The Manila Times was founded by Thomas Gowan, an Englishman who had been living in the Philippines. The paper was created to serve mainly the Americans who were sent to Manila to fight in the
Spanish–American War. At the time, most of the newspapers in the Philippines were in Spanish and a few others were in the native languages. Shortly after the paper's founding, reports reached Manila about the Paris Conference that would lead to the treaty where Spain ceded its claim over the Philippines to the United States. On September 23, 1972, President
Ferdinand Marcos declared
martial law with
Proclamation No. 1081, he ordered the closure of media establishments throughout the country, including
The Manila Times, it marked the second time the newspaper closed since 1945 and its owner Chino Roces was arrested. In 1999,
The Manila Times faced controversy when it published a story about President
Joseph Estrada, who was described as an "unwitting godfather" in a deal between the
National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) and Argentine firm . On July 20, 1999,
The Manila Times was acquired by Katrina Legarda and Reghis Romero and then shut down for the third time on July 23 and later re-opened on October 11. Mark Jimenez acquired the paper on May 14, 2001 until he sold it to
Dante Ang, a publicist for President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, on August 8, 2001. In July 2006, Ang established a monthly supplement for the newspaper called
The Moro Times, which catered to a Muslim ("Moro") readership. In April 2025, the newspaper was sued by House Majority Leader
Mannix Dalipe for cyberlibel in reporting the existence of a document reportedly signed by him detailing a plot by the
House of Representatives titled
Oplan Horus to undermine former president
Rodrigo Duterte, who was being investigated by the chamber over the
Philippine drug war, and Vice President
Sara Duterte, who was
impeached by the same body. ==Notable columnists==