More than three decades after his father was overthrown in a historic “people power” revolution, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., son and namesake of the late dictator, was elected president of the Philippines by a landslide in May 2022. Marcos Jr ran on a platform of “unity” in a country where…
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Against so many odds in 2020, the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte was buoyed by the unprecedented popularity of the chief executive, who now enters his last year in office. He may leave his office as the most-positively evaluated president: despite the widely criticized government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic,…
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I was deeply shaken by the recent torture and death of Randall “Randy” Echanis, chair of Anakpawis and tireless advocate for the poor and landless. When the first reports emerged, I thought it was strange that his killing departed from the usual modus operandi of hired assassins, with which we…
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Lawmakers defending the anti-terrorism bill have reacted to what they perceive to be exaggerated fears among the bill’s critics. The fears could be exaggerated, but they make a lot of sense coming from a traumatized people. I do not refer to the trauma of martial law to which a number…
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Even before coming to power, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte had been casting federalism as “our last hope” to set right the excesses of a central government controlled by “Imperial Manila,” the inequitable distribution of public resources, the uneven economic development among regions, and the massive poverty that has bred unrest…
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As the bloody campaign against illegal drugs and crime continues under the present administration, the Church in the Philippines is addressing the mounting mortality by establishing community-based drug rehabilitation programs as a form of compassionate care and systematic intervention in order to reduce those who are being killed. Read the…
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Is the Church calling for people to march on the 25th?” a friend asked last week. By “Church” she meant not the community of the faithful but the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, a lapse into which even progressive Catholics can fall. Her hopes, and those of other Catholic…
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Prolife advocates have been awfully quiet lately. Quieter, anyway, than in the 2013 elections. In 2013, Christian prolife groups nationwide declared war on candidates who supported the Reproductive Health (RH) Law. Their focus on the law as a litmus test for a Christian vote might have left little room for…
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Housing for those who need it most
Launched as soon as Jose Rizalino “Jerry” Acuzar was appointed head of the three-year-old Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program undeniably created excitement, especially among ordinary Filipinos dreaming to have a home of their own. By tapping funds from the private…