All was not well in the automated election system on Election Day 2025, according to the poll watchdog Kontra Daya. 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....
Category: News
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In Ilocandia, land of ‘mega’ dynasties, Chavit Singson has 23 relatives running for office
Some of the biggest names in Philippine politics come from the Ilocos region, including the Marcos political clan of Ilocos Norte. 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...
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In Bicol, political clans aiding victims backed projects blamed for flooding
Bicol, home to the majestic Mount Mayon, is among the country’s most disaster-prone regions. It is regularly battered by storms and other calamities that test the resilience of its people year after year. Rogelio Barajas, a resident of Legazpi City in Albay for over five decades, will never forget how Typhoon “Reming” (international name: Durian)...
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AI fakery rises, but cheapfakes still rule the race
AI-manipulated videos and audio have emerged as a growing disinformation tactic ahead of Monday’s midterm elections—more frequent, more targeted and more deceptive. Despite their rise, simpler manipulations, or shallowfakes, remain the more widespread threat, continuing to dominate the misinformation landscape flagged by fact-checkers. Out of 35 unique altered claims identified by partners of the fact-checking coalition Tsek.ph during the Feb....
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Phantom banks, shaky claims undercut viral report on Marcos gold
Documents circulating online that purport to expose a $100-billion money laundering scheme involving the Marcos family’s alleged 350 metric tons of gold are riddled with red flags including references to fictitious banks, dubious account numbers, and formatting anomalies inconsistent with how illicit wealth is typically hidden. Screenshots of the documents accompanied a report that first...
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Red-tagger plans asylum in Canada and his targets say they will oppose it
When television journalist Atom Araullo won a landmark P2-million defamation lawsuit last December for being Red-tagged by Jeffrey Celiz and Lorraine Badoy-Partosa, Celiz was unmoved and vowed to “persevere” in fighting “communist terrorism.” “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...
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John Arcilla commits to fire prevention and advocates for the safety of the most vulnerable
Fires are breaking out everywhere, resulting in not only death and injury but also damage to property and homelessness. 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...
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A support system, a voice, and a movement for women and girls with hemophilia
In observance of World Hemophilia Day today on April 17 and of National Hemophilia Awareness Month this April, stories like mine find the space and voice they deserve. This year’s theme, “Access for All: Women and Girls Bleed, Too,” cannot be more personal, more painful—or more powerful. For the longest time, hemophilia has been known...
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Atin Ito starts campus caravan to provide correct info on the West Philippine Sea
Atin Ito, a coalition of progressive groups and nongovernment organizations, has called on the youth to be actively involved in its information campaign to assert Filipinos’ fishing rights in the face of China’s repeated incursions in the West Philippine Sea. Members of the coalition also said that the continuing tension in the contested waters should...
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When voters say ‘enough’: Dynasties in Leyte, Cainta and Pasig fall from power
(Last of two parts) 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...