Regional Trial Court and is sentenced to 6–12 years in prison. The court also ordered for Pemberton to pay ₱4.5 million to the Laude family.
  • *Senator Grace Poe is disqualified by the Commission of Elections 2nd Division from being president after failing to reach the 10-year residency requirement for a presidential candidate.
  • December 5 – The Philippine Air Force receives two FA-50 lead-in fighter jets, two C-295 medium-lift fixed-wing aircraft and six Augusta 109 attack helicopters for territorial defense, search and rescue, disaster response and combat operations.
  • December 9 – The Office of the President orders a 60-day preventive suspension order against Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama for alleged culpable violation of the constitution, grave abuse of authority, grave misconduct and oppression over the destruction of local government projects in his city.
  • December 11 – Grace Poe's certificate of candidacy is cancelled by the Commission of Elections 1st Division after a 2–1 vote, barring her from running as president after failing to comply with the ten-year residency requirement by the Philippine Constitution.
  • December 12 – General Trias becomes a component city in the province of Cavite through ratification of Republic Act 10675.
  • December 13–17 – Typhoon Melor makes landfall in Northern Samar and made more landfalls before dissipating. Forty-two are killed during the typhoon and damages cost over ₱6 billion.
  • December 18 – President Aquino declares a state of national calamity due to the onslaught of Typhoon Melor that hit different provinces in Luzon and Visayas.

Holidays

On July 17, 2014, the government had already announced at least 18 Philippine holidays for 2015 as declared by virtue of Proclamation No. 831, series of 2014. Note that in the list, holidays in italics are "special non-working holidays," those in bold are "regular holidays," and those in non-italics and non-bold are "special holidays for schools."
In addition, several other places observe local holidays, such as the foundation of their town. These are also "special days."

Business and economy

Health

  • February 11:
  • * The Department of Health released a report showing that the count of recorded cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus in the country during 2014 reached 6,011. This was high compared to the 2013 count of 4,814. In total, there were already 22,527 cases of HIV disease since 1984.
  • * A 32-year-old Filipino nurse from Saudi Arabia, who was also 1 month pregnant, was the country's first Middle East respiratory syndrome-coronavirus case, DOH confirmed after the test turned out to be positive of the said virus. The Evangelista Medical Hospital in San Pedro, Laguna, the facility where the patient was first admitted, was temporarily closed by DOH for fourteen days. On February 17, all those who had exposure or had contact with the said nurse were tested negative of the said virus. On March 6, The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed three Filipino female healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia who were infected with MERS-CoV.
  • February 19 – In a report published by the World Health Organization, the Philippines was one of the countries in the Western Pacific that were reported to have the highest dengue cases.
  • February 23 – DOH confirmed the death of a returning female OFW musician from China, few days after she arrived last February 14. The death might be a possible case of the Bird Flu virus.
  • July 6 – DOH confirmed the second detected case of MERS-CoV in the country. The patient who had contracted the virus was from the Middle East and was referred to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine last July 4. Another person, who was also showing symptoms, was placed in isolation after he had close contact with the said patient; eight others, who also had contacted with the patient, were identified. DOH is in the process of tracking all the people whom the patient had contacted with.
  • July 10 – About 2,000 people in the Caraga region, mostly school children, experienced food poisoning after reportedly eating durian and mangosteen candies. The next day, the Department of Health in Caraga region has declared a food poisoning outbreak due to the incident.
  • July 29 – Around 300 school children from various public schools in Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and Misamis Occidental were rushed to hospitals after they complained of stomach pain and vomiting after taking deworming medicines during the nationwide deworming activity of the Department of Health.
  • October 1 – Bulacan is placed under a state of calamity due to increased cases of dengue. Since January, more than 11 were recorded deaths due to the virus.
  • December 23 – The Philippines became the first Asian country to approve the sale of the world's first dengue vaccine, the Dengvaxia.

Sports

Entertainment and culture

Deaths

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