Editorial

People from around Southeast Asia used to come to the Philippines to study agriculture, including rice production. Today the country has been left behind by its neighbors notably Vietnam and Thailand in terms of agricultural output. One of the reasons is the persistent lack of farm support services, including post-harvest …

The Supreme Court’s razor-thin 9-5-1 vote denying Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s plea for a temporary restraining order against a possible International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest is a critical turning point for institutional independence in the Philippines which has long been haunted by political patronage and selective justice. At stake …

Washington’s latest proposal for a new artificial intelligence (AI) hub in New Clark City resembles an extraterritorial arrangement. The United States (US) is asking Manila to grant diplomatic immunity and US common law jurisdiction to the 1,600-hectare industrial zone—an unprecedented request. Philippine agencies, led by the Bases Conversion and Development …

Two officers of the Philippine National Police were relieved from their posts amid accusations that they were facilitating possible settlements between relatives of some of the missing cockfight aficionados and the PNP members accused of involvement in the disappearance. Maj. Reynaldo Pañebe Jr., who was officer-in-charge of the PNP Custodial …

Newly appointed Budget Secretary Kim Robert de Leon is making the right noises as he takes over the helm of a scandal-ridden agency. With the biggest corruption scandal to erupt in the country still unresolved, De Leon vowed this week that the government “will not allow the budget to be …

The appointment of Kim Robert C. De Leon as the new secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) comes at a time when public confidence in government spending is dangerously fragile. The lingering outrage over the flood control scandal, coupled with frustrations over delayed services, rising fuel costs, …

Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal to examine evidence of residential school human rights violations A rock with the message ‘Every Child Matters’ painted on it sits at a memorial outside the former Kamloops residential school, in Kamloops, B.C., on July 15, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)  An international tribunal investigating missing children and unmarked …

On March 12 last year, a day after former president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested and turned over to the Interpol, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa posted on Facebook that “if all legal options fail… I am ready to join the old man, hoping that they would allow me to take care …

The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte should be a defining moment for Philippine democracy, a constitutional exercise designed to test accountability at the highest levels of government. Instead, it risks becoming another chapter in the country’s escalating political turmoil fueled by factional hostility, personality cults, and public outrage …

Foreign investors watching from Singapore, Tokyo, and Brussels do not parse the internal logic of Philippine factional politics. They see institutional instability. The numbers tell one story. The streets — and the Senate floor — tell another. In the first quarter of 2026, foreign investment pledges to the Philippines rose …