Gay culture in the Philippines is changing fast. What used to be just entertainment is now a way to tell stories and celebrate identities. From powerful drag acts on stage to viral TikTok skits, queerness is being shared and lived openly, showing how deeply it has been woven in today’s culture. And despite what conservative...
Author: CoverStory PH (CoverStory PH)
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‘Allocable’ funds are the new pork barrel
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) builds bridges that connect people, streetlights that make roads safer, and classrooms that serve schoolchildren. In the agency’s words, it is their mission to bring about “a comfortable life for Filipinos through safe, reliable and resilient infrastructure.” But recent congressional investigations have exposed the true nature of...
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Marcos admin freed up ₱214B in unprogrammed funds for ‘priority’ infra in 2023-2024
The term “unprogrammed appropriations,” or UAs, sounds innocent enough. But to politicians, public works officials and contractors, they are an opportunity for graft. UAs are standby funds sourced from new or excess government revenues and foreign loans. These revenues were not expected and so were not included in the regular budget. In 2023 and 2024,...
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Here are 5 ways to detect pro-China propaganda
Last March, several prominent pro-Duterte vloggers and influencers admitted in a congressional hearing that they had attended a China-funded training seminar in 2023. Former presidential communications secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles confirmed that she and bloggers Mark Lopez, Tio Moreno, Philstar.com columnist Pia Morato, and lawyer Ahmed Paglinawan took part in a two-week program in Beijing run...
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The tycoons behind the Philippines’ dirty energy
From brewing beer to burning coal, the food and beer giant, San Miguel Corp. of tycoon Ramon Ang, is now one of the Philippines’ largest power producers. Its energy arm, San Miguel Global Power, is a younger player in the industry. But, flush with cash, it aggressively built, acquired, and expanded power plants over the...
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In one small town, a coal plant may hold the key to Philippines’ dirty energy exit
Bulk carrier ships dot the coast of Villanueva, an industrial town in Misamis Oriental in the southern Philippines. Flying different flags, they deliver raw materials and industrial inputs—coal from Indonesia among them—to power plants and factories. They are constantly arriving, departing, or docking at jetties that jut from small piers. “The ships arrive regularly. The...
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Cebu reels from destructive quake; Taal Volcano erupts
A 6.9 magnitude earthquake shook Cebu and its neighboring provinces on Tuesday night, claiming the lives of some 60 people and causing serious damage to roads and bridges. Hours after the earthquake, Taal Volcano erupted in Batangas, belching ash plumes up to 2,500 meters high that drifted northwest. But government volcanologists kept the alert level...
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Five reveals from the flood control data
Between July 2022 and May 2025, the first three years of Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s presidency, the government funded 9,855 flood control projects worth over ₱545 billion. We analyzed those projects and the companies that got the contracts to build them. Massive flooding in recent months have put these projects in the harsh glare of public...
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Five ways the Duterte influence machine is deceiving Filipinos
Just five months ago, thousands of Duterte supporters were trashing the Supreme Court on Facebook, calling it “useless” and demanding that it act against former president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest. Now these same supporters are singing a very different tune—praising the high court as “fair and just” after a July 25 decision declaring Vice President Sara...
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Five things to watch out for in the 20th Congress
1. Vice President Sara Duterte’s trial: Will it finally happen? The next round of the Marcos-Duterte family feud was expected to play out in Congress. But the Dutertes scored a win—and the possibility of a reprieve until February 2026, or even longer—in Friday’s Supreme Court ruling that temporarily banned an impeachment trial. The Marcos-controlled House...