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 Emmanuel...
(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...
(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...
If it wants to, the House of Representatives can impeach Vice President Sara Duterte anytime over her alleged misuse of confidential funds because the evidence is in its possession, lawyer and former lawmaker Neri Colmenares said on Saturday. “They can’t say our evidence is lacking. The evidence came from them,’’ Colmenares said in reference to...
Filing an impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte is “the right thing to do,” according to former senator Leila de Lima, spokesperson of the 16 individuals who filed the complaint at the House of Representatives on Monday. The last straw for Francis Joseph Aquino Dee was Duterte’s profanity-laden rant late last month that she...
It’s not a simple postponement proposal. The identical bills filed in the Senate and the House of Representatives do not just seek to delay again the schedule of the first regular elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). They also seek to change the composition of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) as...
The world is in shock, the headlines say, in reporting that Donald Trump has decisively won the US presidential election and defied the odds once more, this time in convincing fashion. As soon as the trend was clear, congratulatory messages from world leaders started coming in, in apparent relief that the result was unassailable and...
Mohagher Iqbal is surprised by Congress’ proposals to postpone the elections. The high-ranking official of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Minister of Education of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) said there were no consultations with them before Senate President Francis Escudero filed a bill to postpone the elections next year. ...
Before September, the first regular elections next year in the five-year old Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) were already shaping up to be a highly anticipated event. Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan, who announced his bid to become the BARMM’s chief minister last May, was set to face whoever would emerge as the contender...
COTABATO CITY—With reporters in tow, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia flew into the city on a C-130 plane early Monday, Nov. 4, to witness the opening of the six-day filing of certificates of candidacy (CoCs) and manifestations of intent to participate (MIPs) in the May 2025 elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in...
