Nario, a fisherman and father to two young children, now patrols the beaches of Mariahangin Island at night, joining a vigil of volunteer families. Two years ago, he made a decision that would uproot his family from their ancestral home on this idyllic island in southern Palawan—a decision he has since come to regret. Like...
Category: News
Post
Supreme Court strikes down impeachment complaint against VP Sara Duterte
The impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte may be dead in the water—for now. The Supreme Court has struck down the complaint as unconstitutional, saying it is barred by the one-year rule on the filing of multiple impeachment complaints. The justices unanimously ruled that the Senate has no jurisdiction over the impeachment complaint seeking...
Post
Sotto says he and Lacson will ensure no repeat of national budget ‘mangled in the Senate’
Whether they end up in the majority or minority bloc, Sen. Vicente Sotto III said, he and Sen. Panfilo Lacson will make sure that there will be no repeat of a “national budget” that was “mangled” last year in the Senate. The two lawmakers said they had been looking into irregularities in the ₱6.326-trillion national budget...
Post
Autonomy and the case of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the General Appropriations Act for 2025 despite the contentious budget proceedings including protests over alleged blank portions in the document. The Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives, particularly the Kabataan Partylist, reported budget cuts on state universities and colleges (SUCs), raising negative reactions. After all, the fiscal operations of...
Post
Mary Jane Veloso is still languishing in jail. ‘What are you waiting for, Mr. President?’
More than a decade after being saved from a firing squad in Indonesia, former overseas Filipino worker Mary Jane Veloso remains in prison, this time in her own country. The mother of two has been held at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City since Dec. 18, and her plea for executive clemency...
Post
Safe-space classrooms, where trust begins, are still a privilege in Philippine education
In some classrooms at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, students are encouraged not simply to answer but also to ask questions, the purpose being to perceive learning as a reflective, relational, and deeply personal concept. But outside the campus and in many public schools across the Philippines, classroom conditions are far from ensuring...
Post
Will reforming the K-to-12 program mean backtracking from the global standard?
As more Filipinos express dissatisfaction with the K-to-12 program, Rep. Roman Romulo is dangling an option for Grade 10 students: to leapfrog senior high school straight into college. But there’s a hitch: Tenth graders must pass an “honors” examination to land into a college of their choice. Otherwise, they need to complete Grades 11 and...
Post
Addiction to online gambling is a sickness from which those hooked can (slowly) recover
“Pedro” was tearful as he began to speak. “I really want to stop. My life is already being affected,” the 30-year-old said in Filipino. It was July 10 and Pedro’s first time to attend a session of Recovering Gamblers Philippines, a nonprofit established to help and guide compulsive gamblers in overcoming their addiction and regaining...
Post
In support of zero hunger through sustained, strengthened food rescue partnership
How to address hunger among Filipinos was the point of discussion at a recent Zero Summit led by Scholars of Sustenance (SOS) Philippines, a food rescue and environment foundation that saves good-quality surplus food and makes this available to vulnerable communities. Food insecurity remains a pressing issue in the Philippines with 27.2% of Filipinos experiencing...
Post
Blended learning seeks to address classroom shortage, but outcome may be worse
In the postpandemic era, the Batasan Hills National High School in Quezon City stands out for attempting to pioneer blended learning for its more than 15,000 students. With only 90 classrooms fit for 3,500 learners and no space to build more rooms, the administrators split Grades 7 to 10 students into morning and afternoon shifts,...