1998 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 1998.
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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
- 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]
April
- April 4 – Antipolo becomes a component city in the province of Rizal through ratification of Republic Act 8508.
- April 19 – Tarlac becomes a component city in the province of Tarlac through ratification of Republic Act 8593.
June
- June 6 – Carmela Arcolas–Gamboa of Negros Occidental, was crowned Miss Philippines Centennial 1998.
- June 12 – The Philippines celebrates the centennial of its independence.
- 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
- September 18 – Passenger ferry MV Princess of the Orient, taking its Manila–Cebu route at the height of Typhoon Vicki (Gading), sinks at sea off Fortune Island, Nasugbu, Batangas; 150 are either reportedly dead or missing.[15][16][17]
- 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
- 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]
- December 30 – Valenzuela becomes a highly urbanized city in Metro Manila through ratification of Republic Act 8526.[28]
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".
In addition, several other places observe local holidays, such as the foundation of their town. These are also "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.
- March 7 – The Inauguration games of the Metropolitan Basketball Association is held at Don Narciso Ramos Sports Complex in Lingayen, Pangasinan.
- May 8 – The Alaska Milkmen regains the 1998 PBA All-Filipino Cup crown with a 4–3 series victory against the San Miguel Beermen and repeated as back-to-back title, Alaska winning their 8th PBA title.
- 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.
- August 14 – The Alaska Milkmen wins their 9th straight PBA title, defeating the San Miguel Beermen for the second time in the season, winning in six games.
- October 6 – The Mobiline Phone Pals wins the PBA Centennial Cup title, defeating the Formula Shell Super Unleaded in winning the overtime 67–66.
- October 31 – The Pampanga Dragons wins as the first MBA champions, winning against Negros Slashers 4–1. The Dragons clinch the first MBA national championship.
- December 6–20 – The Philippines participates in the 1998 Asian Games held in Bangkok, Thailand The country ranks 21st with one gold medal, five silver medals and 12 bronze medals with a total of 18 over-all medals.[30]
- 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.
- January 4 – Liza Soberano, actress
- January 10 – Ayra Mariano, actress
- January 24 - JC Alcantara, actor
- February 3 – James Teng, actor
- February 10 – Donny Pangilinan, actor
- February 16 – Jack Reid, actor and commercial model
- February 24 – Mariel Pamintuan, actress
- March 11 – Rhenz Abando, basketball player
- March 14 – Elaine Duran, singer
- March 27 – BJ Forbes, actor
- March 30 – Janella Salvador, actress
- April 16 – Paul Salas, actor
- May 15 – Kokoy de Santos, actor, singer, dancer and commercial model
- May 18 – Eunice Lagusad, actress and vlogger
- May 22 – Kath Arado, volleyball player
- May 25 – Ricci Rivero, actor and basketball player
- May 26 – Wealand Ferrer
- May 28 – Luis Gabriel Moreno, archer and Youth Olympic Games medalist
- June 3 – Markus Paterson, actor
- June 22 – Maureen Wroblewitz, Asia's Next Top Model winner and TV co-host
- July 7 - Tots Carlos, volleyball player
- July 16 – Carlo Paalam, boxer
- July 25 – Paolo Gumabao, actor and model
- July 27 – Javi Gómez de Liaño, basketball player
- August 1 – Barbie Imperial, actress
- August 17 – Gel Cayuna, volleyball player
- August 19 – Ella Guevara, actress
- August 21 – Prince Villanueva, actor
- August 23 – Russell Reyes, member of BoybandPH
- August 24 – Sofia Andres, actress
- September 1 – Argel Saycon, actor
- September 2 – Dwight Ramos, basketball player
- September 6 – Angel Guardian, actress
- September 21 – Miguel Tanfelix, actor
- October 10 – Nash Aguas, actor
- November 10 – Renz Valerio, actor
- November 22 – Jane de Leon, actress
- November 28 – Jeremiah Lisbo, actor
- December 2 – Gabbi Garcia, actress and endorser
- December 9 – Mika Dela Cruz, actress
- December 11 – Zeinab Harake, vlogger
- December 26 – Ashley Ortega, actress
—"No survivors in Cebu Pacific crash" PHNO. 02-05-1998.
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.)
"Brief History". Island Garden City of Samal. Archived from the original on 2022-02-14. Retrieved February 15, 2022.