For Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Louise Co, there was nothing performative in the halftime gig on Oct. 19 of the University of the Philippines (UP) Varsity Pep Squad and the De La Salle University (DLSU) Animo Squad in which they joined forces in assailing the massive corruption in flood control and other infrastructure projects. Co described...
Category: News
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Filipino women walk President Corazon Aquino’s path of courage and integrity
Philippine history is filled with Filipino women accomplishing feats of which they were thought incapable because patriarchy deemed so. They were not called leaders, but heroes: Melchora Aquino (aka Tandang Sora) provided medical care, food, and sanctuary to revolutionaries; Gregoria de Jesús guarded the Katipunan seal and documents, and served as secretary of its women’s...
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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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Pottery is part of the heritage and survival of this mountain village
MIAGAO, Iloilo—Tucked among the ancient trees and mountains in this town is Barangay Cagbang, where tradition thrives in the clay molded patiently by its people for generations. The homegrown art and soul of pottery have kept alive not only the local culture but also the community’s livelihood. To reach Cagbang, one travels some 40 kilometers...
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ICC chamber sees Duterte evading prosecution, rejects his plea for temporary liberty
Former president Rodrigo Duterte and his family continue to challenge the authority of the International Criminal Court (ICC) while maintaining significant political influence and a strong network of supporters, thus increasing the likelihood that he would evade prosecution and a potentially lengthy prison term if convicted, according to Pre-Trial Chamber I (PTC1), which rejected his...
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The government’s flood control projects are a systemic failure
A University of the Philippines (UP) study presented this conclusion after an examination of the havoc that flooding has wrought on the country’s infrastructure despite the humongous amounts of taxpayer money spent on flood control projects by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). “Its flood control projects alone are supposed to abate damage,...
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The pandemic exposed the cracks in the health system, and now is the time for rebuilding
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...
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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...