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ANC After The Fact

ANC After The Fact•podcasters.spotify.com
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#ANCAfterTheFact is a no-nonsense talk show where host, veteran journalist Christian Esguerra, dissects the most important issues of the day and holds officials to account with straightforward interviews. #ANCPodcast
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Episodes

EP 101: One-on-One with Senator Francis Pangilinan

Last week, Vice President Leni Robredo made it official — after careful thought and consultation with other members of the opposition, she’s running for president in 2022. In a week full of suprises, her choice of vice presidential candidate was also quite unnexpected.  Senator Francis Pangilinan, president of the Liberal Party, was widely expected to seek reelection. but for some reason, he was picked as Robredo’s runningmate. We’ll look more closely into his candidacy and the tough road a...

Oct 11, 2021•28 min

EP 100: Is Dela Rosa warming seat for Sara Duterte presidential bid?

The last day of the filing of Certificates of Candidacy brought a few surprises.  Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa running for president at the last minute representing a faction of the ruling PDP-Laban Party. Dela Rosa, of course, was not the administration candidate many had been expecting. But the president’s daughter made it clear again that she’s seeking reelection as Davao City mayor.  Nut with substitution still allowed by November 15, Dela Rosa is widely expected as a seat warme...

Oct 11, 2021•41 min

EP 99: Vice President Robredo files candidacy for president

Vice President Leni Robredo is running for president in 2022 ending months of hopeful anticipation among supporters who believe the Philippines can no longer endure and does not deserve six more years of a Duterte-like governance. The other goal, of course, is to defeat the son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos who is also gunning for the presidency.   In a speech before she filed her certificate of candidacy, Robredo made clear her will is strong to take up the challenge. She also aske...

Oct 08, 2021•38 min

EP 98: Why the PH party-list system is prone to abuse

Earlier today, a former senator caused quite a stir for seeking to represent midwives in next year’s party-list elections. Online, people were quick to criticize to ridicule lawyer Jose Lina, who’s also a former Laguna Province Governor and Interior Secretary. “Komadrona ba sya? Nakapagpa-anak na ba sya?” Lina happens to be the principal author of Philippine Midwifery Act of 1992. But it didn’t placate those who felt that the party-list system was being abused. Of course, we’ve seen really bad e...

Oct 06, 2021•34 min

EP 97: Former PH Dictator's Son Running for President

Earlier today, the son of the former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos announced that he’s running for president in 2022. The recorded video announcement was short Marcos Junior promising to bring back a “unifying leadership” to this country which his father ruled with an iron fist for most of his 20-year regime and based on official records and court decisions a nation plundered by the family and its cronies worth billions of dollars. So, why should Filipinos today vote for Ferdinand “Bongbo...

Oct 05, 2021•31 min

EP 96: PH Justice Dept: More than 150 cops under probe over drug war

Over the weekend, the Philippine Department of Justice announced that more than 150 police officers could be held criminally liable over abuses in the government’s drug war. But these officers tagged in a total of 52 cases will still be investigated presumably by the National Bureau of Investigation.  When the investigation would be completed and whether charges would be filed — and whether cases  would lead to convictions — all still remain to be seen. In this episode we talk about th...

Oct 04, 2021•33 min

EP 95: Jinggoy Estrada seeks senate comeback

In 2019, the bitter rivalry between the sons of former President Joseph Estrada provided a colorful side story to the midterm elections that year. Jinggoy Estrada and JV Ejercito both ran for the senate despite warnings that doing so would be disastrous for both of them. True enough, both of them lost failing in their bid to return to the upper chamber.  Worse, that election also saw the end of the Estrada dynasty in san juan and the family’s control of the Philippine Capital City of Manila...

Oct 02, 2021•21 min

EP 94: 1Sambayan picks Robredo as its presidential candidate

On the eve of the filing of the certificates of candidacy, a of opposition groups known as 1Sambayan has endorsed vice president leni robredo as its presidential candidate in 2022. The goal, of course, is to beat President Duterte’s candidate and the son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.  But while Robredo thanked 1Sambayan for picking her, she made it clear that deciding to run for president shouldn’t be based on one’s ambition or the prodding of others.  Instead, she asked her s...

Oct 02, 2021•18 min

EP 92: House probe in defense of Pharmally?

Senators investigating the government’s multi-billion-peso supply deals with Pharmally have been heavily criticized by President Duterte.  Recently, he likened the Blue Ribbon Committee’s treatment of an evasive Pharmally official to Martial Law on top,  of course, of previous insults he unleased against certain senators.  But from the other side of the bicameral chamber, senators are also getting some heavy criticism from their congressional colleagues.  The hearings, accord...

Sep 28, 2021•36 min

EP 91: Pacquiao in unity talks with 1Sambayan

Last week, Senator Manny Pacquiao sat down with leaders of the 1Sambayan coalition to discuss efforts to unify the opposition against President Duterte’s candidate in 2022. Pacquiao had already declared his candidacy for president and it’s the coalition that is yet to name its standard-bearer. Many of its members are waiting for Vice President Leni Robredo to run for president. But she herself is open to giving way to another aspirant with a better chance of defeating Duterte’s candidate or prev...

Sep 28, 2021•33 min

EP 90: Bongbong Marcos for president?

The party founded by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos has named his son and namesake as its standard-bearer in next year’s presidential election. In a recorded message, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. thanked his supporters. but he was vague as to whether he was accepting the nomination. Deciding to run for president, he said, was something he couldn’t “rush.” Back in 2016, Bongbong Marcos ran and lost in the vice presidential election. but to many observers, it’s not a question of if — but wh...

Sep 24, 2021•43 min

EP 89: Supporters await Robredo decision on 2022 election run

Earlier this week, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno declared that he’s also running for president.  This means that as of today, there are three contenders: Moreno, Senator Panfilo Lacson, and Senator Manny Pacquiao. These same names were also being considered in efforts to unify the opposition against President Duterte’S candidate in 2022.  Does this now mean that unity talks are over? And where does this now leave Vice President Leni Robredo who up to this point is yet to decide whether to r...

Sep 24, 2021•27 min

EP 88: Manila Mayor Isko Moreno joins 2022 Presidential Race

After the Fact: Earlier today, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno officially announced he’s running for president of the Philippines next year. A trash collector growing up, Moreno has a compelling rags-to-riches backstory and a powerful campaign message of hope. If he, a poor boy who rose to become the mayor of the Philippine capital city, and now, vying for the country’s highest elective post, could do it — nothing’s impossible for the millions of poor Filipinos, suffering especially during the pandemic...

Sep 22, 2021•50 min

EP 87: Martial Law Myths and Lies

Today, most Filipinos mark 49 years since the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos placed the Philippines under Martial Law, one of the darkest episodes in our country’s history, when thousands were killed and billions of dollars in public money were stolen by Marcos and their cronies.  But in remembering and making sure that we’ll all learn important lessons from the past, accuracy is required and is most important.  In this episode we talk about this fiction long propagated by Marcos that ...

Sep 22, 2021•50 min

EP 85: What Happens If Duterte Doesn’t Cooperate With ICC Probe?

President Duterte and his allies have made it clear — his administration will not cooperate in the formal investigation into the thousands of killings under his watch. His spokesman even predicted that the case would just “sleep” without cooperation from the Philippine government.  But can this really derail the process at the International Criminal Court? Or will it only spell more bad news for president duterte… and those who helped implement his brutal drug war?

Sep 17, 2021•52 min

EP 84: Can PH govt's refusal to cooperate stall ICC's drug war probe?

Judges at the International Criminal Court have approved a formal investigation into President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, a bloody campaign that has killed thousands of people. The investigation will also cover similar killings in Judges at the International Criminal Courtfrom November 2011 until Duterte was elected president in 2016.  Duterte’s spokesman played down this important development at the ICC insisting it won’t move since his administration would not cooperate. But can a govern...

Sep 17, 2021•29 min

EP 83: Are Senators getting closer to Duterte's links to Pharmally?

President Duterte has spoken - he basically doesn’t like what’s happening in the Senate Blue Ribbon Investigation into allegedly overpriced medical equipment purchased from a company linked to his former economic adviser. But Senators are investigating anyway apparently unfazed even big threats coming from the president. Given now the inquiry has unfolded, does Duterte have anything to be afraid of? Are senators getting closer to his possible involvement in the 8.7-billion-peso deal now in quest...

Sep 15, 2021•29 min

EP 82: Duterte, senators clash over Pharmally probe

It began with a Commission on Audit report. The senators unearthed a whopping 8.7-billion-peso supply contract bagged by a company with no track record but with links to some close to President Duterte. In response, the president attacked the Blue Ribbon Committee investigation insulted senators and more recently made it clear — no cabinet official may appear in the hearings without his permission. So the question is — Does the president have a point or is he simply afraid of what the Senate whi...

Sep 14, 2021•36 min

EP 81: Duterte goes after Red Cross over Gordon Senate probe

The Senate investigation into allegedly overpriced face shields the Duterte administration has bought from a questionable company has triggered quite an interesting response from the president. Instead of cooperating or at least keeping his hands off Duterte went after the senator leading the investigation.  It so happens that Senator Richard Gordon his ally not long ago also heads the Philippine Red Cross.  So Duterte now wants to audit the Red Cross. And if the Commission on Audit re...

Sep 13, 2021•33 min