Health and Environment

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 […]

Democracy & Governance: Deficit, Surplus, Unfinished Business

State of the PH in 2018: Why
Must We Live Within the Truth?

WHAT has happened to civil and political rights, and the rule of law, under two years of the Duterte administration? What follows is the speech of Atty. Jose Manuel I. Diokno, dean of De La Salle University’s College of Law and national chairman of the Free Legal Assistance Group, at the forum on “Democracy and […]

Democracy & Governance: Deficit, Surplus, Unfinished Business

State of the PH in 2018: Perils,
Pitfalls of Shifting to Federalism

IS the proposed shift to federalism “a Trojan horse to stay in power” for President Duterte and his political allies?What follows is the speech of Atty. Christian S. Monsod, former Commission on Elections chairman and member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission, at the forum on “Democracy and Governance in the Philippines: Deficit, Surplus, and Unfinished […]

Democracy & Governance: Deficit, Surplus, Unfinished Business

State of the PH in 2018: The Insulted Economy

WHAT is the true state of the economy, and the status of economic and policy reforms, under two years of the Duterte administration? What follows is the presentation, by text and graphics, of Dr. Emmanuel S. de Dios of the University of the Philippines School of Economics, at the forum on “Democracy and Governance in […]

PCIJ Primer: Unpacking Federalism

Stats on the state of the regions:
Who will rule? Send in the clans

A “SELF-EXECUTING” ban on political dynasties is supposedly one of the crown jewels of the draft constitution for the pitch to shift to a federal system of government. It is paired with a proposed ban on turncoatism, or candidates changing political parties between elections or during election campaigns.These are supposed to limit the opportunities for […]

A PCIJ Primer: Unpacking Federalism

Stats on the state of the regions:
Only half of all Pinoys are voters

WE ARE a nation of more than a hundred million people, but as of 2016, only one in every two Filipinos had registered as voters and could be allowed to participate in elections. If the pitch to shift to a federal system of government gets approved and submitted to a plebiscite, it is only this […]

A PCIJ Primer: Unpacking Federalism

Stats on the state of the regions:
Land, population, population density

THE PHILIPPINES has a total land area of about 300,000 square kilometers (sq km).This is according to the cadastral survey and estimated land areas certified and provided to the Department of Budget and Management by the Land Management Bureau, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, as of December 2013.Nearly half or 43 percent consists of […]

Project Bangon Marawi, Year 1

Price check: Hygiene kit items cost
more than DTI, retail chain rates

THE top three suppliers of the billion-peso food, hygiene, and various other kits for the displaced residents of the Islamic City of Marawi supposedly offered “the lowest and most responsive bids” but a price check with the Trade department and retail grocery chains show otherwise.Instead of diving down, the price quotations that these suppliers submitted […]

Project Bangon Marawi, Year 1

DSWD-Region 12 blows a billion pesos
on food packs, various kits for Marawi

NEARLY EVERY month in the last half of 2017, the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office in Region XII (Central Mindanao) went on a shopping binge and ended up splurging over a billion pesos. It spent the sum — courtesy of taxpayers — on mongo beans, dried fish, canned fruits, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, […]

Open Contracting in PH: Key recommendations

(From Public Contracting in the Philippines: Breakthroughs and Barriers, a case study on the procurement of infrastructure projects by the Department of Public Works and Highways) PCIJ’s research findings indicate the need for the following:1. Upload basic contracting documents online – from planning to implementation. Agencies keep a wealth of documents internally, many of which […]

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