ILOILO CITY — Supporters of Sen. Risa Hontiveros gathered at La Paz Plaza Covered Gym here on Saturday, June 13, for the “Risa na! Kabakod sang Ilonggo Ipakita! (Ilonggos Show of Strength)” rally, drawing participants from across Panay Island and Guimaras. Delegations from the provinces of Antique, Aklan, Capiz, Guimaras, and Iloilo City attended the...
Category: Politics
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In numbers: Dynasties and contractors capture party-list seats in the 20th Congress
Nearly 40 years ago, the framers of the post-Marcos Constitution provided for a party-list system to ensure that Congress would not be dominated by political families. Today, the hope that party-list representatives would provide a counterweight to the power of dynasties has been completely dashed. In the 20th Congress, half of the 64 party-list representatives...
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Gen Z and activism: Fighting for their own future
Second of two parts Gen Z Filipinos are not as active in street protests against corruption in public works projects as they are online. They spent their earlier years indoors due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which partly explains the unwillingness of most of them to leave home and participate in current outdoor protests. They feel...
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Gen Z and activism: Fighting against corruption
First of two parts The call to jail the crooks in the flood-control corruption scandal thundered above all others in a setting intended to highlight athletic excellence and school pride, not political defiance: “Ikulong na ’yan, mga kurakot!” It was halftime during the UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines) basketball match between the University...
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The unrest in Indonesia is driven by inequalities and entrenched oligarchic rule
Indonesia has been ravaged by its worst popular unrest since the downfall of the dictator Suharto in 1998. Large-scale street protests began last Aug. 25 in the capital Jakarta—the culmination of widespread economic frustration and anger at widespread corruption, democratic regression, gross inequalities, and the indifference and lack of empathy of Indonesia’s leaders, elite classes...
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Five things to watch out for in the 20th Congress
1. Vice President Sara Duterte’s trial: Will it finally happen? The next round of the Marcos-Duterte family feud was expected to play out in Congress. But the Dutertes scored a win—and the possibility of a reprieve until February 2026, or even longer—in Friday’s Supreme Court ruling that temporarily banned an impeachment trial. The Marcos-controlled House...
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Mayor Leni Robredo takes office, pledges transparency and good governance in Naga City
NAGA CITY—In her first day in office as the first woman to hold the mayor’s seat in her home city, Leni Robredo vowed to “purge corruption” at City Hall and promote transparency and good governance. “We will make Naga once more a center of good governance, development, and innovation, enhancing and sustaining the good governance...
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Senate move to send back impeachment complaint fuels protests anew
Various organizations took to the streets after the Senate voted to return the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives, a motion that demonstrators and constitutional experts contend is unconstitutional. While the Senate maintains it is seeking clarification, the move has fueled speculation of a deliberate attempt to defer...
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Senators are taking ‘baby steps’ toward trying the Vice President–De Lima
Senate President Francis Escudero took his oath as presiding officer of the impeachment court on Monday night, in what Representative-elect Leila de Lima called “baby steps” toward finally hearing the complaint against impeached Vice President Sara Duterte. On Sen. Joel Villanueva’s motions, Escudero was sworn in by Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr., and the senators...
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Bato’s draft resolution seeking junking of impeachment case is ‘unconstitutional, absurd, ridiculous’
Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s draft resolution urging his colleagues to junk the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte is unconstitutional and will be challenged in the Supreme Court if it is passed. “It’s unconstitutional, if not absurd and ridiculous,” former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, a prosecutor in the 2012 impeachment trial of...