The week in photos: May 23-29, 2026

MANILA, Philippines – On May 26, members of the Senate minority walked out after a heated debate over Senator Rodante Marcoleta’s motion to allow senators to participate in plenary sessions online.

Members of the minority bloc questioned the “rushed” process to amend the Senate rules.

“We strongly condemn what appears to be an attempt to rush a major change in the Senate rules, especially when several members of the minority still wanted to speak and raise serious questions on the floor,” the Senate minority said in a joint statement.

On May 28, the Office of the Ombudsman charged Senator Jinggoy Estrada, former Department of Public Works and Highways secretary Manuel Bonoan, and three others, after an investigation revealed that there was an “intricate mechanism” allegedly involving illegal budget insertions and project allocations at the DPWH in 2025. 

The following day, May 29, the Sandiganbayan’s 2nd Division issued a warrant of arrest against Estrada and his fellow accused. Estrada and Bonoan appeared before the anti-graft court in the afternoon to post bail of P90,000 for the graft charges.

Estrada walked free from the Sandiganbayan because it’s only the 2nd Division — which handles his other graft case — that issued a warrant. He will be detained once the 5th Division, handling the other graft case and the plunder case, issues a warrant, as plunder is non-bailable.

Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on May 28 spoke before the National Diet, or the national legislature of Japan. An address to the National Diet is a rare honor bestowed upon visiting leaders and is, by some measure, an indication of the strength of Tokyo’s ties with another country.

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

A group of migrants board an inflatable dinghy before leaving the coast of northern France in an attempt to cross the English Channel to reach Britain, from the beach of Petit-Fort-Philippe in Gravelines, near Calais, France, on May 23, 2026. PHOTO BY DYLAN MARTINEZ/REUTERS

A Congolese woman reacts outside the house of a man, who died of Ebola, as she waits for medical workers to retrieve his body, as aid agencies intensify efforts to contain a new Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain, in Quartier Shuni 1, a residential sector in Mongbwalu, Djugu Territory of Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, on May 24, 2026. PHOTO BY GRADEL MUYISA MUMBERE/REUTERS

A nine-story building under construction collapsed in Barangay Balibago, Angeles, Pampanga, trapping people beneath the rubble, on May 24, 2026. PHOTO BY JIRE CARREON/RAPPLER

Pilgrims pray in front of the Kaaba on the day they perform Tawaf at the Grand Mosque, ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage, in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on May 24, 2026. PHOTO BY IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA/REUTERS

Astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Lai Ka-ying, who is the first astronaut from Hong Kong, wave during a send-off ceremony before taking part in the Shenzhou-23 spaceflight mission to China’s Tiangong space station, at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, near Jiuquan, Gansu province, China, on May 24, 2026. PHOTO BY MAXIM SHEMETOV/REUTERS

Clowns stop for food while celebrating Peruvian Clown Day, in Lima, Peru, on May 25, 2026. PHOTO BY ALESSANDRO CINQUE/REUTERS

People sunbathe as a woman is tightrope walking over the water during an unseasonably hot day at the Marineterrein in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on May 26, 2026. PHOTO BY STELIOS MISINAS/REUTERS

Members of environmental protection group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, along with other civil society organizations, protest the widespread cutting of trees for the 40.62-kilometer Southern Access Link Expressway project, on May 26, 2026. PHOTO BY RAPPLER

Minority senators walk out of the plenary session after heated debates on a motion to allow the virtual participation of senators in sessions, on May 26, 2026. PHOTO FROM KIKO PANGILINAN FACEBOOK

A Swiss Guard salutes ahead of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s arrival at the San Damaso courtyard for a meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, ahead of the pontiff’s planned apostolic journey to Spain, on May 27, 2026. PHOTO BY YARA NARDI/REUTERS

The Muslim community gathers to celebrate Eid al-Adha, one of Islam’s holiest occasions centered on faith, sacrifice, and community, at Plaza Independencia in Cebu City on  May 27, 2026. PHOTO BY JACQUELINE HERNANDEZ/RAPPLER

A person takes a photo of construction underway on a temporary arena that will host the UFC Freedom 250 fight card in June on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 27, 2026. PHOTO BY KYLIE COOPER/REUTERS

Brazil’s Joao Fonseca in action during his second round match against Croatia’s Dino Prizmic in the French Open, at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, on May 27, 2026. PHOTO BY GUGLIELMO MANGLAPANE/REUTERS

Davao Region’s Christy Mel Rose Siva completes a rain-drenched triumph in the secondary girls’ 400m hurdles of the Palarong Pambansa athletics competition, at Datu Lipus Makapandong Governor D.O. Plaza Sports Complex, on May 27, 2026. PHOTO BY ERNIE SARMIENTO VIA PSC

A humanoid robot presents a creation during Galaxy Corporation’s Mach33: Physical AI Fashion Show in Seoul, South Korea, on May 28, 2026. PHOTO BY KIM HONG-JI/REUTERS

Austrian defendant identified as Beran A, suspected of planning an attack on Taylor Swift’s Vienna concert in 2024, is escorted by security personnel in a courtroom for his trial in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, on May 28, 2026. PHOTO BY LISA LEUTNER/REUTERS

Japanese lawmakers applaud President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. after he delivered a speech at the Upper House of the Parliament in Tokyo, Japan, on May 28, 2026. PHOTO BY ISSEI KATO/REUTERS

Fire and smoke rise from the launch pad of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket as it explodes during a test, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on May 28, 2026. PHOTO BY COURTNEY BLAIR VIA REUTERS

Senator Jinggoy Estrada arrives at the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan in Quezon City to post bail for his graft case connected to the flood control scandal, on May 29, 2026. PHOTO BY JIRE CARREON/RAPPLER

Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, Sharlene Rochard, Dani Bensky, Liz Stein, and Marina Lacerda, speak to the media before a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee interview with former US attorney general Pam Bondi as part of the committee’s ongoing probe into the justice department’s handling of the Epstein files, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on May 29, 2026. PHOTO BY JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS

– with reports from Reuters/Rappler.com