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...
Category: News
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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...
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Even the mightiest political dynasties fall silent—and fade away
(First of two parts) Some dynasties fade away from politics and public consciousness due to lack of successors, defeats to emerging clans or even “erosion of narrative.” Once among the who’s who in Philippine politics for decades, the Laurels are now a “defunct” dynasty. The Aquinos and Osmeñas are dormant but are also close to...
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Worried about the ‘Big One’? Here’s what can be done to prepare and protect your family and community
The devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar last March 28 and successive mild tremors in the Philippines have made many Filipinos fearful of the possibility of the “Big One.” The earthquake in Myanmar had its epicenter near Mandalay, its second largest city. United Nations aid officials put the latest casualty figures at 3,354 people killed...
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Will Baguio voters open the door to a political dynasty?
Talks of political dynasties in Baguio began well before city politicians filed their certificates of candidacy (COC). During the official launch of the Alyansa ng Nagkakaisang Mamamayan (ANIM) in Manila on Aug. 24, 2024, Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong declared that political dynasties will have no place in Baguio. “Iba kasi sa Baguio eh. Alam mo,...
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Cordillera’s cultural norms push back against political dynasties
Filipinos could only vote in 1907, and only men were allowed to do so. Filipinos in the United States were permitted suffrage after World War II in 1946. But the Cordillerans who joined the St. Louis Fair in Missouri in 1904 were the first to cast their votes. That being an election year in the...