Various organizations took to the streets after the Senate voted to return the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives, a motion that demonstrators and constitutional experts contend is unconstitutional. While the Senate maintains it is seeking clarification, the move has fueled speculation of a deliberate attempt to defer...
Category: News
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Senate impeachment court convened, votes to remand complaint to House
Convened as an impeachment court Tuesday night, the Senate voted to toss back the complaint against impeached Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives for it to certify that it’s not constitutionally infirm. The senator-judges voted 18–5 to approve Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano’s motion to remand the complaint to the House so the...
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Senators are taking ‘baby steps’ toward trying the Vice President–De Lima
Senate President Francis Escudero took his oath as presiding officer of the impeachment court on Monday night, in what Representative-elect Leila de Lima called “baby steps” toward finally hearing the complaint against impeached Vice President Sara Duterte. On Sen. Joel Villanueva’s motions, Escudero was sworn in by Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr., and the senators...
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Bato’s draft resolution seeking junking of impeachment case is ‘unconstitutional, absurd, ridiculous’
Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s draft resolution urging his colleagues to junk the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte is unconstitutional and will be challenged in the Supreme Court if it is passed. “It’s unconstitutional, if not absurd and ridiculous,” former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, a prosecutor in the 2012 impeachment trial of...
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If Escudero does not convene the Senate into an impeachment court, the high court can make him–Drilon
The Supreme Court can compel Senate President Francis Escudero to convene the chamber into an impeachment court to try Vice President Sara Duterte if he refuses to do so, former senator Franklin Drilon said on Tuesday. Escudero’s postponement of the June 2 presentation of the articles of impeachment to June 11 has triggered speculation that...
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Recalling my bout with Covid-19 and living my ‘Laudato Si’
I am at that age when many people I know, contemporaries as well as older relatives and friends, have passed on. Death is an inevitable part of life. Some say it ends life; others, that it leads to better, eternal life. I almost lost mine to Covid-19. For two days I had fever approaching 40°C....
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12 dynasties lose gubernatorial races, but 71 of 82 provinces still led by political clans
In the next three years, most provinces will remain in the hands of governors who come from political dynasties. By the count of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), 71 out of 82 winning governors in the May 12 midterm elections are members of political families. It’s the same number as before the May...
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Where ‘taong grasa’ are rescued from the streets with compassion and dignity
BAGUIO CITY—In 2020, Nanay Calteya was taken off the streets of the country’s summer capital, which she had been roaming for years. Through the initiative of the local chapter of the Anxiety and Depression Support Group (ADSG) led by Ricky Ducas Jr., a team of emergency service, social work, and health service personnel conducted the...
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The ‘obese’ dynasties of the Philippines are back, but reform hopes rise for 2028
Seventeen relatives of Luis “Chavit” Singson’s political clan ran in local races in Ilocos Sur province in northern Luzon with a little more than 700,000 people. Although one lost her bid, the Singsons occupy the seats of governor, vice governor, provincial board members, district representatives, city and municipal officials. Six others were nominees in the...
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What to know so far about the courtesy resignations of Marcos Cabinet members
When he called for members of his Cabinet on May 22 to each submit a courtesy resignation, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said: “The people have spoken, and they expect results—not politics, not excuses. We hear them, and we will act.” “It’s time to realign government with the people’s expectations,” the press release from the Presidential News...