Negotiations for an international plastics treaty ended in failure last month, setting the stage for a new round of talks. Nevertheless, local environmental groups argue that no deal is better than a bad one or a watered-down treaty. An agreement could have nudged the Philippine government to finally enact a national ban on single-use plastic...
Category: News
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Ex-police intelligence officer is convicted in Duterte-era drug war killing
Nearly a decade after the deed, a police intelligence officer in then President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration has been convicted of homicide for the death of a drug suspect in Baguio City in July 2016. It is only the fifth known conviction related to Duterte’s “war on drugs” that has resulted in the extrajudicial killing (EJK)...
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House begins ‘evidence-based’ inquiry into corruption in flood control projects
The House of Representatives’ “tricommittee” begins today its own inquiry into questionable flood control projects, with the objective of “completing the story” behind those deemed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as “ghost” and substandard projects. Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon, chair of the House committee on public accounts, said he and his colleagues would start with...
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Marcos ready for lifestyle check and release of SALN, but analysts say genuine reforms necessary to address corruption
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is prepared to undergo a lifestyle check, including the release of his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN), but political analysts said such a move must be paired with genuine reforms and must also address the corruption issues that attended his father and namesake’s strongman rule. “All members of...
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Israel’s silence on sea conflict may affect future defense deals with PH, say Filipino senior officials
The Philippines has been calling for international solidarity against an increasingly assertive China in the West Philippine Sea but Israel, one of its top defense partners, has yet to respond categorically to its appeal, according to senior Filipino diplomats and security officials. Israel’s neutral stance is affecting both current and prospective defense cooperation between the...
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Despite RA 10353, families of desaparecidos endure deep loss and longing
The activist James Jazmines was biking home in Tabaco City, Albay, on the night of Aug. 23, 2024, when he disappeared in the darkness. He had just come from the birthday celebration of his friend and fellow activist, Felix Salaveria Jr., at a downtown restaurant. Salaveria, who had reported Jazmines’ disappearance to the human rights...
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Marcos relieves ‘high-performing’ Torre as PNP chief in what lawmakers see as ‘escalating internal conflicts’
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has relieved Gen. Nicolas Torre III of his post as Philippine National Police (PNP) chief—a sign of growing conflict within his administration, according to some lawmakers. The move was “by order of the President” and “effective immediately,” Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin told Torre in a letter dated Aug. 25. “For the...
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Campaign launched to find justice for all victims, whether during martial rule or the war on drugs
The former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. and the student Kian delos Santos were felled by bullets 34 years apart this month in starkly different circumstances, but many agree that they—along with the victims of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s martial rule and of Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs”—met their end in a climate of impunity. Seeing...
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Lacson ‘pulls the trigger’ on flood control projects, says what Filipinos need is ‘greed control’
Sen. Panfilo Lacson has laid out how billions of pesos in government-funded flood control projects ended up in the hands of corrupt contractors, public works officials and politicians through the years, resulting in persistent massive flooding and inflicting suffering on Filipinos. Making good on his promise to explain the pork barrel insertions in the national budget, Lacson...
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Carpio urges the Supreme Court to reverse its ‘erroneous’ ruling on the VP’s impeachment
Retired senior associate justice Antonio Carpio is urging the Supreme Court to recognize and accept what he has argued are factual and legal mistakes in nullifying the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, and to reverse its ruling in good faith. Carpio, who served 18 years on the Supreme Court, is a founder...