These are challenging times for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s communications team as it fights fake news and troll armies hounding the administration even more intensely now, according to Edwin Lacierda, spokesperson of the late former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. “They have their work cut out for them,” Lacierda said of the President’s communicators in...
Category: Politics
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Genuine reform still nowhere 39 years after Edsa, says ex-detainee Judy Taguiwalo
There were many ways to silence democracy during the martial rule of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr.: Immobilize someone on a bench and pour water continuously on their face until they confess to their “crime” or reveal their comrades’ whereabouts; monopolize the media; or, during a house raid, shoot an activist dead and employ...
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This is the state of the party list system
Does the name James Christopher Napoles ring a bell? The son and co-accused of the pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles is the No. 1 nominee of Kaunlad Pinoy, one among 156 party list groups vying for seats in the House of Representatives in the May 12 elections. House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s son Andrew...
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Even before campaign period, TV, radio ads of candidates exceeded P10B before discounts
Candidates in the May elections aired television and radio ads worth over P10 billion before discounts from January to December 2024, based on newly released data from Nielsen Ad Intel. Only four senatorial candidates accounted for 60% of the total amount, raising concerns among electoral reform advocates about the advantage wealthy and well-connected candidates have...
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Are candidates funding their own campaigns?
(Last of two parts) As early as January last year, Sen. Imee Marcos already aired 271 TV and radio ad spots worth P21 million based on published rate cards or before discounts. Every month after, President Marcos Jr.’s sister appeared on Filipino voters’ TV screens and spoke in radios across the country. She gradually increased...
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Patronage funds, bloated allocations mark 2025 nat’l budget, says ex-DBM chief
House Speaker Martin Romualdez handing out “ayuda” or cash aid to the poor in a Quezon City mall not only seemed odd but also violated the Supreme Court’s ruling on the “pork barrel,” according to former budget secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad. Politicians have been enjoying greater leeway in selecting beneficiaries and determining amounts of aid...
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Candidates aired P4B worth of TV, radio ads before filing
(First of two parts) Ads worth more than P4 billion have already aired on TV and radio stations across the Philippines even before candidates filed their certificates of candidacy (CoCs) last October. Close to a hundred candidates for senator, party-list and district representatives, other local positions, as well as political parties, had TV spots worth...
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Political dynasties also swarm the party list elections
While Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and his wife, Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado, seek reelection next year, their son Bryan Revilla aims to keep his seat in the House of Representatives as the No. 1 nominee of the multisectoral Agimat ng Masa party list group. After losing the presidential elections in 2022, world boxing icon...
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Who can dislodge political dynasties?
(Last of two parts) For political clans that dominate local politics, the tactics to keep the capitol, the seat of power for local political kingpins, are almost the same nationwide. Sitting governors seek reelection and max out the allowable three terms for a total of nine years. If they are not seeking reelection, they are...
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Nearly 9 out of 10 governors belong to political families
(First of two parts) Political dynasties continue to hold a tight grip on provinces in the Philippines. By the count of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), at least 71 of the country’s 82 provincial governments, or 87%, are led by members of political dynasties. This dominance underscores a system where power is frequently...