Editor's Pick

Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court Information Sheet

Confirmation hearings to proceed even without Duterte in court, ICC experts say

News

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By Ellen Tordesillas

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Feb 19, 2026

Update Feb. 20, 2026: ICC Pre-Trial Chamber 1 allows Duterte to skip confirmation hearings next week.“The Chamber, while acknowledging the objections of the Prosecution and the CLRV, considers that, in the present circumstances of the case, it is appropriate to proceed with the hearing on the confirmation of charges in the absence of Mr Duterte.”

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Vitaliano Aguirre’s art of comfortably lying

Commentary

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By Antonio J. Montalvan II

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Feb 18, 2026

As secretary of Justice, Aguirre announced that “The criminals, the drug lords, drug pushers, they are not humanity. They are not humanity.”

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From lawmakers to law-evaders: A Senate in crisis

Commentary

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By Tita C. Valderama

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Feb 16, 2026

A fractured Senate is a weak Senate. If leaders are busy managing internal conflict, the chamber cannot effectively serve as a check on the Marcos administration or as a counterweight to the Dutertes. Instead of focusing on laws and oversight, senators are distracted by survival

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BBM tops sycophancy branding

Commentary

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By Miguel Paolo P. Reyes

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Feb 12, 2026

Let us eat BBM rice, live in a BBM housing unit, buy medicine at a Botika at Bakuna para sa Mamamayan outlet, and get a BBM haircut. While it is unlikely that Bongbong has explicitly ordered his underlings (and their underlings) to come up with (P)BBM programs, he certainly is not discouraging them from naming things after him

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FACT CHECK Online Posts

FACT CHECK: Trillanes did NOT file a case to stop VP Sara’s presidential run

Facebook posts claiming that former senator Sonny Trillanes admitted filing a complaint against VP Sara Duterte to foil her presidential run in 2028 are false.

Bullit's Eye Multimedia

‘Duterte Panagutin’

‘Yan ang sigaw ng mga kamag-anak ng mga biktima ng extrajudicial killings noong ipinatupad ni dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ang kanyang madugong war on drugs o giyera laban sa droga, habang hinihintay nila ang confirmation hearings sa International Criminal Court sa The Hague, Netherlands.

Commentary

The Duterte drama at The Hague: Too weak to stand, but strong enough to snub

Is Duterte too frail to remember, or simply too defiant to face the music? Even his own prosecutor has described him as an “unreliable historian” of his health. He adjusts the story as needed. The “sickly” act is a shield , one that spares him the gaze of mothers and children who lost loved ones in the drug war, some of whom have traveled to The Hague seeking justice. By remaining in his cell, he preserves the tough-guy image for supporters back home.