Women and Children

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 […]

'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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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