Chest out. One motion. No second, no space for doubt. And then the win. Hidilyn Diaz, was the shot in the arm the country needed as the nation continues to find itself battered by the pandemic. For a moment there, it was as if no virus existed. and instead of hearing the sighs of frustration that have become a droning sound this past year in its place - the beautiful melody of the national anthem. Reminding us we’re still here reminding Haidee, the very reason why she was there. But what h...
Aug 11, 2021•44 min
When US gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from events in the Tokyo Olympics due to mental health concerns, there was a collective shock. How could this happen? Althletes - they’re known to be made of tough stuff, right? Their genetic make up, coupled with their skills and talents point to being one thing - unbreakable. Add passion and grit and you’ve got yourself a winner. But can all these things that set them apart physically from the rest of us, also alienate them from us ...
Aug 11, 2021•42 min
Guests: Prof. Ranjit Rye, Octa Research Fellow Dr. Guido David, Octa Research Fellow Mayor Toby Tiangco, Navotas City
Aug 11, 2021•51 min
The state of the nation is strong all thanks to Filipina Olympian Hidilyn Diaz. With every once of grit and determination, she lifted the whole country when she hoisted all of those 224 kilograms… in the Tokyo Olympics breaking Philippine and Olympic records. The 4-time Olympian will be coming home to a hero’s welcome, she did after all, ended an almost century-old wait for that elusive gold medal. Behind the celebration though is a sector badly beaten and bruised - by politics and power p...
Aug 02, 2021•49 min
President Duterte delivered his Final State of the Nation Address - a mix of fulfilled promises and broken ones and the promise to do more in his last year in office. It was also a mix of explanations, justifications behind certain highly criticized policy decisions like why he dealt the way he did with China or why he caused the shut down of ABS-CBN. One thing was clear though — he kept going back to his comfort zone, the issue of drug and criminality issues that ate up much of his nearly...
Aug 02, 2021•36 min
President Duterte's administration, his presidency, this period in our nation’s story will be discussed long after he’s gone. Question is, what will history say about the Duterte regime? If we let the country’s past be our compass how might he be judged?
Aug 02, 2021•45 min
Election season 2022 is slowly creeping in and you can almost hear the wheels of political machineries slowly coming into life. The battle for the vote though will be strongly dictated upon by the state of the political parties. In a nutshell: the PDP Laban Party- which one are we talking about? The Hugpong Ng Pagbabago slowly gaining mass through alliances with Lakas CMD, Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino, and Nacionalista Party among others. The NPC, just announcing their Lacson-Sotto tandem alo...
Aug 02, 2021•50 min
President Duterte’s political party is now finalizing its list of senatorial candidates in next year’s elections. The list a mix of his cabinet secretaries, incumbent lawmakers, an action star, TV hosts. Now, how much the administration’s selection process is driven by competence, the genuine desire to serve, the ability to win, or avowed loyalty to the president? On the other hand, how is the opposition’s own selection process going especially with Vice President Leni Robredo still reluctant to...
Aug 02, 2021•37 min
A number of politicians have been clearly positioning themselves for a shot at the presidency in next year’s elections though many of them understandably are still playing coy or, in the case of Duterte in 2016 milk the “reluctant candidate” strategy dry. Speaking of Duterte, the president has announced that he’s now open to running for vice president if only to enjoy supposed immunity from suit. His daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, is also eyeing the presidency raising the prospect of a...
Jul 21, 2021•51 min
Over the weekend, the ruling PDP-Laban unseated two of its top officials — Senator Manny Pacquiao as party president and Senator “Koko” Aquilino Pimentel III as executive vice chairman. Pacquiao’s faction did not recognize the election of new officials insisting that Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and two other PDP-Laban officials were still expelled. But as far as party dynamics were concerned, President Duterte’s presence in the part assembly last Saturday pretty much settled who was call...
Jul 21, 2021•51 min
If you are a resident of Marawi City or at least used to be to say that you are frustrated would probably be an understatement. Imagine — after four years, you still cannot return home what used to be your house still reduced to rubble. Of course, we understand that rebuilding an entire city after a five-month siege by Maute terrorists in 2017 won’t be easy. As of May this year, the government says 60 percent of the planned rehabilitation has been completed. But more recently, reside...
Jul 20, 2021•49 min
Ahead of President Duterte’s last state of the nation address on July 26, many aspects of his governance have come under even closer scrutiny. A study by the Ateneo Policy Center recently focused on his administration’s legislative performance. in terms of bills passed by a congress he firmly dominates, the scorecard is “quantitatively impressive but qualitatively inadequate.” Meaning — like his predecessors, Duterte has prioritized “short-term and rewarding laws over meaningful long-term reform...
Jul 20, 2021•55 min
How much does it cost to run an election campaign here in the Philippines? To be more specific, how much would you need if you want to run, say, for president or senator in next year’s elections? On record, there are limits set by law as to how much a candidate is allowed to spend per registered voter. But in reality, the expenses shoot up well beyond what is legal which means gunning for public office in this country is still a rich man’s game. For even there are less-moneyed candidates who get...
Jul 14, 2021•50 min
As of July 11, around 3.5 million filipinos have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. But don’t let the number deceive you — that’s only 4.5 percent of the target population of 77.7 million that need to be inoculated to achieve herd immunity. The Duterte administration official in charge of vaccination admitted it’s a “struggle” to meet the target by the end of the year. So, how much longer do we have to wait? In this episode, Christian Esguerra talked to Peter Cayton, of the U.P. COVID-19 ...
Jul 13, 2021•52 min
A big data analytics firm has come out with a list of politicians with the most influence on social media ahead of the 2022 elections. Topping the list were Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and Senator Manny Pacquiao. both of them, of course, are said to be gunning for the presidency. But how big a factor really is social media — especially Facebook — in an election campaign? Can social media win elections? and with physical movement still limited by the raging COVID-19 pandemic are we now seeing ...
Jul 12, 2021•18 min
On July 10, 2020, moments after congressmen voted to reject ABS-CBN’s application for a new broadcast franchise, one congressman wanted to make the decision even clearer. Yes, congressmen, led by then Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, had indeed “killed” the franchise bill although the legislative euphemism was “laid on the table.” But even the pejorative preferred so condescendingly by certain congressmen was probably inadequate. Because what took place that afternoon in the halls of con...
Jul 10, 2021•54 min
Almost five ago, the Philippines did what many perhaps thought was unthinkable — we scored a historic legal victory over mighty China. the significance of the ruling by the permanent court of arbitration cannot be overemphasized. Yes, it didn’t settle the territorial dispute between Manila and Beijing because that’s not within its jurisdiction. But it clarified the status of features in the disputed Spratlys including maritime entitlements under international law. Now, it’s just a matter o...
Jul 09, 2021•31 min
Vote buying - it’s wrong, it’s illegal, and we have strict laws against it. But it's been staple in any election cycle in the Philippines. And based on stories on the ground, and even from candidates themselves it’s only getting worse. With the price of vote increasing, election campaigns also become even more expensive. And how do you think winning candidates will eventually recoup such huge expenses? It’s a vicious cycle and we can’t really blame those who have gone cyn...
Jul 09, 2021•48 min
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been branded as a 'Press Freedom Predator' by international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders. Duterte joined 36 other world leaders who crack down massively on press freedom. The list includes Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un, and Hong Kong's Carrie Lam. Reporters Without Borders cited the Philippine Daily Inquirer, ABS-CBN and Rappler as Duterte's favorite targets. It also said, Duter...
Jul 08, 2021•29 min
Last week, a newspaper column by retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio recalled how two factions within the Aquino administration allegedly fought 'from the beginning to the end' on the arbitration case against China in 2013. One faction wanted to proceed with the case and the other did not — at least, according to Carpio. The two groups were likewise 'bitterly divided' over the issue Itu Aba, a largest natural feature in the Spratlys. Should it be among the issues t...
Jul 06, 2021•40 min
Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao is set to fight a bigger, younger, and undefeated American welterweight next month in what could be his final bout in case he runs and wins for president in the 2022 elections. But here at home, the senator has been getting quite a beating as well in the political arena where he’s clearly nowhere near his veteran smarts as a boxing legend. Worse, the punches are coming from the chairman of his own party— President Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte has been repeatedly attac...
Jul 05, 2021•53 min
In May next year, we will go out and vote for our next president. The importance of this election cannot be overemphasized. We’re all reeling from the pandemic which has exposed both the weaknesses of our health care system and the incompetence of our leaders. So if we all want change, we have to start with the ballot. But how much do voters really know about the candidates to make an informed decision on election day? How many of them are deeply familiar with issues that matter? How...
Jul 05, 2021•54 min
It began with the president attacking his own party-mate at his regular public address earlier this week, Duterte threw some wild punches at Senator Manny Pacquiao, who happens to be the acting president of his own PDP-Laban party. The president was ticked off by something Pacquiao allegedly said—his government is “three times” more corrupt than previous administrations. We’re not sure if Pacquiao had indeed said such a thing. But the president was furious just the same — remember this was...
Jul 02, 2021•47 min
They say that if you don’t like the way our country is being run today, go out, vote smart, and pick new leaders in 2022. This is the right thing to do but not as easy — or cute — as it sounds. Because before one can even cast his ballot, a lot of factors come into play and ultimately influence the outcome. It’s basically money — that, which provides politicians a strong grip on voter behavior regardless of whether he performs once in public office. worse, it allow political clans to...
Jul 02, 2021•44 min
A new study by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism has revealed some interesting if not, alarming data about how we consume news here in the Philippines. Overall, more Filipinos trust their news - that’s 32 percent of the online respondents included in the Philippine version of the study done by journalist and educator Yvonne Chua. But this overall trust in the news media was still below the global average of 44 percent. Trust in ABS-CBN and Rappler also dropped by 4 pe...
Jun 29, 2021•47 min
Tributes have been pouring in since former President Benigno Aquino III died of a kidney disease on June 24. He was remembered for many things: a leader who stabilized the Philippine economy, his campaign against corruption, his quest for lasting peace in Mindanao. But he’s also remembered for doing what was perhaps seen as unthinkable back in 2013 — he brought mighty China to court over rampant violations of philippine sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone. The landmark decision...
Jun 28, 2021•45 min
He went by the name “PNoy” shortly after winning the presidency in 2010. Skeptics could have easily dismissed the monicker as the product of some carefully crafted public image — apt and easy to sell, easy to remember. But as his years in Malacañang would later show, it was an embodiment of the kind of leader he was or at least, aspired to be — one who didn’t tolerate abuses, one who aspired for something greater for the Filipino. For a time, his catchphrases — “kayo ang boss ko” and...
Jun 25, 2021•48 min
Not long ago, the Liberal Party was the ruling party, attracting politicians from different directions, during the presidency of Benigno Aquino III. The “Yellow fever” was back though not as popular as it was shortly after the 1986 EDSA Revolution. But as we know, alliances can be fickle shifting as conveniently as they are formed in our fractured political system here in the Philippines. So when Aquino’s candidate lost in the 2010 presidential election, the Liberal Party lost ...
Jun 24, 2021•49 min
Last week, we heard mixed signals from top government officials regarding face shields. According to Senate President Vicente Sotto III, President Duterte had agreed that face shields should be required only in hospitals — quite a relief for people forced to wear them even outdoors. Malacańang later confirmed that the president had indeed said this. But Palace Spokesman Harry Roque also said we should await “further actions” from an Inter-Agency Task Force, which, as we know, takes its cue...
Jun 23, 2021•50 min
Last week, a police anti-drug operation in Biñan city, Laguna took the life of 16-year-old boy Johndy Maglinte Helis and his companion. The two allegedly exchanged fire with police, a familiar case of “nanlaban,” similar to thousands of killings under President Duterte’s drug war. But initial media reports were quite disturbing if true. Citing witness accounts, they claimed there was no shootout. instead, the boy was handcuffed, dragged in the mud, then shot dead. The incident brought back...
Jun 23, 2021•50 min
