In two stunning admissions he made before a Senate blue ribbon subcommittee on Monday, former President Rodrigo Duterte said he kept a death squad that was set up to “fight crime” when he was mayor of Davao City. Duterte said three former Davao police chiefs had led the so-called “Duterte Death Squad (DDS)” and that...
Category: News
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8 out of 10 district reps belong to dynasties
(First of two parts) Fathers and mothers passing on their government posts to sons and daughters, as if these were family heirlooms, is nothing new. But election watchdogs said it was jarring to watch political dynasties flaunt their power during the week-long filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) this October. It’s as if Oct. 1...
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Meet the ‘obese’ political dynasties of the Philippines
We’ve seen sibling pairs in the Senate, as well as mother-and-son tandems. But three brothers? If the pre-election polls hold until May 12, 2025, neophyte Sen. Raffy Tulfo will be welcoming two of his brothers to the Senate—fellow news broadcasters Erwin and Ben, who ranked first and second in the September 2024 Pulse Asia senatorial...
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Fear, isolation test resolve of residents in Albay town
LIBON, Albay—Delia Sario Elcano, 68, plodded through mud and past fallen power lines, barbed wires, slippery stones, and streams that were not there before. She had to take an unfamiliar path in temporarily abandoned residential lots because the usual route was covered with soil and rubble from a landslide. It was noon of Oct. 24...
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Garma says Duterte phoned her after her testimony on drug war’s ‘reward system’
Former president Rodrigo Duterte phoned retired police colonel Royina Garma after she testified two weeks ago at a hearing of the House of Representatives’ quad committee that killings were enforced in his “war on drugs” in exchange for rewards. Garma made the admission under questioning by Alliance of Concerned Teachers partylist Rep. France Castro during...
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UP admin and University Council still at odds on UP-AFP accord
Editor’s Note: This report, originally run on Sept. 26, 2024, has been updated with interviews with the UP president and vice president for academic affairs. More than a month since the University of the Philippines (UP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) signed a “declaration of cooperation” (DOC) to conduct joint strategic research,...
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Talaingod 13: What it means to commit ‘child abuse’
On July 15, the Tagum City Regional Trial Court Branch 2 in Davao del Norte rendered a guilty verdict on a “child abuse” case filed against 13 former and sitting lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives, as well as 10 lumad school teachers. “Wherefore,” the decision read, “in light of the...
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That’s entertainment in politics
A certain Rosmar Tan, described as a social media influencer, is running for councilor in Manila in the May 2025 midterm elections. Here’s her sound bite: “Aanhin pa ang katalinuhan sa law o anuman po …” Or: What good is knowledgeability in law or whatever …? The lawyer Vince Tañada, who is also a movie and stage producer,...
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Camille Villar ramps up FB ad spending before filing candidacy for senator
Like her father, mother and brother before her, Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar is entering the 2025 senatorial race with more resources than her rivals for her advertising campaign. She has billboards and posters all over the country, and has ads on TV. She is also among the top ad spenders on Meta, formerly Facebook,...
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More ‘smoking guns’ needed to beef up case vs Duterte et al. at ICC
The explosive testimony on Friday of one of Rodrigo Duterte’s trusted police aides is the “start of the reckoning” for the former president and his brutal war on drugs, but “more smoking guns” are needed to pin him down and others for the crimes against humanity case they are facing at the International Criminal Court...