Covid-19 was more than a worldwide health crisis. It was a stress test for every nation’s resilience. For the Philippines, the results were sobering. Hospitals overflowed, healthcare workers were stretched to exhaustion, and rural communities were rendered vulnerable and without access to doctors or medicines. Yet the pandemic also provided us clarity. It revealed not...
Category: News
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Sotto says he will keep the Senate presidency, majority bloc is ‘solid’
Senate President Vicente Sotto III has refuted rumors on social media that his leadership is in peril, saying that he continues to hold the trust of the majority in the chamber. “Solid yun 15 namin,” Sotto told CoverStory on Sunday when asked about rumors circulating online that Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano is poised...
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Cooperatives sector seeks ‘real, not selective’ accountability and jail time for corrupt parties
Every guilty party in the corruption scandal, including politicians, other government officials, and contractors, must be prosecuted and jailed, according to the millions-strong National Union of Cooperatives (NUC). The NUC made the call for urgent reforms and accountability as public outrage continues to grow over anomalies in the government’s multibillion-peso flood control and other infrastructure...
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Duterte protégés Dela Rosa and Go likely next to be arrested for crimes against humanity, Trillanes says
After ex-president Rodrigo Duterte, his protégés—Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Christopher “Bong” Go—are most likely to be arrested next for the extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in the “war on drugs” and brought before the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to former senator Antonio Trillanes IV. “Bato is sure to get it. Bong Go is almost...
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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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AFP issues disinformation alert, urges Filipinos to ‘be discerning and uphold the truth’
With public anger growing over the corruption scandal involving government flood control projects, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has issued a “disinformation alert” declaring its stand against calls by some groups for its intervention. “These are clear attempts to sow doubt and erode trust in your Armed Forces. The AFP is a professional...
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‘Not an easy choice’: Magalong resigns from ICI
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong quit his post as a special adviser of the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) on Friday, the same day Malacañang said his appointment is under review due to possible conflict of interest. His resignation was “not an easy choice, but one I believe is necessary,” Magalong said in a statement...
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Whatever happened to ‘fishball warrior’ Alvin Karingal?
The video was posted on Sept. 21, the day marked by huge rallies at Rizal Park, Edsa and elsewhere protesting the large-scale corruption in flood control projects and calling for the accountability of crooked contractors and state officials. It shows a man wearing a red shirt, with his right fist raised, and looking straight at...
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Who else benefited from the diversion of taxpayer money to graft-ridden public works projects?
The practice of diverting funds from education, health, poverty alleviation and other programs to graft-ridden public works projects, including flood control, also benefited congresspersons, senators, the Vice President and the President, who have seen their budgets surging over the past several years. This is the observation stated by the Ateneo School of Government (ASoG) in...
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Alcantara able to substantiate his bombshell testimony, Lacson says
The turnaround of former Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara, now a “protected witness,” in the large-scale flood control anomalies came as a surprise during the resumption of the Senate inquiry into the corruption scandal on Tuesday. But for Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, who chairs the Senate blue ribbon committee looking into the scandal, the...