Try
The exhumation, part of the process of healing for the relatives of the victims of extra-judicial killings during the war on drugs waged by the government of former president Rodrigo Duterte, was doubly significant at it transpired a week before the confirmation of hearings of Duterte and his co-perpetrators at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands on Feb. 23.
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
Notably, the panel of ICC-chosen medical experts included a section titled “Concerning Reliability,” which Kaufman objected to. In it, the chamber noted that the panel unanimously agreed that “Mr Duterte is an unreliable historian concerning his health and mental functions” and that “Mr Duterte’s complaints of memory difficulty and apparent impaired performance on assessment are disproportionate to his observed abilities at interview.”That is a polite way of saying Duterte’s words cannot be taken at face value—hardly news to Filipinos.
In the end, the question is not merely whether Sara Duterte can run in 2028. It is whether the country is prepared to confront the tension between political power and legal accountability, and what it means when the two collide long before a single vote is cast.
Accountability remains essential. Allegations of abuse of power or misuse of public funds must be investigated, regardless of who is involved. But when political conflict overshadows governance, the public interest suffers.
State-related violence remains widespread in the last month of 2025. Certain regions, such as Eastern Visayas and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, have become consistent hotspots of state-related violence.
Sen. Ping Lacson: Your noise will not silence the truth; neither does it provide any help in our investigation. Your noise cannot convict – and won’t even indict the malefactors in this flood control mess. Only evidence does.
When Chinese vessels continue to challenge Philippine maritime rights, block resupply missions, and assert claims rejected by international law, easing entry requirements risks being read not as confidence but concession.
Chavit's hand behind the complaint will probably be a factor that will spell its doom. But it is the presence of Paras and Defensor that makes this complaint farcical. Farce has always been their cottage industry.
In cases of this scale, attempts to muddy the record are not incidental. They are a predictable response by those with the most to lose. Confusion over affidavits, timelines and sworn statements can slow investigations, weaken cases and erode public confidence long before any issue reaches a courtroom.
