There were many ways to silence democracy during the martial rule of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr.: Immobilize someone on a bench and pour water continuously on their face until they confess to their “crime” or reveal their comrades’ whereabouts; monopolize the media; or, during a house raid, shoot an activist dead and employ...
Category: News
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Shear line, the bearer of rains, explained
The shear line has been dominating national and local weather reports in recent days as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) predicts rainfall, thunderstorms, flooding, and even landslides in various parts of the country. In a forecast report released at 4 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 20, Pagasa said the shear line could...
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This is the state of the party list system
Does the name James Christopher Napoles ring a bell? The son and co-accused of the pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles is the No. 1 nominee of Kaunlad Pinoy, one among 156 party list groups vying for seats in the House of Representatives in the May 12 elections. House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s son Andrew...
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Even before campaign period, TV, radio ads of candidates exceeded P10B before discounts
Candidates in the May elections aired television and radio ads worth over P10 billion before discounts from January to December 2024, based on newly released data from Nielsen Ad Intel. Only four senatorial candidates accounted for 60% of the total amount, raising concerns among electoral reform advocates about the advantage wealthy and well-connected candidates have...
Bago City Payag Sang Kapag-on Village —PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF CIVIL DEFENSE WESTERN VISAYAS
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Kanlaon evacuees will now shelter in ‘bahay kubo’
Bago City in Negros Occidental is completing a new project: a village of 50 huts—or bahay kubo—to serve as temporary shelters for families displaced by the eruptive behavior of Kanlaon Volcano. Ryan Valero, the operations and warning head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said that compared to a tent, the regular shelter...
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Vice President Sara Duterte is impeached
The House of Representatives impeached Vice President Sara Duterte and immediately transmitted the complaint to the Senate on Wednesday, the last session day of Congress before it takes a four-month-long break for the midterm campaign and elections in May. “This complaint unmasks Sara Zimmerman Duterte, Vice President of the Republic, for what she truly is. She has...
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Resist China’s ‘maritime occupation’ until negotiated settlement is reached—security expert
China’s deployment of more vessels in the West Philippine Sea is part of “maritime occupation” that the Philippines should resist at all costs until a “negotiated settlement” is reached, American maritime security expert Raymond Powell said. As its “monster ship” lingers near Zambales province, China’s smaller vessels have ventured closer to the coast, ignoring radio...
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How a high school org in Benguet preps students for life
In 2017 when Jonathan Supsupin of La Trinidad, Benguet, had to get on track for senior high school, he chose Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL). It was the first year of K-to-12 implementation and the middle child whose father is a vegetable picker at the trading post and whose mother works at a local hospital’s linen department was...
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‘First Day Rage’ stirs UP campuses
Learning comes with militancy at the University of the Philippines (UP) right from the start of academic classes at UP Diliman and other campuses. In what was dubbed “First Day Rage,” students, faculty members, workers, community residents and other sectors assembled on Jan. 21, the first day of classes for the second semester of academic...
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Colonel held at the House over the holidays ordered moved to police station
For refusing to explain his claim that two cochairs of the House of Representatives’ quad committee had tried to coerce him to corroborate the alleged reward system for cops and hitmen in then President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, a police officer held in the chamber over the holidays has been ordered transferred to...