Federalism

The rights of our children

ALL CITIZENS, but most especially our children, are vested with inalienable rights under the Constitution and the laws of the land.The nation marks this week the 46th anniversary of the declaration of martial law by the late strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos, even as martial law lingers in the southern island of Mindanao under President Rodrigo […]

About Bong Go’s statement

WE STAND by our story and take exception to the statement of Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence “Bong” T. Go that our report on the multibillion-peso civil works contracts that the firms of his father and half-brother was “fake news” and “biased reporting.”PCIJ had sought out the side of Go and his family […]

'Build, Build, Build' hits chokepoint

Firms of Bong Go kin, top contractors:
Many JVs, delayed projects in Davao

Click to watch video: Projects_PCIJDAVAO CITY – For his home region and bailiwick of Davao Region, President Rodrigo R. Duterte gave the largest share of public works funds in the 2017 national budget, the first proposed and passed under his watch. Duterte offered Davao or Region XI a dose of double love: PhP43.77 billion in […]

'Build, Build, Build' hits chokepoint

Davao Region most favored; others
get cuts, token hike in infra budgets

IT’S AS GOOD as it gets for Davao Region, home and bailiwick of President Rodrigo R. Duterte. And by the government’s own data, it’s as bad as it gets for many other regions of the country in terms of the spread of monies for civil-works projects, although a few have also managed to receive slight […]

'Build, Build, Build' hits chokepoint

Top 10 contractors under DU30 run
record of fraud, delays, blacklisting

THREE HAD been suspended or blacklisted, including one for submitting fake tax clearance certificates. One had its corporate registration revoked. The officers of four others are facing trial for alleged graft. Two have direct connections to politicians, some others had sealed deals via financial favors exchanged with certain politicians. All share a record of incomplete […]

Bangon Marawi? Rush to seal deals
locked in delay, confusion, funds lack

SINCE last May, the task force leading the government’s efforts to rebuild the Islamic City of Marawi in Lanao del Sur has been setting and resetting groundbreaking rites for a multibillion-peso, 22-component project under its “minimum scope of work” in the 250-hectare “conflict zone” or the city’s “most affected area” (MAA). Task Force Bangon Marawi […]

The PowerChina puzzle: Newly registered
‘domestic firm’ bids for P17-B Marawi deal

LAST JULY 2, after being declared ineligible to bid for the multibillion-peso contract to rebuild Marawi City’s conflict zone or “most affected area (MAA),” a consortium led by a China state-owned enterprise filed a motion for reconsideration with the Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM).As of this writing, the Task Force has yet to decide with […]

The Tripoli Agreement of 1976: Lessons,
impact on the Mindanao peace process

A FORTNIGHT AGO on July 27, 2018, President Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) that was finalized by the Senate and the House of Representatives bicameral conference committee, and which enrolled some amendments to the draft submitted by the Bangsamoro Transition Committee. A ceremonial signing event was held on […]

SONA Antemortem, Postmortem

Duterte’s 3rd: What The People
Would Have Wanted to Hear

A FORTNIGHT AGO, a policy forum on the state of “Democracy and Governance in the Philippines: Deficit, Surplus, and Unfinished Business” was conducted by the PCIJ, in partnership with the Office of the Ombudsman of the Philppines and the Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition.To flesh out inputs from the resources persons — Ombudsman Conchita […]

A humanitarian crisis, a monster in our midst

State of the PH in 2018: Our jails
are now world’s most congested

THE WAR on drugs and the mass arrest of the loiterers and the shirtless under the Duterte administration have triggered a monstrous humanitarian crisis: Philippine jails and detention centers are now the most overcrowded in the world, eclipsing erstwhile topnotcher Haiti. In this report for the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, visiting professor Dr. Raymund […]

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