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DETAINED Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Monday called the approval of the final version of the Senate bill on the country’s baseline a “sell-out.” The Senate approved the bicameral conference committee report classifying Scarborough Shoal and the Kalayaan Island Groups as a “regime of islands.” In a statement, Trillanes attributed the exclusion of Scarborough Shoal

MANY governments are still in denial about people being trafficked and, worse, neglect to report or prosecute cases of modern slavery, the United Nations on Drugs and Crime said. “Many criminal justice systems belittle the seriousness of this crime,” said UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa at the Feb. 12 worldwide launching the Global Report

KIDNAPPINGS in the country have returned to an all-time high, averaging one incident every other day, an anti-crime NGO said Tuesday. The Citizens Action Against Crime recorded a dozen kidnap-for-ransom cases from Jan. 8 to Feb. 5, four of which occurred in Metro Manila and eight in Mindanao.  The figure excludes the kidnapping on Feb.

MALACANANG got its way in drawing the country’s archepelagic baseline after all. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives agreed in Monday’s bicameral conference to adopt the Palace position to treat the disputed Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) and the Scarborough Shoal as “regimes of islands of the Republic of the Philippines” instead of enclosing

THE  Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility and the National Union of Journalists have called on the Senate committee on economic affairs to withdraw its invitation to Newsbreak senior writer Aries Rufo to testify in its hearings on the World Bank ban on construction firms that have engaged in corrupt practices. The two media organizations

By ELLEN TORDESILLASPRESIDENT Arroyo is making a quick visit to the United States today, catching by surprise even Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo. Based on Arroyo’s original schedule, she should have left Milan, Italy last night for Saudi Arabia. She was expected in Bahrain today for an official visit. A naughty mind in the Palace

By IBARRA C. MATEO THE Cultural Center of the Philippines, the country’s premier cultural institution, launched Wednesday an eight-month-long series of cultural events and educational forums to mark its 40th anniversary celebration. “The CCP is the home of the most outstanding Filipino artists such as Cecile Licad, Lea Salonga, and Raul Sunico, to name a few.