Category: News
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Firehose of disinformation floods run-up to election
Disinformation operations continue relentlessly, as though in a last-ditch effort before Election Day. Filipino voters head to the polls on Monday after months of being engulfed in a relentless stream of falsehoods spewed out in multiple formats and platforms that is unprecedented in Philippine history. Tsek.ph’s second and latest analysis has tracked a high volume...
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Political ‘game changer’ happens as campaign draws to a close
A few days before Election Day, as the campaign for the presidency neared the homestretch, this political “game changer” happened! It has surprised almost all partisan camps, notably the contenders in an obvious two-cornered fight. The game changer is the release of the finding of TruthWatch Philippines in an intercept survey that Ferdinand Marcos Jr....
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Statistics expert sees Robredo win if ‘flawed’ surveys are corrected
Rectifying the “flaws” of latest Pulse Asia surveys will lead to good chances for Leni Robredo to win the presidential elections on May 9, according to a former secretary general of the then National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). “I think she has a chance. Huwag lang madaya (assuming there’s no massive cheating),” Ramon A. Virola...
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A Robredo-Marcos Jr. rematch in 2022?
EDITOR’S NOTE: As early as January in the weekly OpinYon, political scientist Temario C. Rivera noted the battle lines in the May 9 presidential election. A rematch between Leni Robredo and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. looms large, in what may very well be the most consequential presidential election since the end of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s dictatorship...
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Franco, Marcos regimes: the remains of fascism
In Granada, renowned Spanish playwright and poet Federico Garcia Lorca is everywhere and nowhere. The airport of the fabled pais is named after him. His residence is now a museum. His poetry and plays are kept and read in the grand universities and stages of Spain. But the remains of Federico Garcia Lorca are nowhere....
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They should have built more rails—or the transport crisis continues
Having lived on the fringes of Metro Manila—for a long time in North Caloocan and in recent years in Las Piñas City—I have experienced all sorts of misfortunes and difficulties while commuting to Manila and Makati where I studied and worked. In fact, I must have ticked all the boxes representing the difficulties that commuters...
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Theater artists’ flash mob for Leni – how we put it together
The battle is on the ground, among the people, hence ‘Teatro Tao sa Tao’ “Fuenteovejuna did it!” Those were some of the last words I uttered on the stage before the world was forced into lockdown. That scene with the entire townsfolk was also the last time I spent inside the theater with my mentor...
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Poll campaign volunteer work, self-care and mental health
There is an almost child-like ebullience in artist Robert Alejandro’s works promoting Vice President Leni Robredo’s presidential candidacy. Done in various shades of pink, Robredo’s official campaign color, the artworks are full of hope, joy, and whimsy. It is easy to imagine that such positive vibes are coming from someone living a life of ease...
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Destiny and the Philippine presidency
SO MUCH is said about the presidency being destiny. Unfortunately, the Philippines’ destiny is also tied up with whoever destiny brings to the presidency. In recent memory, among those who can be said to have been favored by destiny to become president were Corazon Aquino, the housewife and grieving widow, and Rodrigo Duterte, the foul-mouthed...