Editor's Pick

Day 2 of confirmation of charges hearing: Prosecution details killings, victims warn of ‘plague of impunity’

Butuyan warns of return of Duterte impunity if ICC won’t confirm charges

News

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By By Ellen Tordesillas and Tita Valderama

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Feb 24, 2026

Joel Butuyan: Truth is the antidote to the virus of impunity, Your Honors. The victims dread a future where charges are not confirmed. It will mean that the virus of impunity will continue to spread and infect many more.

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

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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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FACT CHECK Online Posts

FACT CHECK: Photo of drug war victims’ relatives carrying expensive bags EDITED

A viral photo making rounds online claims to show relatives of drug war victims and a human rights defender carrying luxurious handbags. This is edited.

News South China Sea

10 years after arbitral award, Pinoy fishermen struggle for fishing space vs China

For fishermen in Zambales, the Philippines’ legal victory at the Arbitral Tribunal has not translated into greater access. “The 2016 ruling may have mattered at the top level, but we don’t feel it when we’re out at sea,” said Leonardo Cuaresma, who’s been fishing at Bajo de Masinloc for almost five decades and president of the New Masinloc Fishermen Association.

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.