1998 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 1998.
The year was also designated for the country's year-long 100th centennial anniversary of the Philippine Independence, as known by its theme, "100 Kalayaan: Kayamanan ng Bayan (1898-1998)".
January 3 – A power interruption affects the entire Luzon for almost 7 hours, caused by a broken power line after a Meralco utility post has fallen in Laguna.[1]
February 11 – Talisay becomes a component city in the province of Negros Occidental through ratification of Republic Act 8489.
February 14 – Santiago's independent component city status is downgraded through the enactment of Republic Act 8528 which amended certain sections of Republic Act 7720 into a component city in the province of Isabela.
Samal becomes a component city in the province of Davao del Norte through ratification of Republic Act 8471.[8]
Compostela Valley becomes a province in the region of Davao Region through ratification of Republic Act 8470 approved on January 30. The name of Davao changed back to Davao del Norte.
Tagum becomes a component city in the province of Davao del Norte through ratification of Republic Act 8472.
March 14 – Passi becomes a component city in the province of Iloilo through ratification of Republic Act 8469.
March 20 – San Fernando becomes a component city in the province of La Union through ratification of Republic Act 8509.
June 30 – Former vice president Joseph Estrada is sworn in as the 13th president of the Philippines, succeeding Fidel Ramos. Senator Gloria Macapagal Arroyo also sworn as tenth vice president of the Philippines as the latter's successor.
June–September – Dry spell felt in 16 regions amid country's four-year growth, with ₱9 billion worth of agricultural damages.
July
Early July – Department of Agriculture reports that the drought and pest infestation to crops in Southern Mindanao region between November 1997 and June 1998 have affected some 254,000 hectares of farmlands, have destroyed 360,037 metric tons of crops worth at least ₱2-billion; rice and corn lands are the severely damaged.[14]
September 23 – Philippine Airlines (PAL) suspends its operations for days effective midnight, as it has announced on Sept. 17 to "permanently" halt, as a result of the Asian financial crisis and industrial action by its unions. Two separate strikes have been staged, by approximately 600 pilots in June, on the claims of unfair labor practice and union-busting by PAL, affecting PAL's operations; and by almost 2,000 union members in July, following the June 15 retrenchment of about 5,000 employees as part of its measure to counter financial losses. Pres. Estrada has made a series of interventions in an effort to resolve the labor dispute until certain agreements are made between PAL Employees Association and the airline management. On Oct. 7, PAL partially resumes operations, as announced by Pres. Estrada, Sept. 28. Supreme Court would uphold in 2016 the dismissal of 24 PAL pilots, and in 2018 the retrenchment of some 1,400 cabin crew.[18][19]
December 3 – A fire devastates private orphanage Bahay Kalinga, run by women's organization Asociacion de Damas de Filipinas Inc., in Paco, Manila, with at least 30 people confirmed dead, mostly children who have been admitted there.[24][25][26]
December 18 – An encounter between Abu Sayyaf founding leader and the country's most wanted outlaw, Abdurajak Janjalani, with 20 rebels, and the 12-member government forces, occurred in Lamitan, Basilan; Janjalani and two of his men are killed, while two government men are killed and two are reported missing.[27]
As per Executive Order No. 292, chapter 7 section 26, the following are regular holidays and special days, approved on July 25, 1987.[29] Note that in the list, holidays in bold are "regular holidays" and those in italics are "nationwide special days".
January 17 – The Tanduay Gold Rhum Masters achieves their 6th title of the PBL after their winning against AGFA HDC Films in Game 5 of the 1998 PBL All-Filipino Cup Finals, 82–76.
July 6 – The Tanduay Centennial Rhum Masters are crowned as the PBL Basketball champions of the 1998 Yakult PBL Centennial Cup after beating Batang Red Bull in the Game 3 of the finals series, 71–65. and also breaking its seventh title drought.
December 9 – Formula Shell Super Unleaded wins their third PBA title and their first in six years, with a 4–3 series victory over the Mobiline Phone Pals.
News articles from Manila Standard: —Silva, M., Rivera-Acosta, L., & MS wires (02-03-1998). "Cebu Pacific plane, 106 aboard, missing." pp. 1–2. —Silva, M., Rivera-Acosta, L., AP & Reuters. (02-04-1998). "Wreckage sighted; no sign of survivors." pp. 1, 4. —Silva, M., Maragay, F. V., AP & Reuters. (02-05-1998). "Dense jungle snags trek to site of crash." pp. 1–2. —Silva, M., AP & Reuters. (02-06-1998). "No survivors." pp. 1–2.
All were retrieved 04-02-2022.
^According to Aviation Safety Network database (Link), the said aviation accident was the worst at that time and currently the 2nd. The worst before was the one which occurred in May 1964, now the 3nd deadliest, with 80 fatalities (including 1 on the ground). (See the details of May 1964 and Feb. 1998 accidents. Retrieved 02-11-2021.)
