The week in photos: January 17-23, 2026

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ Senate blue ribbon committee resumed its flood control probe on January 19. New eyewitnesses tagged contractor Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya as the one tasked with renovating a home in Forbes Park that was supposedly purchased by former House speaker Martin Romualdez. Tech businessman Maynard Ngu — tagged as the alleged bagman of Senator Chiz Escudero — and former education undersecretary Trygve Olaivar denied involvement in the kickback scheme.

On January 20, the Sandiganbayan Third Division ordered the detention of former senator Bong Revilla, who’s charged over a P92.8-million ghost flood control project in Bulacan, at the Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory in Payatas. Revilla is facing a non-bailable malversation case and a graft charge filed by the Office of the Ombudsman last week.

Meanwhile, the Regional Trial Court Branch 45 of Tacloban City, Leyte, on January 22, convicted 26-year-old journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and 28-year-old lay worker Marielle Domequil in their terrorism financing case but acquitted them in their illegal possession of firearms and explosives case. Cumpio and Domequil have been in detention since 2020.

In Davos, US President Donald Trump on January 22 launched his Board of Peace, initially focused on cementing Gaza’s ceasefire. However, he said it could take a wider role that may worry other global powers, although he added that it would work with the United Nations. Traditional Western US allies have balked at joining the board — which Trump said permanent members must help fund with a payment of $1 billion each — either responding cautiously or declining the invitation.

Catch more stories in these photos from the week that was:

Hundreds of boats escort the image of the Santo Niño aboard the M/V Lite Ferry 10 during the Fiesta Señor fluvial procession, a part of the Sinulog festival, in Cebu City on January 17, 2026. PHOTO BY JACQUELINE HERNANDEZ/RAPPLER

NASA’s next-generation moon rocket, the Space Launch System rocket with the Orion crew capsule, rolls from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on January 17, 2026. PHOTO BY JOE SKIPPER/REUTERS

Demonstrators cast shadows on a ‘Lion and Sun’ pre-Iranian Revolution national flag during a rally in support of protests in Iran, in Rome, Italy, on January 17, 2026. PHOTO BY MATTEO MINNELLA/REUTERS

People attend a protest against US President Donald Trump’s demand that the Arctic island be ceded to the US, calling for it to be allowed to determine its own future, in Nuuk, Greenland, on January 17, 2026. PHOTO BY MARKO DJURICA/REUTERS

Christian Orthodox worshippers participate in a ceremony re-enacting the baptism of Christ on the banks of the Jordan River, which is believed to be the site of Jesus’ baptism, to mark the eve of Epiphany near Jericho, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on January 18, 2026. PHOTO BY SHIR TOREM/REUTERS

Thousands of Catholics raise their cherished images of the Child Jesus to be blessed at the Minor Basilica and Archdiocesan Shrine of Santo Niño de Tondo in Manila as the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Santo Niño on January 18, 2026. PHOTO BY ANGIE DE SILVA/RAPPLER

Emergency services at work at the site of a deadly train derailment after a high-speed train derailed and collided with another oncoming train near Adamuz, in Cordoba province, Spain, on January 19, 2026. PHOTO BY LEONARDO BENASSATTO/REUTERS

Workers talk inside a Valentino boutique after Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani died, in Rome, Italy, on January 19, 2026. PHOTO BY VINCENZO LIVIERI/REUTERS

The aurora borealis, also known as the ‘northern lights,’ illuminates the sky over Nijmegen, Netherlands, on January 19, 2026. PHOTO BY PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW/REUTERS

Marie (not her real name) identifies Pacifico ‘Curlee’ Discaya as the contractor who renovated a house in Forbes Park in Makati in 2023 for the supposed new owner, former House speaker Martin Romualdez, during the resumption of the Senate blue ribbon committee probe on January 19, 2026. PHOTO FROM THE SENATE SOCIAL MEDIA UNIT

Japan’s Naomi Osaka arrives for her first round match against Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic at the Australian Open in Melbourne Park, Australia, on January 20, 2026. PHOTO BY JAIMI JOY/REUTERS

ICE agents stand next to a boy, who a witness identified as Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old who school officials said was detained in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 20, 2026. PHOTO BY RACHEL JAMES VIA REUTERS

Employees walk at a compound of a thermal power plant damaged by multiple Russian missile strikes in an undisclosed location in Ukraine on January 21, 2026. PHOTO BY ROMAN BALUK/REUTERS

Britain’s Prince Harry departs the High Court during the first week of a nine-week trial lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail, which Britain’s Prince Harry and others are suing over allegations of privacy breaches dating back 30 years, in London, Britain, on January 21, 2026. PHOTO BY HANNAH MCKAY/REUTERS

A protester rings a bell during a rally demanding the acquittal of journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and lay worker Marielle Domequil, as well as the dismissal of charges against the ‘Tacloban 5,’ at the Department of Justice on January 21, 2026. PHOTO BY RAPPLER

US President Donald Trump holds a signed Charter of the Board of Peace as he takes part in a charter announcement for his Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, alongside the 56th annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 22, 2026. PHOTO BY DENIS BALIBOUSE/REUTERS

Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians who, according to medics, were killed by Israeli strikes, at Al-Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, on January 22, 2026. PHOTO BY DAWOUD ABU ALKAS/REUTERS

A screen shows the nominees for Best Picture for the 98th Academy Awards as actors Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman host the announcement event at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, on January 22, 2026. PHOTO BY MARIO ANZUONI/REUTERS

BJMP personnel escort former senator Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla Jr. out of a prison van to attend the arraignment and pre-trial for the malversation case in the ghost flood control project in Bulacan, at the Sandiganbayan on January 23, 2026. PHOTO BY JIRE CARREON/RAPPLER

– with reports from Reuters/Rappler.com