Toward the 7 p.m. close of polling precincts nationwide on Monday, May 12, Kontra Daya said the errors in the automated counting machines (ACM) accounted for most of the problems encountered in the midterm polls.

It said the “verified reports” it had received concerning ACM errors included paper jams, “overvoting” due to “slight smudges,” or markings on the ballot, and mismatches between the actual candidates chosen by voters and the results shown on the receipt of the names on the ballot.

This receipt is called the VVPAT, or the voter verifiable paper audit trail, which is a slip of paper that emerges from the ACM after the ballot is inserted into it and read by the machine. It is like a receipt from a grocery or supermarket cash register.

The VVPAT is an important document in checking for election fraud.

Kontra Daya said overvoting would nullify all the choices made by the voter for a certain position such as senator, and the VVPAT-ballot mismatch would result in a wrong count.

Disenfranchisement

The outcome would be “critical in the sense that it may have resulted in disenfranchisement and inaccurate counting of the votes,” Kontra Daya convenor Danny Arao told CoverStory.

He said the ACM being used in the midterm elections, which was made by a Korean company, is “oversensitive,” so that a small smudge, if it is within the circle to be shaded beside the name of a candidate, could be counted for that candidate even if it is not the voter’s choice.

According to unverified social media reports, some voters had complained that the VVPAT showed names of senatorial candidates they did not vote for.

If the smudge is outside the circle, it could be considered an overvote, and invalidate all the votes for that position. In the case of the Senate race, the machine would report that the ballot contained more votes than the maximum 12 for senators.

Arao said the disenfranchisement due to a machine problem also occurred for the “flimsiest of reasons,” such as the skewed insertion of ballots or when the ACMs do not properly read the votes because of smudges.

Hours before the balloting ended, Kontra Daya reported 305 cases of ACM errors, or 54% percent of verified reports, which include malfunctions that caused hour-long delays.

These delays, Arao said, could also lead to disenfranchisement as some voters may decide to leave without filling out their ballots.

Kontra Daya also received reports of 44 incidents of illegal campaigning, or 44% of Election Day problems. Disenfranchisement (41 incidents or 7%) included missing voters’ names from the list of voters and “procedural barriers.”

There were also 35 incidents of Red-tagging (in which candidates or groups are labeled as supporters if not members of insurgent groups). Noncompliance of rules by members of the Board of Election Inspectors accounted for 34 cases or 6%.

Vote-buying (3%), election-related violence (3%), black propaganda (2%), tampered ballots (2%), harassment of voters (2%) and other Election Day problems (8%) were also reported by Kontra Daya.

According to Arao, the cases of disenfranchisement will impact tightly contested races where every vote counts. In the senatorial elections, that would impact the candidates in the 10th to 14th positions. In local close fights where the candidates are almost evenly matched, it would also have an impact. 

Obviously, for unopposed candidates, disenfranchisement would not matter at all.

Possible election fraud

Kontra Daya and Computer Professionals Union (CPU) also raised concerns about the allegations made by lawyer Harold Respicio, a candidate for vice mayor of Reina Mercedes, Isabela, of possible election fraud due to a mismatch between the software version used by the ACM for Election Day and what had earlier been approved or certified.

Respicio said in a Facebook post on May 10 that the final version 3.5.0, which he said was not officially certified, was different from the certified audited version, 3.4.0, not only in the version number but also in the hash code.

The software is a set of instructions used by the ACM, from the time the machine is turned on, reads the ballots, transmits the results, and puts out its reports until it shuts down.

Pointing to the reported changes in the software cited by Respicio, CPU said version 3.5.0 had a hash code beginning with 0438, while version 3.4.0 starts with 3AD9.

“A different system version could mean that changes were inserted into the source code, altering its entire function or creating, intentionally or unintentionally, a ‘backdoor’ that may be exploited to manipulate election results,” CPU said in a statement on the eve of the polls. “The implications of this discrepancy are profound.”

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) dismissed the allegation as fake news, saying that version 3.4.0 became version 3.5.0 after it was certified.

Without referring to Respicio by name, Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia said the “candidate” just saw the hash code of the local source code review report that was audited, and that the final version was the “trusted build” of the software. 

Kontra Daya said in a statement that the ACM and its “inner workings should reflect the people’s vote and be subject to public scrutiny to ensure that it will record our vote.” 

CPU said that regardless of the Comelec’s explanations, the change in the software version “completely undermines the whole process of transparency and accountability” and “raises questions about the integrity of the entire electoral process.”

The post Kontra Daya flags the automated election system used on Election Day appeared first on CoverStory.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is now the country’s 17th president. He was elected in May 2022 in one of the biggest political comebacks in history. It came nearly four decades after a bloodless people’s revolt ousted his father, strongman Ferdinand Marcos (1965-1986).

In Ilocos Sur, the Singson clan led by former Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson stands out for its size.

At least 23 of them are running for multiple positions in the province, based on research by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ). It may yet be the biggest number of candidates from a single clan running for public office in the May 12 elections.

They are the “super obese dynasty” of the country, according to Danilo Arao, convenor of the election watchdog Kontra Daya.

The Marcos and the Singson clans are also considered “mega dynasties,” those comprising several dynasties banding together to control not only provinces but the entire country, according to Arao.

They have counterparts in other parts of the country: Romualdezes, Villars and Arroyos.

In the Ilocos as well as in other regions, dynasties either compete or ally with each other. What they enjoy in common are “political interests that would determine how they will go about consolidating power, wealth and influence,’’ Arao said.

These political interests affect family relations as relatives run against each other or ally with “perceived enemies,’’ he said.

“In a sense, one can say that dynasties can get ideas from how other dynasties operate but the underlying current is still their uncompromising resolve to retain and strengthen political and economic leverage not just against other political clans, but also against the people in whose name they claim to run,’’ he told PCIJ.

Ilocos Norte: Trouble between Macoy’s children?

In the midterm elections on Monday, six members of the Marcos political clan are running for public office.

The President’s sister, Sen. Imee Marcos, is seeking reelection. She has bolted the administration ticket and thrown her lot with the Dutertes, whose patriarch Rodrigo Duterte is facing charges for crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.

It was Duterte who ordered the interment of the strongman at the Libingan ng mga Bayani months into his presidency in 2016.

But there’s more than meets the eye here, according to Arao, whose group Kontra Daya also checks the expanding influence of political dynasties in the country.

“The relationship between Bongbong Marcos and Imee Marcos is a classic example of how political clans would sometimes go against each other even if they have common interests in terms of consolidating power, wealth and influence,’’ he said.

While they’re not on the “same political page” at the moment, “they are still blood relatives regardless of what happens,” Arao said. “As the saying goes, blood is thicker than water but class interest is the ‘one ring that rules them all,’ to quote from a classic,” he added.

Marcos’ son, Rep. Sandro Marcos (first district), is also seeking reelection.

The President’s cousin-in-law, Vice Gov. Cecilia Araneta-Marcos, is running for governor, while his nephew, Gov. Matthew Joseph Manotoc, is vying for vice governor in a case of position switching, according to PCIJ data.

His cousins, Laoag City Mayor Michael Keon and 2nd District Rep. Angelo Marcos Barba, are also seeking reelection.

Ilocos Sur: The ‘super obese’ dynasty of Singsons

Chavit Singson withdrew from the Senate race as early as Jan. 14, citing his need to recover from pneumonia.

The political kingpin of Ilocos Sur had fared poorly in the polls, trailing far behind the pack of “survey leaders”—composed mostly of reelectionists and returnees except for two broadcaster-brothers—battling for 12 Senate seats.

The withdrawal of the 83-year-old former governor, however, will hardly make a dent on the dynasty’s reign in the province.

At least 23 other Singsons are running for multiple other positions in the province of at least 700,000 in this year’s midterms.

One of his sons, Luis Charles, is running for two positions. He is running for councilor in Narvacan town, and is also the No. 4 nominee of the Ako Ilokano Ako, a party list group currently represented by his sister Richelle Singson.

An aspirant who files a certificate of candidacy (CoC) for more than one office shall not be eligible for any of them, according to Commission on Elections (Comelec) Resolution No. 11045, promulgated in August 2024.

The aspirant, however, may cancel the CoC for one office in favor of the other, not later than Oct. 8, 2024, the same resolution said. As of this writing, the young Singson remains a candidate for councilor in Narvacan.

“Conceptually, you can’t be a nominee if you’re running for an elective post. It’s like you’re running for two positions,’’ former Comelec commissioner Luie Tito Guia told PCIJ.

Party-list groups can win up to three seats, but nominees have previously stepped aside to let others take their place.

Chavit’s brother, incumbent Gov. Jeremias “Jerry” Singson, and another son, incumbent Vice Gov. Ryan Singson, are running unopposed and up for reelection, bidding to keep the clan’s decades-long foothold in the provincial capitol.

The fact that nobody is challenging Jeremias and Ryan Singson, among others, indicates that the clan has wielded “power and influence through the years despite changes in the administration,” said Arao.

Chavit’s grandniece Janina Singson Medina-Fariñas, and former House Rep. Eric Singson’s son Ericson Singson and niece Fayina Pilar Zaragoza are also vying for seats in the 10-member provincial board.

Chavit and Eric are relatives.

In the capital Vigan City, Chavit’s son Randy Singson is running for mayor unopposed. His nephew, reelectionist Evaristo “Bobit” Singson III, and his sister-in-law, Katherine “Mia” Aguila Singson, are seeking a seat in the city council.

Meanwhile, in Caoayan town, Chavit’s sister, Mayor Germelina Singson Goulart, and her son, Vice Mayor Juan Paolo Singson Ancheta, are seeking another term unopposed.

Chavit’s grandniece Annea Cassandra Singson de Leon is also running for mayor in Sto. Domingo town.

In his own bailiwick Candon City, Eric Singson is running for mayor unopposed. His niece Kristelle Singson is also running for vice mayor unopposed, while his nephew Jaime Singson and son Eric Owen Singson are running for councilor.

In the congressional race, Chavit’s son Rep. Ronald Singson and Eric’s daughter Rep. Kristine Singson-Meehan are seeking reelection in the province’s first and second district, respectively.

The Singsons joined the party list race in 2022, when Chavit’s daughter Richelle Singson won a House seat through the Ako Ilokano Ako group.

In this year’s midterms, Richelle is the party list group’s No. 1 nominee, while the rest of its nominees are Eric Singson’s son Allen Singson, and Chavit’s other children, Chelsey Louisse Singson, Christian Luis Singson and Luis Charles Singson, the candidate for councilor in Narvacan.

Another party list group, Probinsiyano Ako, is identified with the Singsons. Its second nominee is Chavit’s brother Jose “Bonito” Singson Jr.

“For the patriarch, it’s his way of letting his sons, daughters and other relatives inherit whatever ‘legacy’ he has, for lack of a better term. He’s actually giving way because he knows that he’s not immortal,” Arao said.

La Union: Oldest political dynasty battle it out against each other

In La Union, the Ortegas’ political journey is one for the books. It all began in 1901, when the American colonial government appointed Don Joaquin Ortega as governor of the province, from 1901 to 1904. Since then, other members have served in various posts.

This year, 12 members of the clan are gunning for different positions. The province has become so small for the growing clan that some are battling one another for the same positions.

For instance, the gubernatorial race pits reelectionist Gov. Raphaelle Veronica Ortega-David against her grandfather, incumbent Vice Gov. Mario Ortega.

The first district congressional race is a battle between reelectionist Rep. Paolo Ortega and his cousin, incumbent provincial board member Joy Ortega.

In the surfing town of San Juan, Vice Mayor Manuel Ortega is challenging his aunt, Mariquita Padua Ortega, for mayor.

These inter-family contests will guarantee that the clan will keep these posts.

The Ortega clan also seeks to expand to new territory, the 2nd District seat, which a family member is not known to have won before.

Former governor Pacoy Ortega is running for the congressional seat. If he wins, it will mark the first time the Ortega clan controls both districts of the province.

The other candidates are Geraldine “Denny” Ortega for provincial board member; Vice Mayor Alfred Ortega for San Fernando City mayor; Pablo Ortega for San Fernando City vice mayor; and Daniel Bianca Ortega and Jose Mari Ortega for San Fernando City councilor.

Some in the clan acknowledged political disagreements, but said their desire to serve the public motivates them to run against one another, and leave their fate in the hands of voters.

Pangasinan: Relatively new dynasty

In contrast with the durable Ortega dynasty, and obese Marcos and Singson dynasties, the Espinos are a relatively new dynasty in Pangasinan.

In his first foray into politics, Amado Espino Jr., a former police director of Region 1 and a 1972 graduate of the Philippine Military Academy, was elected 1st District congressman in 2001.

He won a second term in 2004. Buoyed by his electoral victories in the House of Representatives, he took a crack at governorship and won in 2007, then in 2010 and 2013.

When his term ended in 2016, he made another successful run in the 5th District’s congressional race, while his son Amado III succeeded him as governor.

In 2019, Amado Jr. lost his reelection bid to Ramon Guico III. But other family members were victorious. Amado III won in his reelection bid as governor, his brother Jumel Anthony as 2nd District congressman and his mother Priscilla as mayor of Bugallon town.

In 2022, Amado III lost his bid for a third term as governor to Guico.

This year, Amado III is bidding to win his rematch against Guico in the gubernatorial race, while Amado Jr. seeks to rejoin the House as the No. 1 nominee of Abante Pangasinan-Ilokano party list group.

Changing tides?

The 1987 Constitution bans political dynasty, but Congress has yet to pass an implementing law. Both chambers are largely composed of dynasts.

The problem is, the country’s own system allows dynasties to flourish, said Arao.

But the times may be changing, political analyst Julio Teehankee told PCIJ. “There’s a growing public sentiment—and you can feel that online—that people are sick and tired of dynasties,’’ he said.

Teehankee said the defeat of 32 candidates from political clans in the 2019 midterms somehow reflected this sentiment, although some managed to make a comeback in 2022.

Citing studies, he said there’s a correlation between high percentage of obese and fat dynasties, and poverty, underdevelopment and corruption.

Given all this, Arao cited the need for the public to “put pressure” on Congress to pass an anti-dynasty law, and reform the party-list system by including mechanisms that protect the marginalized and under-represented sectors.

“The chances [for the passage of an anti-dynasty law] are quite slim, and in fact, I would even argue it’s impossible if they will decide on their own. And that’s why, to quote from Justice [Antonio] Carpio about the West Philippine Sea, public pressure is also necessary,’’ he said.

“There is a slight possibility where those dynasties will be voting against their own interest if they’re forced to do so,” he added.

Teehankee agreed: “Different sectors of society should continue their full-court press to pressure reform-minded members of dynasties to consider passing the anti-dynasty law, if they’re really interested in public service.” With research from Sherwin de Vera, Northern Dispatch

Read more: When voters say ‘enough’: Dynasties in Leyte, Cainta and Pasig fall from power

The post In Ilocandia, land of ‘mega’ dynasties, Chavit Singson has 23 relatives running for office appeared first on CoverStory.

Rogelio Barajas, a resident of Legazpi City in Albay for over five decades, will never forget how Typhoon “Reming” (international name: Durian) unleashed lahar flow from the slopes of Mayon in 2006 that swept through his village, Barangay Mabinit, and claimed the lives of hundreds of his neighbors.

Nearly twenty years on, Barajas has forgotten the names of the dead, but the politicians who came to their aid remain etched in his memory.

“We were stripped bare, left with nothing but the clothes on our backs when ‘Reming’ struck, causing the lahar flow. So when they arrived, bearing aid, our gratitude was immense and overwhelming,” Barajas told the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).

Many survivors of disasters in Bicol have the same story to tell, said climate activist John Emmanuel Tayo, a volunteer of Greenpeace Philippines in the island province of Catanduanes.

“Most politicians here cultivate an image of heroism by personally appearing on the ground during crises … Their brief speeches during aid distribution events invariably emphasize that the relief is a direct result of their personal efforts,” he said.

Nowhere is this dynamic more visible than in the transformation of SOS-Bicol—a nongovernment organization originally formed to assist calamity victims—into Ako Bicol (AKB) party-list group, which now holds two seats in the House of Representatives.

But many of Bicol’s politicians could have done more. PCIJ’s research and interviews show they either supported or did not oppose government projects blamed for environmental abuses that have increased communities’ vulnerability to calamities.

Bicol region is home to several political dynasties, including the Khos of Masbate—considered among the most “obese” in the country with at least five family members seeking public office in May.

It also hosts the political dynasties of the Cos of Albay, Villafuertes of Camarines Sur, and the Padilla dynasty in Camarines Norte, now led by Senator Robin Padilla.

Mahar Lagmay, a professor at the National Institute of Geological Sciences at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, said the Bicol River Basin is a disaster risk hotspot that demands active government intervention and public preparedness.

Political leaders, he said, have a duty to address hazards through careful community planning. But the lack of proper hazard mapping significantly increases people’s exposure to risks.

“An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure,’’ he said.

In Catanduanes, Greenpeace volunteer Tayo blamed illegal mining for the disaster that followed the onslaught of typhoons “Pepito” and “Kristine” last year,

In Albay, Bishop Joel Baylon of the Catholic Diocese of Legazpi—along with other Catholic Church leaders—also blamed quarry operations for the flooding.

Vic Lawrence Moya, a political scientist and a resident of Camarines Norte, also pointed out the irony that relief distribution often peaks just as elections draw near.

The culture of debt of gratitude powers the political machinery of dynasties, making it nearly impossible for new challengers to compete, said Moya.

It is the same in Masbate, said resident Ma. Rizza Francisco, now based in Albay, a student leader advocating for political reforms in the region.

Lagmay has criticized politicians for pushing flood control projects that fail to deliver results. These projects were scrutinized following devastation from typhoons “Kristine” and “Pepito” last year, where Camarines Sur was the hardest hit.

The flood control projects in Sorsogon had also previously come under scrutiny.

The quarry operations of the Cos in Albay

Ako Bicol traces its roots to SOS-Bicol, a non-governmental organization originally formed to assist victims of calamities such as Mayon Volcano eruptions and the frequent typhoons that strike the region.

It would go on to launch the political career of Elizaldy Co, who rose to become a powerful figure in the House of Representatives—until his recent removal in January as chair of the appropriations committee following a controversial budget dispute.

When it joined the party list race in 2010, Ako Bicol received over a million votes and secured three seats for its top three nominees—Co’s brother Christopher Co; Rodel Batocabe; and Alfredo Garbin.

Elizaldy is seeking reelection as the first nominee of Ako Bicol party list group. Christopher is now seeking a fresh term as Albay’s second district representative. Their sister, Farida “Diday” Co, a political neophyte, is now running for vice governor in the province.

Christopher’s daughter Angelica Natasha Co won a House seat in 2022 representing the Barangay Health Workers (BHW) party list group. She is the group’s No. 1 nominee in this year’s midterm elections.

Should they all win, three clan members will be sitting in the House, while one will serve as vice governor.

The party list group maintains its image as a provider of aid, regularly distributing relief during calamities. But the Cos also operate quarries in the province.

Sunwest Group Holding, Inc.—a conglomerate established by the Co family in 1997 with interests in construction, energy, shopping malls, and real estate – operates quarries in Legazpi and Daraga, including the village where Barajas resides.

According to 2020 data from Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), it is also the sole operator with an industrial sand and gravel (ISAG) permit in Albay.

“We cannot deny that this is part of the relentless destruction of the mountains here—the quarrying and the construction of roads through the irresponsible digging of land,” said Bishop Joel Baylon of the Catholic Diocese of Legazpi during a November 2024 press conference, where he urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to probe uncontrolled quarrying in the region.

He joined many Catholic church leaders in blaming the flooding during typhoons like “Kristine” and “Pepito” in 2024 on quarrying operations in Albay.

“That is why there are no more trees whose roots can keep the land stable despite heavy rain,” Baylon said.

The bishop said they wanted the government to regulate, not stop, quarrying in the province.

Quarrying provides livelihood for many families in Albay, but the unchecked extraction of volcanic materials has worsened flooding during typhoons, leaving communities trapped between economic survival and growing environmental risks.

Elizaldy Co claimed to have divested from the corporation after it was linked to controversies involving government contracts, including the Pharmally scandal and the Department of Education’s laptop procurement deal.

But a new investigation by Rappler shows that he and his family remain as active shareholders of business tied to the company.

Rep. Joey Salceda of the second district, known for his “zero casualty” campaign during typhoons, also allowed quarry operations when he was governor from 2007 to 2016.

Salceda’s successor, former governor Noel Rosal, tried to regulate quarry operations in the province. On his first day in office in 2022, Rosal issued Executive Order No. 1, temporarily suspending quarrying operations in the province.

However, quarrying resumed shortly after, with Rosal acknowledging the economic benefits it brought the community.

In Camarines Norte, aid pours in when elections approach

In Camarines Norte, Vic Lawrence Moya, a political science graduate of Bicol University and a resident of the province, said the culture of debt of gratitude fuels the dynasties’ political machinery, making it impossible for new challengers to compete against them.

“If there are candidates who do not come from political dynasties, they lack the machinery to contest the culture of money politics and command popularity votes,” he said.

He said aid from politicians also tends to pour in whenever an election approaches. He recalled how aid was scarce at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, but began to pour in as the 2022 campaign period approached.

“In the aftermath of the pandemic, aid continued to be distributed among our residents, but it was most prevalent before the start of the campaign period, usually facilitated by our district representatives,” he said.

Camarines Norte has many enduring political dynasties, including the Padilla, Tallado, and Panotes families.

The Padilla political dynasty has established a significant and lasting presence in Camarines Norte, with its roots dating back to the mid-20th century. Roy Padilla Sr., the family patriarch, held various local and provincial positions before he was assassinated in Labo town in 1988.

Roy Padilla Jr. carried on the family’s political legacy and served as the provincial governor. His brother, actor Robin Padilla, is a senator. Their brother Ricarte “Bong” Padilla is the incumbent governor of Camarines Norte and is seeking reelection.

Padilla’s main opponent, Edgardo Tallado, has also established his family’s political dominance. His wife Josie Tallado currently represents the 1st District in the House, while their son Alvin Tallado has repeatedly run for mayor in Labo.

The tenure of the political dynasty over the last 15 years was haunted by complaints about the elder Tallado’s issuance of quarrying and mining permits to companies.

A complaint submitted to then Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo in 2012 alleged that Talledo’s issuance of permits to mining companies led to the weakening of soil and dumping of hazardous substances into more than 40 hectares of corals and marine life in the waters off Barangay Bagumbayan.

Robredo investigated the allegations, which Tallado denied. More complaints were filed against Tallado over mining operations in 2014 and 2016.

The DENR has warned that several towns in the province are at risk of soil liquefaction due to mining. In 2024, Camarines Norte was among the provinces hit by widespread flooding.

Moya said residents of Camarines Norte have long been aware of the issues, but continue to vote for the same politicians.

“CamNorteños vote for members of political dynasties every election because we are not given other choices,” Moya said.

Camarines Sur under scrutiny after ‘Kristine’

Camarines Sur also has an enduring political dynasty: the Villafuertes.

Since the martial law era, members of the clan have been swapping positions to keep their control of the province. They have come under criticism over their handling of disaster response.

The Villafuertes were criticized after severe Tropical Storm “Kristine” unleashed flooding in the province last year. In response they claimed that they had been preoccupied with distributing packs of relief goods to their constituents.

Notwithstanding the criticisms against them, seven members of the clan are vying for various local positions on May 12.

Incumbent 2nd District Rep. Luis Raymond “L-Ray” Villafuerte is aiming to switch positions with his son, incumbent Gov. Vincenzo Renato Luigi Villafuerte. His other son, 5th District Rep. Miguel Luis “Migz” Villafuerte, is also seeking reelection.

L-Ray’s wife, Lara Maria Villafuerte, and son, Julio Mari Villafuerte, are listed as nominees of Bicol Saro, a party list group endorsed by actress Yassi Pressman, who is Luigi’s girlfriend.

Toots De Quiros, who is running against Leni Robredo for the mayoral post in Naga City, and Nonoy Villafuerte Magtuto, who is running for the 3rd District Representative post, are cousins of L-Ray.

After “Kristine,” the Senate also inquired into the status of funds for flood protection projects in the Bicol region—P29.4 billion in 2023 and P31.9 billion in 2024

Out of these, Camarines Sur received over P2.175 billion in 2023 and P2.188 billion in 2024 for flood protection and mitigation projects. The projects proved ineffective against flooding on the watch of the Villafuertes.

Lagmay has criticized flood control projects and other expensive infrastructure that fail to deliver results.

“We need to move people out of harm’s way by establishing truly safe evacuation centers. That is more important than allocating resources to flood control solutions that we know have not worked for a long time,” he told PCIJ.

“We have spent so much time and resources on flood control projects, and even when they fail, there is no accountability or responsibility from the authorities. Not learning from our mistakes is a serious oversight,” he said.

Sorsogon flood projects, too

In Sorsogon, before the Covid-19 pandemic, the Hamor political dynasty found itself in the middle of a budget “insertion” controversy involving funding for flood protection projects in Casiguran town.

When Jose Edwin “Boboy” Hamor was mayor of the town, the late Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando G. Andaya Jr. (first district) accused then Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno of allocating funds to Casiguran as a favor to the Hamor family, citing links between the secretary’s daughter to now Sorsogon City Mayor Ester Hamor.

Andaya argued that other provinces were more in need of the funding than Sorsogon.

The Hamors denied allegations of favoritism. The contract was ultimately awarded to Aremar Construction, a company largely owned by “Boboy” Hamor, incumbent Sorsogon governor, and husband of Ester Hamor.

The daughter of Bobby and Ester, Maria Minez “EM” Hamor, is mayor of Casiguran town.

Small scale mining in Catanduanes

Catanduanes also reeled from the devastation of “Kristine” and “Pepito” in 2024.

Greenpeace’s Tayo said continued mining operations in the province have not helped build the province’s resilience. Catanduanes was declared coal mining-free in 2023, but he said small-scale mines continue to operate in remote villages.

Tayo said this is evident In Barangay Dugui in Virac, where he lives. His neighborhood suffered from the onslaught of the two typhoons last year.

“The mining village is consistently ravaged by typhoons due to the absence of essential infrastructure like bridges and the profound environmental degradation in the area,” said Tayo. “This has been a long-standing crisis, yet effective solutions remain elusive.”

Dugui’s geographical isolation further compounds the danger. Residents of this remote community in Virac must navigate rivers and streams to reach safety during storms.

Aside from Dugui, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has confirmed illegal coal extraction in Barangay Cabuyoan, Panganiban town. However, only local farmers and residents were identified, while the owners, operators, and even the buyers of the illegally mined coal remained unnamed.

The Cua political dynasty has ruled politics in the province since the 1980s.

Joseph “Boboy” C. Cua is the incumbent governor, while his brother Peter “Boste” C. Cua is the vice governor. Boboy is now vying for Virac mayor while Boste seeks to succeed him as governor.

Masbate’s fault lines

Masbate faces constant threat from active offshore faults running through various towns, including Mandaon, Milagros, Aroroy, Balud, San Fernando, and Monreal.

The DENR in 2023 called for the urgency of reviewing the local government’s long-term development plans, citing reclamation and urbanization projects that have put residents closer to the faults.

“Every election, we hear them promise improvements in the safeguards against calamities,” lamented Ma. Rizza Francisco, a resident of Masbate City.

Francisco, who is now based in Albay, is a student leader advocating for political reforms in the region. “Though residents are aware that such promises never materialize, we have no real alternatives because they monopolize power in our province,” she said.

The Kho family, which has established a near-total monopoly of public office, has allowed mining operations in the province.

Patriarch Antonio T. Kho, a former governor and representative, is now seeking the 1st District congressional seat. His son, incumbent Rep. Richard Kho, is running for governor, while his wife, Vice Gov. Elisa “Olga” Kho, is vying for the 2nd District seat.

Their daughter Olga “Ara” T. Kho is a former mayor and second district representative, and their son Wilton “Tonton” T. Kho is a former third district representative. Wilton’s wife Kristine “Tintin” Salve H. Kho is the mayor of Mandaon town.

Masbate residents rely on the Khos to provide social services and relief aid, said Francisco.

“Out of no choice, people go to their offices or go to their house to ask for medical assistance—which these politicians use to promote patronage politics,” she said.

Even disaster warning signals for the populace have allegedly been used for political gain.

The alleged use of text blast machines by some candidates from the Kho clan for their campaign has prompted a show-cause order from the Commission on Elections.

Lagmay warned that this manipulation of emergency alerts not only raises serious concerns about data privacy and the clan’s overreaching power, but also risks eroding public trust.

This erosion could have catastrophic consequences, endangering residents when genuine calamity warnings need to be communicated urgently and effectively.

“We must not exploit the suffering of others,” Lagmay said. “This platform is designed to alleviate suffering and save lives, not for self-interest and political gain.”

The post In Bicol, political clans aiding victims backed projects blamed for flooding appeared first on CoverStory.

Out of 35 unique altered claims identified by partners of the fact-checking coalition Tsek.ph during the Feb. 11–May 10 campaign period for national positions, 11, or nearly a third, likely involved deepfake technology to impersonate public figures or distort reality.

Political manipulation

A key concern is how high-profile public figures are being exploited to influence Monday’s elections and change public perception around the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte, as well as promote financial scams or questionable products. Many of the 11 likely deepfakes identified by Tsek.ph relied on the likeness or voice of prominent personalities. 

Politically motivated deepfakes include a manipulated video of First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos in a Duterte campaign, an AI-generated endorsement for detained religious leader and Duterte-backed senatorial candidate Apollo Quiboloy, a fabricated feud between tech mogul Elon Musk and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and a fake speech in Mandarin by Vice President Sara Duterte.

Among the most recent and attention-grabbing was the deepfake video of the first lady dancing, superimposed onto a political campaign video to falsely imply she was endorsing Duterte’s senatorial slate. The video was created from an image she posted on Facebook while showing off a Marikina bag on a street in Rome where she and her husband had attended Pope Francis’ funeral.

An AI-generated Caucasian-looking avatar, created using Pippit software, was employed in a Facebook video to endorse Quiboloy’s candidacy, combining a digitally fabricated persona with false religious claims.

The deepfake featuring President Marcos Jr. and Musk used manipulated audio and video to construct a false narrative of conflict over a purported cryptocurrency platform, aiming to discredit the current administration.

These deepfakes tap into political divisions, invent foreign support, and exploit celebrity appeal to manipulate voter sentiment. By targeting both allies and rivals of important political figures, these fabrications aim to confuse voters and influence election outcomes.

Red-tagging, ICC narratives, scams

Deepfake technology has also been used to falsely link progressive candidates from the Makabayan Bloc and their allied party-list groups to communist rebels. One video falsely labeled dancing party-list nominees as New People’s Army recruiters. Another showed Rep. France Castro and lawyer Renee Co among supposed insurgents, both bearing arms. This tactic aims to create fear and prejudice among voters, which could reduce their support for these candidates.

Other deepfakes leveraged the arrest and detention of Duterte, who faces trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for crimes against humanity arising from his war on drugs. An audio-manipulated speech in Mandarin was attributed to his daughter Sara and a fabricated video statement to NBA superstar LeBron James. These AI-generated clips aim to sway sentiment around Duterte’s legal troubles. Duterte is running for mayor in Davao City.

The Commission on Elections has acknowledged the threat of generative AI and harmful content, and released Resolutions 11116 and 11064 to safeguard the integrity of Monday’s elections. Resolution 11064 regulates online campaign materials, mandates disclosure of AI use, and aims to curb disinformation. Resolution 11116 prohibits discriminatory campaign practices like Red-tagging, which deepfakes can amplify.

Deepfakes have also been exploited to promote financial scams and products, leveraging trusted images and voices like ABS-CBN’s Noli de Castro, GMA Network’s Vicky Morales, President Marcos Jr., health advocate Willie Ong, and business tycoons such as Musk and Ramon Ang.

These fakes do more than push scams. They erode public trust, particularly in the media. When news personalities appear in deepfakes, it can make viewers question whether any mainstream news is real, a tactic seemingly designed to undermine journalism, especially during elections.

Our analysis of deepfakes showed a heavy reliance on audiovisual manipulation. Ten of the 11 deepfakes included manipulated audio and 9 tampered with video. This combination—synthetic voice overlays paired with AI-manipulated or wholly generated footage—makes the content more believable and emotionally persuasive. Techniques like face-swapping in videos and generating avatars further enhance the realism of deepfakes. 

Shallowfakes leading the pack

Despite the rise in deepfake usage in the midterm elections, a significant portion of the altered media identified by Tsek.ph continues to be dominated by lower-tech manipulations or shallowfakes. Of the 35 fact checks, 24 involved easier-to-produce formats: altered video clips, doctored images and fabricated social media posts.

Fourteen directly targeted campaigns, including doctored images of candidates endorsing rivals and fabricated videos misrepresenting endorsements and campaign messages. The manipulation extended to altering screenshots of social media posts and repurposing video clips to attack opponents vying for office.

A recent shallowfake repurposed celebrity Vice Ganda’s real endorsement of senatorial candidate Benhur Abalos into multiple videos showing the noontime show host backing 12 senatorial candidates other than Abalos, plus a few non-senatorial candidates. Earlier, an edited image falsely showed Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto endorsing opponent Sarah Discaya.

The impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte became another shallowfake hotspot, with eight instances recorded. These manipulations sought to discredit the impeachment process or rally support behind her. Edited videos distorted narratives surrounding the impeachment, tampered images suggested false endorsements or opposition to the proceedings, and fabricated audio clips misrepresented public sentiment on the issue.

Following Duterte’s highly publicized arrest on March 11, three shallowfakes emerged attempting to reshape his legacy and legal challenges. These manipulations discredited testimonies from drug war victims, attacked his political adversaries, and attempted to sway public discourse around his detention. 

Another three shallowfakes exploited the increasing strain between the Marcos and Duterte dynasties. Altered images and video clips dramatizing the rift between the two families were circulated within an already polarized electorate.

Four additional shallowfakes targeted news organizations. These involved altered news reports, fabricated social media posts mimicking the style and branding of legitimate news outlets, and selectively edited video clips portraying news coverage as biased or inaccurate. 

Shallowfakes detected during the campaign period exploited low-barrier techniques. A common method involved misleading voice-overs or other audio layered on real footage. Selective cutting and splicing of footage were frequently used to misrepresent events or statements. Heavily edited screenshots and altered images also spread easily on social media. 

The ease and speed with which these shallowfakes are created and shared online make them a potent and rapidly spreading form of electoral disinformation.

But while shallowfakes remain the dominant form of electoral disinformation, the emergence of AI-driven deepfakes shows they are no longer a distant threat, but a present reality, offering new tools for political manipulation, identity theft and reputational attacks.

Pipo Gonzales is a journalism lecturer at the University of the Philippines Diliman and a member of the Tsek.ph secretariat. Yvonne T. Chua is an associate professor at the same university and serves as Tsek.ph coordinator.

The post AI fakery rises, but cheapfakes still rule the race appeared first on CoverStory.

Screenshots of the documents accompanied a report that first surfaced in mid-April in Taiwan, claiming that Imelda Marcos, the widow of ousted president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., sold the gold in Europe and the United States and funneled the proceeds through 18 bank accounts, reportedly worth over $100 billion, with the help of a Hong Kong-based bank.

The report also claims that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is investigating the scheme, allegedly based on documents submitted to its anti-money laundering division by a Taiwanese businessman identified only by the surname Peng.

The story has gone viral on Chinese online platforms and has been amplified in the Philippines by supporters of detained former president Rodrigo Duterte, including vlogger Claire Eden Contreras (aka Maharlika) and lawyer Harry Roque. Both have used the allegations to attack President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and revive rumors about his alleged drug use.

No comment on allegations

The HKMA has not issued a public statement on the allegations. In response to this writer’s query, it said it does not comment on individual cases.

“In line with international standards, banks in Hong Kong are required to implement effective anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism systems, taking into account their risk appetites and business operations,” the HKMA said. “Where banks identify any suspicious transactions, they are required to report to law enforcement agencies as soon as practicable for investigation and follow-up.”

The HKMA added: “It is worth noting that the investigation of crimes, as well as the tracing, restricting and confiscation of funds or property concerned, is carried out by law enforcement agencies in accordance with relevant laws and regulations in Hong Kong (e.g., the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance).”

The report emerged as the Philippines headed into a tense election season marked by deepening fractures between the Marcos and Duterte factions. It was first circulated after the March 11 arrest of Duterte, now detained in The Hague and awaiting trial before the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity tied to his brutal “war on drugs.”

Chinese commentaries have framed the situation as a “Jedi counterattack,” a veiled reference to Duterte’s resilience. Some have speculated without proof that Duterte laid the groundwork for the revelations during a visit to Hong Kong just before his arrest at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The report has also been linked to rising tensions between the Philippines and China over the West Philippine Sea. Its timing coincided with the annual Balikatan joint military exercises between the Philippines and the United States, which Beijing has criticized.

According to the viral story, Peng claimed that between 2006 and 2011, Imelda Marcos authorized a housekeeper—identified in the documents as Antonia RV Indita, also known as Shirley Cua Lee Yang—to use shell companies to sell the 350 tons of gold and route the proceeds through HSBC in Hong Kong. The destination of the funds remains unclear. Peng reportedly said he was one of a dozen intermediaries from the United States, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines who helped facilitate the transactions. He also alleged that the Marcos family had held vast quantities of gold since the 1990s.

The 350 tons of gold cited in the report far exceed the Philippines’ official reserves. As of December 2024, the Philippines recorded 130.89 tons, valued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas at $12.05 billion in February. 

Nonexistent banks 

Many of the financial institutions listed in the partial bank roster supposedly submitted by Peng to the HKMA appear to be fictitious.

Among the most glaring is a supposed “Philippine Bank of Munich” located on Chez Mouia Street in Munich, Switzerland. No such street exists, and no city or canton in Switzerland is called Munich. Munich is a city in Germany. Ruben Carranza, former commissioner of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) who led efforts that recovered $680 million in Marcos assets hidden in Switzerland, the United States, and other countries, said no such bank exists in Germany either.

“It would be such an incredible thing for any Filipino to have a bank in Europe…given the reserve requirements in the European banking system,” Carranza said.

The alleged document also lists institutions such as the “Ireland Swiss and Cork Bank” and “International Hungary Bank,” neither of which appears in official registries of licensed financial institutions. Other details raise additional suspicion. “Fern Ville,” a supposed street in Cork, Ireland—the supposed location of the Ireland Swiss and Cork Bank—is not a street but the name of a two-story home built in Cork, Ireland’s second largest city, in the 1800s, as confirmed by search engine results and online mapping tools.

A search for “Rimpau Ave” in “Forthworth, Hungary,” the claimed address of the International Hungary Bank, leads nowhere. There is no city named Forthworth in Hungary. Account numbers appearing in the alleged document also do not conform to the standard structure of the banking systems in the countries that were listed.

There are no records of banks named “Japan and Swiss Banking Corporation” or “Narita Saving and Trust” operating in Japan. “Natomishi-Nagasaki,” the listed location of the Japan Swiss and Banking Corporation, does not correspond to any known city, town or district in Japan. 

The same bank names appear in another unrelated document: a purported deed of assignment dated Sept. 6, 1985, allegedly executed by then president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and Fr. Jose Antonio M. Diaz. It claims the pair assigned their rights over $500 billion in cash and gold deposits in 15 Japanese banks to a Rev. Dr. Floro E. Garcia. That document also contains numerous red flags: fabricated bank names and misspelled details. The accounts are supposedly under the name of Diaz or one of his nine alleged aliases.

Supporters of the late dictator have long tried to rationalize the Marcos family’s unexplained wealth, claiming that the so-called Tallano royal family paid Marcos and Diaz 400,000 tons of gold for legal services—a myth that has been repeatedly debunked by historians. Imelda Marcos has also attributed her husband’s fortune to gold he allegedly found after World War II, often linked to the mythical Yamashita treasure.

During the campaign for the 2022 presidential election, then candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. denied the existence of these treasures, saying he had seen neither.

‘Sloppy’ and ‘suspicious’

Carranza described the alleged documents cited by the latest report on the purported transactions involving the Marcos family’s alleged 350 tons of gold as “sloppy” and “suspicious on many levels.”

The listings name Ferdinand E. Marcos as the direct account holder—a move Carranza said contradicts how the family historically concealed wealth.

“Why would Ferdinand Marcos open a bank account in his name? In all the Swiss bank accounts that we’ve uncovered and some of which we recovered, you’ll never see Ferdinand Marcos as the account owner,” Carranza said.

Instead, he said, the Marcoses used layered institutions and trusted agents to obscure ownership and complicate asset recovery efforts. One screenshot in the viral report shows a letterhead with the signature of “Imelda R. Marcos” authorizing a house help to transact on her behalf. Another document contains grammatical errors and inconsistent formatting.

“No one would take you seriously,” said Carranza, pointing out that the Marcoses typically hired experienced bankers and lawyers—including the Swiss banker Bruno de Preux—to manage their finances discreetly. He said financial criminals, including scammers, rarely broadcast their schemes.

“If this person wanted money from the Marcoses, he would’ve approached them directly and said something like, ‘I’m going to blackmail you,’” Carranza said. “But this report was circulated publicly, almost like a press release…It’s suspicious on many levels.”

Carranza also said that while Hong Kong was used in the past by the Marcoses for illicit financial activity, those operations were deeply covert and routed through professional intermediaries, not anonymous online uploads. “This story is different because it doesn’t fit that pattern,” he said.

He cited a historical example from PCGG documents: kickbacks Ferdinand Marcos Sr. received from Japan’s war reparations. A year after becoming president in 1965, Marcos was said to have begun channeling the reparations program toward the public sector, manipulating it to extract 15% “rebates” or kickbacks and earning him the moniker “Mr. 15 Percent.”

According to Carranza, the operation was facilitated by retired Brig. Gen. Eulogio Balao, then chair of the war reparations committee, who routed the funds through Hong Kong before transferring them to Marcos’ Swiss accounts.

An affidavit submitted to the PCGG by Balao’s successor, former public works minister Baltazar Aquino, said the scheme generated at least $47.7 million in kickbacks between 1966 and 1971. Even while court cases were pending, Imelda Marcos traveled to Hong Kong or Shanghai under the guise of seeking traditional medicine but would meet her American lawyers, including James Linn, Carranza said.

Following the story trail

The viral claim about the Marcos family’s alleged sale and laundering of 350 tons of gold first appeared on Chinese-language websites in Taiwan. One of the earliest outlets to carry the story was Meihua Media, a site viewed by some as pro-China due to its owner’s and editors’ stance on reunification.

Published on April 17, Meihua Media’s report spread across not only Taiwan but also overseas Chinese communities through websites, some of them registered in China. For example, Taiguo.com (Thailand Network), which pushed the narrative to a Thai audience, lists Shanxi province as its registrant location, while Huaren Zhan lists Shandong.

The narrative also reached Chinese-speaking communities in the Philippines or those following developments there via Fei Hua Ba (Philippine Chinese) on Weixin and through sites like Phhua.com and Bole.ph. Asia Television News (ATV), a company registered in Kuala Lumpur with a website hosted in Hong Kong, republished the story on April 28. ATV’s report was heavily cited by Chinese-language social media accounts, helping the claim gain momentum in China.

By April 29 and 30, the story had been adapted into text and video content and shared across hundreds of accounts on major platforms: news aggregators and portal iFeng, Sohu, NetEase, Toutiao and Baidu Bajiahao; video platforms iQIYI, Haokan Video and Bilibili; social media platforms WeChat, Weibo and Douyin; and messaging platform QQ.

A short video version of the story began circulating on Philippine Facebook pages after Russia Today posted it on Weibo, drawing more than 230,000 plays. China VTV of Hong Kong later reposted it on Facebook. Among the pro-Duterte pages and groups that amplified the video were Gringo ICC Petition, Du34s, Duterte Seafarer’s Club and PRRD–The Greatest, one of whose page administrators is listed as based in China. China Youth Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Youth League of China, posted the video on TikTok on April 30, helping it reach audiences outside China. TikTok does not operate in China.

On X (formerly Twitter), English-language versions appeared through accounts like ShanghaiEye, affiliated with the state-owned Shanghai Media Group, and a newly created pro-Duterte account named Taylor Cayetano. These posts helped spread the claim beyond Chinese-language circles.

Several English-language Facebook accounts echoed the narrative using content posted by Asia Today, a self-described news page linking to a questionable website.

The story gained further traction in the Philippines on Labor Day when former Duterte spokesman Roque and vlogger Contreras repeated the allegations in video posts. These were picked up by Bombo Radyo, Politiko and Abogado. Contreras posted a follow-up video on May 2.

On Philippine social media, reactions were sharply divided. Some mocked the Marcos family, others expressed outrage at the story’s lack of media coverage, and a few treated it as part of a supposed Duterte counterattack.

Persisting gold myth 

Carranza said the reemergence of the Marcos gold narrative serves to manufacture legitimacy and obscure historical accountability. He said that despite rulings by Philippine and foreign courts declaring the family’s wealth illegal, the Marcoses have continued pushing the idea that their unexplained riches stem from gold and not corruption.

The former PCGG commissioner lamented that many Filipinos continue to fall for the myth, with scammers exploiting it to solicit payments from those hoping to claim a “share” of the Marcos gold.

“But you see Bongbong Marcos laugh it off on TV, saying, ‘I don’t know about that.’ If you didn’t and they’re using your name, shouldn’t you ask them to be investigated?” Carranza said, referring to the President by his nickname. “This is syndicated estafa.”

He said the Marcoses are avoiding an inquiry that would open up a deeper discussion into their alleged crimes.

Carranza also said that while the Marcoses and Dutertes have been attacking one another over a range of issues, they have avoided exposing transactions and specific acts of corruption that would implicate not only themselves but also their allies and cronies whose support they need, especially in the 2028 presidential election.

On why the myth of the Marcos gold persists, Carranza recalled a theory once shared by the late former PCGG chair Haydee Yorac. “She would always say that the Marcoses wanted to exaggerate and even just create these myths about having gold. That was just the way for them to cover up their stealing,” he said, adding:

“So, for [anyone] to take that seriously would precisely fall into the trap laid by the Marcoses.”

Yvonne T. Chua is an associate professor of journalism at the University of the Philippines Diliman and the project coordinator of Tsek.ph.

The post Phantom banks, shaky claims undercut viral report on Marcos gold appeared first on CoverStory.

“I shall not waver in this patriotic cause that I willingly and voluntarily embraced,” said the 53-year-old, who claims to be a former ranking member of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA).

Celiz apparently plans to accomplish his mission from Canada, where he hopes to be granted political asylum.

He has left the country to escape alleged harassment and persecution by the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the House of Representatives led by Speaker Martin Romualdez, he said in his interview with GMA Integrated News in New York that was published last week.

According to Celiz, he and his family had become targets of the CPP-NPA and the communist-led umbrella group National Democratic Front since he began openly denouncing the rebel movement in 2020.

He now alleges that the “evil” Marcos-Romualdez “regime” is working with communist rebels against former president Rodrigo Duterte, whom he supports, to ruin the country.

The Canadian Embassy in Manila refused to comment on Celiz’s asylum plan.

It said that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the government ministry which manages Canada’s immigration and refugee protection programs, would not comment on “case-specific inquiries.”

Undersecretary Joel Egco, spokesperson for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, said Celiz no longer works for the NTF-Elcac and declined to comment on his asylum bid.

‘To take myself away’

“The purpose [of leaving the Philippines] is to really take myself away from the abusive arrest order—which may be issued or already issued—by the House of Representatives,” Celiz explained in his GMA interview.

He visited Canada in February and March, ahead of the House tri-comm’s April 8 decision to declare him, along with Badoy-Partosa and two other “influencers,” in contempt for failing to attend its hearings on fake news and misinformation despite repeated summonses and to order their detention.

The House tri-comm is composed of the committees on public order and safety, on information and communications technology, and on public information.

Celiz and Badoy-Partosa, a former spokesperson for the NTF-Elcac, were detained briefly in the House last December—he for refusing to identify his source for a false claim on the travel expenses of Speaker Romualdez and she for her conflicting statements about their earnings as hosts of a program on the SMNI TV network owned by Apollo Quiboloy, founder of the religious sect Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC).

In a pre-departure post at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on March 21, Celiz said he was leaving the country without seeing his family.

He said he was doing “this tactical option of self-preservation for long term and strategic fight in order to sustain the struggle against the evil regime of Marcos-Romualdez and their communist terrorist conspirators.”

He claimed to hold insider information that if he remained in the country, he would be arrested and ordered held, not in the House detention facility, but in a city jail where he would be killed in an alleged plot by the administration in collusion with communist rebels.

Other charges

Celiz has also been charged with inciting to sedition by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group for allegedly calling for resistance against police attempts to arrest Quiboloy in Davao City last August. The KOJC founder was eventually arrested and is now in a Pasig City jail while on trial for qualified human trafficking, a nonbailable offense.

As well, Celiz faces two separate damage suits filed by Atom Araullo’s mother, Carol Araullo, chair emerita of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, and former Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño for “baseless and malicious Red-tagging.”

A Red-tag associates persons or groups with the communist insurgency, which opens them to various forms of harassment, intimidation and attacks.

The Supreme Court ruled in May 2024 that Red-tagging constitutes a threat to a person’s right to life, liberty, or security. It said Red-tagging would likely lead to abduction or extrajudicial killing by vigilantes, paramilitary groups, or even state agents.

Human rights groups said some activists, environmentalists, and human rights defenders who were Red-tagged had been killed by suspected state agents.

In the GMA interview, Celiz said seeking political asylum was “an option” to protect his civil and political rights under an international convention. “People who are persecuted in their country by their own government can avail [themselves] of that,” he said.

Another prominent pro-Duterte personality, former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, has applied for political asylum in the Netherlands.

Celiz has not confirmed publicly that he had already applied for asylum in Canada, but it’s possible that he did.

Rules for asylum

Under its Immigration, Refugee and Protection Act (IRPA), Canada offers “safe haven” to individuals with a “well-founded fear” of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group, as well as those at risk of torture or cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.

Canada, however, will refuse to grant asylum to persons who have committed serious violations of human rights and international rights such as war crimes or crimes against humanity.

The IRPA, which sets the rules for granting “refugee protection,” instructs applicants to make an asylum claim at the port of entry or at an inland IRCC or Canada Border Services Agency office.

The Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the United States, which has been in effect since 2004, requires refugee claimants to seek asylum in the first safe country they arrive in—either the United States or Canada.

According to Celiz’s Facebook posts, he visited Canada in February and in March and then travelled to the United States in April. He said he would return to Canada in May.

Various groups critical of Celiz, the NTF-Elcac and their Red-tagging immediately raised alarm about his planned asylum bid, saying they would oppose it.

Migrante Canada, Bayan Canada and the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, which were among the groups attacked by Celiz, wrote IRCC Minister Marc Miller and Minister of Public Safety David J. McGuinty on April 25 to express concern about Celiz’s presence in Canada.

They said that despite the court ruling against Celiz in the case filed by Atom Araullo, he “continues his Red-tagging activities, now extending his harmful propaganda to Canada.”

“His presence and actions endanger individuals, including protected persons and convention refugees, who have sought safety in Canada after being persecuted due to Red-tagging,” they said.

They urged the Canadian government to take actions against Celiz, including declaring him inadmissible to that country and revoking his visa.

Bayan Canada earlier said the Canadian government should apply Bill S-226 on Celiz. The measure bars the entry into Canada of foreigners responsible for gross violations of human rights.

Accountability

Carol Araullo said in a statement to CoverStory that “by no stretch of the imagination can [Celiz] claim to be a victim of political persecution or any kind of oppression whatsoever.”

“What is clear is that Celiz merely wishes to avoid accountability for his defamatory statements and the danger to life, liberty and security that his Red-tagging inflicts on his targets,” she said.

The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), which has represented Red-tagged activists and human rights advocates, said Celiz is “not a dissident” seeking refuge from political persecution but a “paid propagandist” evading accountability.

“Now, confronted with legal reckoning, he recasts himself as the persecuted, insulting those who have been harassed or imprisoned, and dishonoring the memory of those who were disappeared or killed for real acts of dissent,” the NUPL said in a statement.

“Asylum, in international law, is a shield for the persecuted, not a hiding place for the persecutors,” it said. “There must be no sanctuary for lies and no refuge from accountability.”

NUPL secretary general Josalee S. Deinla told CoverStory that her group and some of its clients plan to formally request the Canadian government to reject Celiz’s application for asylum.

Cristina Palabay, secretary general of the human rights group Karapatan, another Celiz target, disclosed plans to “make representations” with the Canadian government to oppose his application.

Under the IRPA, Canada allows third parties to “provide information or undertake responsibilities” to either support or oppose asylum bids.

The Canadian government has said that asylum should not be used as a shortcut to immigration, and that applicants would be subjected to a “rigorous screening” to determine whether they are eligible for refugee protection.

Last January, a Canadian federal judge upheld a decision by the Immigration Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board denying permanent residency to a former Filipino police officer for alleged crimes against humanity for his involvement in Duterte’s brutal “war on drugs.”  

The judge determined that the officer had made a “voluntary, knowing, and significant contribution” to the bloody campaign. 

Duterte himself is charged with crimes against humanity in connection with that antidrug campaign and is now awaiting trial in the Netherlands.

Read more: Atom Araullo’s victory over Red-taggers also a win for others

The post Red-tagger plans asylum in Canada and his targets say they will oppose it appeared first on CoverStory.

Like many other Filipinos, the multiawarded actor John Arcilla has had brushes with such life-threatening events—when fire engulfed the house across the street from the family home and when fire occurred just behind their walls. Seeing the big flames, feeling the heat, and hearing the commotion that the emergencies elicited, he felt powerless and trapped. 

“You can try to reassure yourself that ‘at least our lives were spared.’ But it is not that easy. They were emotionally and psychologically devastating, even traumatic, experiences,” he told CoverStory in an exclusive interview. “And that was for myself, who was not directly affected. How much more for the people who lost their loved ones and properties?” 

But while many others would just go on with their lives and hope the tragedy doesn’t happen to them, Arcilla took a decisive step. He found a way to contact the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to offer his talents and star power so that fires can be prevented. 

“If I can help educate someone to be more cautious, to save themselves or a whole community, then I commit to being an advocate of fire prevention activities,” he recalled telling the BFP. 

Dramatizing the message

Arcilla has proved his mettle in acting, and holds the distinction of being the first Filipino to win the Volpi Cup for Best Actor in the 78th Venice International Film Festival. But for his advocacy project for the BFP, he stepped into the role of director.

He is, after all, a mass communication graduate, and his thesis was a screenplay written under the guidance of the writer Roy Iglesias. He also studied under the director Soxy Topacio and the scriptwriter Ricky Lee. 

He brought this experience and expertise, working with the BFP’s Senior Fire Officer 3 Ace Carolino and Inspector Arvien Alcazar, to produce the 12-minute film “Baldado.”

With very little audible dialogue, the film tells the story of a small community that is at high risk of fires. Everyday Filipinos would be able to relate to the experience of small cramped spaces and various incessant noises.  

The title describes the main character, Arcilla, who is immobile and has to be wheeled around, subject to the whims of the able-bodied people around him. As the tension builds, the desperation on his face heightens the drama. 

Most vulnerable

According to SFO3 Carolino, persons with disability are among the most vulnerable in our society to the dangerous effects of fires because of mobility issues or difficulties in decision-making. 

“We intended to bring the plight of PWDs front and center by portraying the rawest form of this plight possible, appealing to the emotional aspect of such public concern,” Carolino said. “Mr. John Arcilla, as director and main actor of the film, transformed the script into a compelling message.”

The fire hazards portrayed in the short film are familiar to many communities: lighted cigarette butts, overloaded electrical outlets, unattended open fires, and kids playing with flammable objects. 

The Directorate for Fire Safety and Enforcement has trailed its attention on PWDs for 2025, putting in place the Standardized Public Fire Education for such special care individuals, as well as members of vulnerable groups (senior citizens and pregnant women), and their caregivers (including family and relatives), and also support workers (teachers, barangay staff members, therapists, and the like).

The education drive includes “the setting up of safety systems within the household all the way to the development of evacuation plans for them,” Carolino said.

Everyday prevention

March is Fire Prevention Month, but it has been shown that the heat and humidity make Filipinos more susceptible to fires during the summer months, or indeed as long as soaring temperatures persist.

From Jan. 1 to April 20, 2025, there have been 5,021 fire incidents reported in the Philippines, 1,833 of which occurred in Metro Manila—the area with the highest number.

Said Arcilla: “I want people to be more cautious and aware of their responsibility to prevent incidents of fire. Fire does not only affect one household; it can destroy a whole community. It can do huge and irreparable, irreversible harm to everyone in a split second due to negligence.”

Arcilla was declared Fire Prevention Month Ambassador for 2025, but he is motivated to continue to work for this advocacy beyond this year. He serves as one of the judges for the “BFP’s Apoy at Lente: The Reels Story Film Festival,” portraying the personal experiences of firefighters, volunteers, and civilians. He is also in several short infomercials on common fire hazards at home.

“I want to commit myself to assist any organization to be an advocate for fire prevention in my lifetime,” he said. “This volunteerism is, for me, an act of paying it forward. My mother is already elderly and some of family members have some special needs that require attention. I wish to give myself and my loved ones positive karmic energy, so I can spare them from such incidents and help more people to stay safe from incidents of fire.” 

Arcilla is also president of the Capable (Care and Protect Life on Earth) Foundation, whose community programs for physical fitness (for adults) and workshops and tutorials (for students) are all supported by volunteers.

Fire prevention tips

• Keep a fire extinguisher accessible and make sure everyone in the house knows how to use it.

• Avoid smoking indoors. Or better yet, for good health, stop smoking.

• Regularly inspect electrical wiring to make sure these are free from damage. Do not overload circuits.

• Make sure that all exits are free from obstruction at all times. 

• Call 911 for fire emergencies.

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For the longest time, hemophilia has been known as “a man’s disease.” Textbooks, doctors, even the popular media have propagated the belief that only boys can have bleeding disorders and that women are merely carriers. But science and the lives of countless women have proven otherwise. It has taken the medical world decades to listen. Sometimes, the listening came too late.

As in the case of my mother, Sofia, who bled to death on the operating table. 

She had informed the doctors that she was a “bleeder,” a term we knew from family stories and hushed warnings. But the doctors dismissed her warning. “Women can’t be bleeders,” they said. 

And so my mother died—not from the operation itself, but from society’s refusal to believe that women, too, can suffer from hemophilia and other bleeding disorders. 

Years later, history almost repeated itself on my daughter, Star. At just three weeks old, she had a profuse nosebleed. Alarmed, I brought her to the hospital and explained our family history of bleeding. Again, I was met again with disbelief. “She’s a girl. She can’t have hemophilia,” the doctor said dismissively.  

What was worse was that at about the same time, Star’s male cousin was quickly diagnosed with severe hemophilia. No questions asked. No disbelief. No delay. Just the kind of medical attention my daughter, and my mother before her, were denied. 

That was the moment everything changed for me.

In 2016, patients and parents like myself formally established the Hemophilia Advocates-Philippines (HAP), a patient-led organization born from grief, frustration, and an unwavering desire for change. We were mothers, fathers, daughters, sons—united not just by blood, but also by the wounds inflicted by a broken system. 

What began as a humble group distributing donated factor concentrates from partners abroad, and with the generous support of Save One Life, soon expanded into something far greater. Over the years, HAP grew into a lifeline: offering financial aid, educational scholarships, livelihood support, and, perhaps most importantly, a community that listens, understands, and acts. 

We became a support system. A voice. A movement. 

And today, that voice grows louder, echoing through hospitals, policies, and homes. 

As we mark World Hemophilia Day and National Hemophilia Awareness Month, we also celebrate the lives we’ve saved, the battles we’ve fought, and the systemic change we’ve sparked. 

But the fight is far from over. 

We still hear stories of misdiagnosis, of women denied care, of mothers dying in silence, of young girls like Star growing up under medical systems still unwilling to fully embrace the truth: Women and girls bleed, too. 

This year’s theme is more than a slogan. It’s a demand. A recognition. A promise to every woman who has been told that her pain is not real and that her blood does not matter. 

So, we continue—with purpose, with passion, and with people behind us. 

To my mother, Sofia, your story fuels this journey. 

To my daughter, Star, your future will be brighter because of it. 

To every girl who is told, “You can’t possibly have hemophilia,” we believe you. 

Finally, the world is beginning to listen. 

Andrea H. Trinidad is the president of Hemophilia Advocates-Philippines. For more information about HAP and how to enlist, visit https://hemophilia.ph.

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Members of the coalition also said that the continuing tension in the contested waters should be an election issue, and that candidates in the May midterm polls should be measured according to their position on it.    

“Remember what happened to the fishermen whose boat was rammed by Chinese authorities. They went to file a case, but they were intimidated by our own government to drop the case despite having the international community backing us,” said Justine Balane, national chair of Akbayan Youth and nominee of the party-list Akbayan.

He said the problem in the West Philippine Sea was exacerbated when Rodrigo Duterte became president in 2016 and in effect abandoned Filipino fishers by not asserting the Philippines’ sovereign rights over its exclusive economic zone, which were upheld in that same year by the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague. 

According to Atin Ito, the building of artificial islands and destruction of coral reefs in Philippine-claimed waters are only a few of the activities that China has undertaken since then presidential candidate Duterte vowed to plant the Philippine flag in Scarborough Shoal while campaigning in 2016.

To ‘civilianize’ the matter

Balane spoke to students of Miriam College in Quezon City at the start of Atin Ito’s campus caravan last April 10 to “civilianize” the matter concerning the West Philippine Sea through a series of information forums and similar activities.

Edicio dela Torre, Atin Ito co-convenor, and Kiko Aquino Dee, executive director of the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation, also spoke during the forum organized by the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines in partnership with the Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral ng Miriam.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who delivered a video message, said the Philippines is losing around P30 billion every year in aquaculture livelihood. “There are reports that Chinese authorities poison the coral reefs,” she said, adding:

“We have a significant role as citizens in protecting our rights in the West Philippine Sea. Hopefully, this will also be accompanied by actions from the government. As China continues to abuse our waters, our country must immediately file diplomatic protests.”

The senator urged the Philippine government to file a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly to raise the cases of abuse on Filipino fishers by Chinese coast guards and hold them accountable, and to call on China to “stop its blatant violence against our country.” 

Balane said that if the government remains submissive to China’s display of aggression, “what will stop them from encroaching further in our own islands and territories?”

Dela Torre emphasized that the objective of the Atin Ito campaign is to “civilianize” the issue instead of upholding militaristic measures. 

Balane said “the civilian voice is essential in protecting the West Philippine Sea.” 

Dee said more concentrated efforts were needed to bring the issue to the Filipino public. “Realistically, individual efforts are needed to encourage people to participate in civic engagements,” he said. 

‘People Power at Sea’

The forum also featured two 15-minute documentaries by photographer and filmmaker Nana Buxani, which gave students a glimpse into Atin Ito’s first two civilian missions to highlight the power of collective action.

The coalition launched its first and second civilian missions in December 2023 and May 2024. A third mission—a peace and solidarity concert—is scheduled in May.

Buxani’s “A Story of Courage” presented in real time how, during the first Atin Ito mission in the West Philippine Sea, China sent enormous ships in an apparent effort at intimidation.  Undeterred, civilian volunteers managed to distribute Christmas gifts to at least 87 families and over 100 fishers in nearby communities. 

According to Balane, the Chinese “were so scared of Filipinos carrying nothing but Christmas gifts that they sent out monster ships.” 

The other film, “People Power at Sea,” showed Atin Ito volunteers and Christian missionaries boarding a small boat to peacefully protest before large Chinese vessels. It revisited the spirit of Filipino protesters during the 1986 Edsa Revolution, connoting that the present-day display of Filipinos being unarmed is not a gesture of powerlessness but a way of showing that diplomatic protest is a more viable remedy to deescalate tensions in the contested waters.

A photo exhibit showcased grassroots efforts in defending Philippine waters. A donation drive was initiated in support of fishing communities affected by the ongoing conflict. 

Also raised at the forum was the crucial need for information drives on what is going on in the West Philippine Sea. 

“Our government needs to strengthen its campaign to counter disinformation and influence operations propagated by China,” Hontiveros said. 

The senator said online posts about the West Philippine Sea should first be fact-checked. “Even simple gestures like advising our friends and family not to share deceptive posts are helpful to our country,” she said. 

Balane raised another grave concern circulating in Chinese platforms: that the province of Palawan, which they called Zheng He island, is a part of China. 

Election issue 

Both Balane and Dee urged Miriam students to vote for candidates in the May midterm elections who would defend and protect the West Philippine Sea. Balane noted that the youth make up a large majority of Filipino registered voters.

“The time is right to make the West Philippine Sea an election issue,” Dee said. “We can do our best to put the West Philippine Sea at the center of the campaign by sending a strong message to politicians: if they waver in their commitment to defend our territorial rights, we will not vote for them. And we should do our best to ensure that those we elect are the ones who consistently fight for our national interests.”

Raymond Aldo M. Mina, a fourth-year journalism student of Bicol University College of Arts and Letters, is an intern at CoverStory.ph.

Read more: Atin Ito coalition announces ‘jamming’ for peace and solidarity in West Philippine Sea

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In congressional districts, cities and municipalities, some dynasties—the Apostols of Leyte, the Felixes of Cainta, Rizal, and the Eusebios of Pasig City—were also dislodged from their perch by neophytes. 

The octogenarian Sergio Apostol lost to businessman Henry Ong in the congressional race in Leyte’s second district in 2016. 

It was an in-your face victory. Ong, whose family owned the grocery chain Cherry Foodarama before it was sold to the Sys, not only ended Apostol’s years-long reign, but burst the bubble of dynasts in the province. No one’s invincible. 

Leyte is a haven of dynasts, like many provinces in the country. The governorship is held by the Petillas, and its four districts are apportioned among the Romualdezes, Dazas, Gomezes—and the Apostols, until 2016. 

In the campaign, the 44-year-old Ong fought the 81-year-old Apostol toe to toe, according to Donabel Tumandao, a former professor and resident of Dulag town, Leyte. 

She wrote a thesis on the rise of the Apostols and the emergence of challengers against them for her master’s degree in political science at the University of the Philippines Diliman in 2023. 

Ong had money but had to build a “mobilization structure” by hiring Apostol’s own strategists and tapping local leaders. For his part, Apostol enjoyed the backing of incumbent mayors, Tumandao said. 

But unlike Apostol, Ong campaigned in all of the district’s 501 barangays and spoke to as many residents as possible, leveraged social media, ran an anticorruption campaign and framed the election as a battle between the young and old. 

In the end, he succeeded at leveling the electoral game of money and politics and won by a margin of about 12,000 votes. 

Strong challenger 

Before 2016, the Apostol dynasty had been in decline over its lack of political descendants, intra-family conflict and allegations of corruption, according Tumandao, a former political science professor at the University of the Philippines (UP) Tacloban. 

Of their six children, only daughter Anlie was in politics. She was elected mayor of Carigara town in 2004, replacing her mother Ebbie, before winning as provincial board governor in 2010. She was convicted for murder years later. 

As the clan showed vulnerabilities, a strong challenger emerged in the person of Ong, Tumandao said.  

Ebbie was elected provincial board member in 2016 and won another term (2019–2022).  No other family member is running in this year’s midterms. 

“It’s not impossible entirely for them to make a comeback and capitalize on the Apostol name. But if their absence is prolonged, given no family member is interested, it will be quite difficult,’’ Tumandao, who was not yet born when the Apostol patriarch won his first term as a congressman in 1992, told the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).  

In 2019, Ong lost his reelection bid to Karen Lolita Javier, wife of Sandy Javier, owner of food chain Andok’s and incumbent Leyte vice governor. Ong lost again to Javier in a rematch in 2022. Javier is seeking a third term on May 12.   

Well-known journalist 

In Cainta, a first-class municipality in Rizal province, former ABS-CBN TV reporter Mon Ilagan also defeated Nic Felix of the prominent Felix clan in the 2004 mayoral race. He won two more terms until 2013.   

When he joined the fray, Ilagan was enjoying a high credibility as a TV journalist. He was a new face, and ran on a campaign of reforms, which resonated with voters, including migrants, according to Raymund John Rosuelo. 

“Mon Ilagan was quite a well-known journalist. He appears on TV every day. It’s not as if people don’t know him. You see him every night. When he ran, people were aware of him, he had credibility and generally positive and 100-percent awareness factor. That helped him,” he told PCIJ.   

Rosuelo also wrote a thesis on the erosion of the Felix clan’s political dominance for his master’s degree in political science at De La Salle University in 2016.    

But there were other factors, too. Ilagan was backstopped by the Ynares dynasty of Rizal, which had a falling out with erstwhile allies, the Felix clan. After the results were tallied, a big percentage of his votes came from a growing population of migrants who owed no loyalty to any politician, he observed. 

“Most of the votes of Ilagan came from the migrant voters. Those in the peripheries. Over three electoral cycles they would vote for a new candidate,’’ he said. 

That he won two more terms meant that his victory was “no fluke,’’ said Rosuelo, who taught political science at University of Makati and now heads the Commission on Human Rights’ research division. 

“Mon was popular among his constituents, just like Vico [Sotto],’’ he said. 

After completing three full terms, Ilagan also fielded his wife for mayor but she lost, in what Rosuelo called an attempt at “self-perpetuation.” 

Reformist, charismatic image 

Ilagan’s win heralded the mayoral victory of Vico Sotto, who ended the Eusebio clan’s reign in 2019 in neighboring Pasig City. Sotto is seeking a third term in May, and has promised no family member will run for his post after his stint. 

“Primarily, the voters have grown tired of the Eusebios,’’ Dennis Coronacion, chair of the University of Santo Tomas’ (UST) Department of Political Science, told PCIJ. 

The level of development on the Eusebios’ watch has remained the same over the years “with little improvement,’’ said the professor, a Pasig City resident who voted for Sotto. 

Besides, Sotto, who had an insider look at the city’s problems as a councilor, presented an “alternative way of governance” that appealed to the residents, he added. 

“But some start out as a reformist, but it turns out it’s just an image. Good for us, Vico Sotto is not like that,’’ he said. 

Sotto’s charisma and public dissatisfaction with the Eusebios were a potent combination that led to the clan’s downfall, observed Paul Micah Francisco, an instructor of political science at the UST Department of Political Science. 

“With his charisma, experience and education, he beat the Eusebios,’’ he said. 

If Sotto wins in May, he will be serving three full terms as mayor, like Ilagan. 

Reclaiming power will be an uphill battle for the Eusebios and other clans like them, Coronacion said. 

“Once you’re not in power, it’s hard to go back,’’ he said. “Those who replaced you, they’re definitely going to consolidate their power so that any challenger will not be able to mount a successful comeback.” 

When dynasties become dormant, doors open for independent candidates coming from different sectors and offering a new set of programs, said Ma. Ela Atienza, political science professor at UP Diliman.  

She cited the cases of Pampanga Gov. Eduardo “Among Ed” Panlilio, Isabela Gov. Padaca, and Dinagat Islands Gov. and Rep. Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao, although they served for at least one term.  

“But when they are replaced by a similar political dynasty that will dominate politics, it’s still not competitive. So if the participation of nonmembers of dynasties is limited, nothing has changed,’’ Atienza told PCIJ. 

For instance, human rights lawyer Jejomar Binay ended the reign of the Yabuts in Makati City only to begin his own dynasty there.  

Still, there are bright hopes among the ranks of Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) leaders who are independent, break the mold of traditional politics and have good initiatives, Atienza said. 

“We met some youth leaders at the SK level who had good programs such as reproductive health,’’ she said. “There are up and coming new leaders who just need our support, and media attention.”

Read more: Even the mightiest political dynasties fall silent—and fade away

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