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...
Tag: government
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Malaybalay City’s path to open governance
MALAYBALAY CITY – On a typical bidding day in Malaybalay City, anyone with internet access can watch the entire procurement process unfold live on the local government’s Facebook page. While live streams may be the norm for this generation, it was a highly significant initiative for Malaybalay Mayor Jay Warren Pabillaran, which is why he...
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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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5 ways Philippine dynasties are able to stay in power
(Last of two parts) The Sanggunian Kabataan (SK) law and Bangsamoro Electoral Code define and prohibit political dynasties. However, these laws only cover the SK and Bangsamoro parliamentary elections. In national and local elections, clans continue to consolidate political and economic power. Based on the electoral plans for May 2025 of district representatives belonging to...
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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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With Sulu’s shock exit from BARMM, over 5,000 employees at risk of losing their jobs
More than 5,000 employees are at risk of losing their jobs following Sulu’s shocking exit from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) ahead of its first parliamentary elections in May 2025. As leaders debate the far-reaching political ramifications of the Supreme Court’s ruling excluding the province from the region, the BARMM government is...
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Barbers on Roque: ‘What goes around comes around’
“What goes around comes around.” This was what Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert “Ace” Barbers said in describing the path that lawyer and former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, now again facing detention for defying a subpoena of the House of Representatives’ quad committee, appears to be treading. Barbers, who heads the quad committee looking into,...
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Seismic shift for the Vice President
On Aug. 30, even as social media was still abuzz and aghast at Vice President Sara Duterte’s startling behavior at the budget deliberations in the House of Representatives, she was reported as leading her office’s nationwide distribution of bags under its “Pagbabago” (Change) program. The photograph that accompanied the Philippine News Agency report, taken at...
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How do you solve a problem like Sara Duterte?
She is a PR person’s nightmare at the very least. I can imagine her handlers in a state of wild confusion as they try to do some damage control every time Vice President Sara Duterte utters anything remotely resembling a coherent sentence. She is remembered as the barumbada (sadly, I can’t find a word in English to...
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Marcos Jr.’s Sona and great expectations
As many as 23,000 cops are to be deployed for security during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address on July 22. Maj. Gen. Jose Nartatez Jr., the chief of the National Capital Region Police Office, rejects criticisms of “overkill.” He mentions a number of protesters; it’s uncertain if the number includes those...