The rules set by the Supreme Court on the Anti-Terror Act of 2020 cannot cure the “horribly repressive” law that will be enforced by a “horribly repressive’’ council, lawyer Neri Colmenares said on Wednesday. Colmenares, who presented oral arguments against the law at the high court as counsel for the militant group Bayan Muna, said...
Author: TJ Burgonio (TJ Burgonio)
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Momentous Christmas mission stirs Filipinos’ outrage over Chinese aggression
Everyone on board the MV Kapitan Felix Oca—including youth and student leaders, fishers, indigenous peoples, activists, members of civil organizations—knew that the three-day mission to Lawak Island in the Spratlys was fraught with danger. But they signed up, anyway. So that when the first civilian-led mission aimed at bringing Christmas cheer to Filipino troops and...
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Why not electric jeepneys to modernize the ‘kings of the road’?
When eFrancisco Motor Corp. chair Elmer Francisco rattled off their ejeep’s accessories during a virtual launch on the night of Nov. 30, Bonifacio Day, some viewers gasped in awe. There’s nothing like it yet on the market. It’s got Wi-Fi, GPS system, CCTV, video and audio system, dashcam, AC. But that’s just the bling. The...
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‘What could have been, what can be done’
If given a three-minute audience with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said former health secretary Jaime Galvez Tan, he will make a strong case for the development of the young population to make the Philippines at par with the fast-growing economies in Southeast Asia. This will be his recommendation to the President: Synergize education, health, agriculture,...
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‘Get Out of Jail Free’: How plastics offsetting is giving industry a license to pollute
Unwanted plastic is clogging seas and rivers. A ‘green’ scheme involves burning it to make cement. (Editor’s Note: This story was produced with support from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network for the “It’s a Wash” special report. SourceMaterial, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization, was a partner in the story’s production.) After a gruelling day paddling along...
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Hontiveros: Senate should adopt House realignment of secret funds
The Senate can do “no less” than adopt the House of Representatives’ realignment of P1.23-billion in confidential funds in the proposed P5.768-trillion national budget for 2024, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said on Wednesday. “The House has taken the first step institutionally. So I think we in the Senate can do no less because we actually started...
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Gov’t can ill afford Palace’s ‘populist’ policies on rice, says ex-finance official
The Marcos administration’s imposition of a price cap on rice and new prices for palay as well as its subsidy for rice retailers could be “costly” to the government, according to resigned finance undersecretary Cielo Magno. The government can ill afford the costs arising from the three policy packages because these are not part of...
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Marcos urged to push proposed Maritime Zones Act in the face of China’s ‘10-dash’ line map
China’s latest map should not distract the Philippine government from addressing the more “disconcerting” Chinese harassment of Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea, according to a foreign affairs and security analyst. If anything, said Lucio B. Pitlo III, the map with a new 10-dash line that still encompasses parts of the Philippines’ 370-kilometer exclusive...
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Mayors unite for good governance and against corruption
It started with a phone call by Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong to like-minded local chief executives in July, shortly after he delivered a speech at the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame railing against corruption in high places. For that scathing speech, Magalong reaped a heap of “messages of support,” including one from...
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Pelikulove presents anthology of young voices in Cinemalaya Festival
“How to Make an Effective Campaign Ad” reels you in from the opening scene: An inmate swaggers along the corridors of a provincial jail while escorting two young men past rows of crowded cells into the cell of a jailed politician. The young men are scholars of “Gov,’’ and they are there to shoot a...