by Bobby Timonera, Froilan Gallardo, Manman Dejeto, and H. Marcos C. Moderno, MindaNews
EXACTLY A YEAR AGO today, President Rodrigo R. Duterte declared the “liberation” of the Islamic City of Marawi City from the clutches of Islamist militants.But before that happened, in five months starting May 2017, soldiers and policemen carpet-bombed and reduced Marawi to a massive wasteland.Twelve months had lapsed since Duterte declared Marawi “liberated” on Oct. […]
by Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism
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 […]
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| Posted Thursday, September 20th, 2018
by Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism
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
by Malou Mangahas and Karol Ilagan
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
by Karol Ilagan and Malou Mangahas
SIXTEEN TIMES across a two-hour interview he uttered the word “unfair.”At one point, he said it five times in a row: “’Yun ang unfair (That’s what’s unfair). ‘Yun ang unfair. ‘Yun ang unfair. ‘Yun ang unfair. ‘Yun ang unfair. ‘Yun ang masakit (That’s what’s painful) on my part. That’s why I said it’s abuse. My […]
People, paper behind PCIJ's report
by Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism
Editor’s Note: PCIJ’s multi-part report on civil works projects under the Duterte Administration is the composite work of seven PCIJ editors and reporters, and three student interns, over the last eight months. It builds on 11 gigabytes of documents and data that PCIJ has gathered from at least nine government agencies; reply letters and comments […]
'Build, Build, Build' hits chokepoint
by Karol Ilagan
THE GOVERNMENT awards a contractor-bidder a contract if its bid amount has been evaluated and found to be the “lowest calculated bid.” The bid will be subjected next to post-qualification, which involves verifying if it has complied with the requirements listed below. Complying with these prerequisites makes the bid “responsive.” A bidder is declared the […]
'Build, Build, Build' hits chokepoint
by Karol Ilagan and Malou Mangahas
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 […]
'Build, Build, Build' hits chokepoint
by Malou Mangahas and Karol Ilagan
IN THE TWO years since he assumed office and promised to usher in a “golden age of infrastructure”, President Rodrigo R. Duterte has put money where his mouth is. Boasting that, by his term’s end in 2022, multiple roads, bridges, ports, and airports will rise across the nation, his “Build, Build, Build” program now has […]
by Malou Mangahas
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 […]