Groups advocating the use of cannabis to treat various illnesses have criticized the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) for “conflating” its medical and recreational uses and exaggerating its supposed harmful effects in blocking a proposed law that will allow Filipinos to legally acquire the drug. A measure at the House of Representatives, consolidated from 10 bills,...
Author: Oliver Teves (Oliver Teves)
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Proponents urge ‘a little compassion’ in legalizing medical cannabis
When her daughter Joy’s doctor told Gay matter-of-factly that she could lose her anytime to epilepsy, she was stunned and realized she had to look for other medicines to stop the seizures which started when her child was a baby. After years of trying up to 11 different medicines to quell Joy’s seizures, Gay was...
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Student leaders stand against Cha-cha
In January-March 1970, youth and student organizations and their allies among workers, farmers and religious groups held numerous rallies and other forms of protest across the country in what became known as the First Quarter Storm of 1970 against the decades-old sociopolitical ills plaguing the nation. One of their major demands was a nonpartisan constitutional...
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‘You, France’: In historic move, lawmaker takes Duterte to court
ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro was grieving over the death of her father early this month when she was jarred by a video of former president Rodrigo Duterte seemingly threatening to kill her and other “communists” during his weekly television program in Davao City. Castro was in a funeral home in Quezon City on Oct....
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Petitioners want Smartmatic out of next polls for ‘meeting with Marcos Jr.’s wife before May 2022 elections’
Representatives of Smartmatic met with the future first lady before the May 9, 2022, presidential election, violating their contract as the automated election system (AES) provider for the Commission on Elections (Comelec), according to a motion to disqualify the company from involvement in the 2025 polls. The submission to the Comelec on Sept. 11 is...
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TV journalist Atom Araullo files P2-M suit against Red-taggers
Multi-awarded television journalist and documentarist Atom Araullo filed a civil suit claiming P2 million in damages against former anticommunist task force spokesperson Lorraine Badoy-Partosa and Jeffrey Celiz for allegedly Red-tagging him and jeopardizing his safety. Araullo said Badoy-Partosa and Celiz, anchors of a program on SMNI television network, made “a series of unsubstantiated accusations and...
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May 2022 vote rigged from the start, retired general, others say
After recovering from their stunned disbelief at the results of the national elections on May 9, 2022, certain prominent senior citizens formed an informal group that is now trying to rouse Filipinos into questioning the vote count which, they said, had been rigged even before the first ballot was cast. One of them, retired brigadier...
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Fighting back: Activist Carol Araullo takes Red-taggers to court
Two of the government’s main anticommunist propagandists were brought to court on Wednesday on a P2.15-million civil suit by one of their principal targets, Carol Araullo, a veteran activist and chair emeritus of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan). Araullo said in a statement that she filed the first such damage suit against Lorraine Badoy Partosa...
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New chief has less than a year to clean up drug-smeared PNP
When Police Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. took over as Philippine National Police chief from Rodolfo Azurin Jr. on April 24, he promised a “relentless” anticrime drive and assured his predecessor that he would continue “cleansing” the ranks. Acorda made an “uncompromising commitment” to turn the police into “vanguards of peace to ensure a safe and...
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UP academic community in disquiet, laments ‘loss’ of democratic governance
The recent appointment of the new chancellor of the University of the Philippines Diliman has been disquieting for the academic community of students, faculty and staff in the country’s premier university, and the growing resentment against the selection process could turn into resistance to the administration of the new UP president, Angelo Jimenez. On April...
