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(Second of two parts) Since the Philippines regained its independence on July 4, 1946, those who were elected president accepted the death penalty as a matter of course. Except for Manuel Acuña Roxas, Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, and Ramos, all the other presidents reckoned with the fate of convicts up for execution. The telephone in the execution chamber supposedly with a direct line to Malacañang came to symbolize the looming power of the president over a convict’s life. The president at the very last minute could order a reprieve or commute a sentence.

(First of two parts) A few minutes into his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 22, 2019, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte asked Congress “to reinstate the death penalty for heinous crimes related to drugs, as well as plunder.” It was the second SONA in which Duterte asked Congress to reimpose capital punishment. In 2017, he asked Congress “to act on all pending legislations to reimpose the death penalty on heinous crimes.” He linked then the restoration of the death penalty to his effort “to completely eradicate the menace of illegal drugs, criminality and corruption.”

To combat new forms of disinformation and propaganda that circulated on social media during the Philippine elections in May, three academics who studied the midterm polls suggest transparency in digital campaign spending in the 2022 electoral exercise.

Supporters of Vice President Leni Robredo and 37 others accused in the sedition complaint filed by the Philippine National Police - Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) trooped in front of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Aug. 9 to call for the dropping of the case which they said is “politically motivated.”

Former Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque falsely claimed that the 10 patrol vessels purchased from Japan intended to improve the country’s maritime security were acquired by President Rodrigo Duterte.

"President Rodrigo Duterte’s government has ramped up its campaign of ‘red-tagging’ rights activists, including land and environmental defenders, as communist sympathizers, terrorists or supporters of a group of armed insurgents called the New People’s Army (NPA),” said Global Witness

The Seat Belt Law is 20 years old today but just by looking around, one finds that buckling up is still not a voluntary act among passengers and even drivers.

Neophyte Sen. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go continues to proclaim President Rodrigo Duterte’s total commitment to rid the government of corruption but always sidesteps the inconsistencies in the administration's supposed all-out campaign against graft and corruption.

“What we are trying to avoid is the normalization of measures reserved for extraordinary cases concerning national safety,” CHR Spokesperson Jacqueline Ann de Guia said.

In his fourth State of the Nation Address, President Rodrigo Duterte wrongly claimed that the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) is the biggest commercial bank in the country and that is has no programs that finance the agriculture sector.

It's photoshopped.

Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar is wrong in saying that Iceland has no diplomatic representation in the Philippines.

The hoax used the same photo featured in another fake quote card.

It’s a hoax.

The online post is spurious.

Outgoing Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol is wrong in saying that there were no major issues against him when he was head of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

President Rodrigo Duterte made three wrong claims when he said China is in possession of the entire West Philippine Sea, and that the Philippines lost the entire Spratly islands to China in a standoff during the previous administration.

It's not providing the Philippines internet services anytime soon.

The history of the death penalty in the Philippines in the 20th century is the history of the state’s pursuit to clinically execute convicts. The political leaders may all have wanted to act tough on criminals, yet, in the execution chamber, the functionaries of the state went to great lengths to relieve or mask the pain for the convict in the course of an execution. They did not always succeed.

A week after assuming office, neophyte senators Christopher “Bong” Go and Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa proposed the reinstatement of the death penalty through Senate Bills (SB) 207 and 226, respectively. Two incumbent senators refiled what they had proposed before: Ping Lacson sent in SB 27, Manny Pacquiao SB 189.

Speeding vehicles kill.

How does cancelation or suspension of classes happen? Who are authorized to decide on this and make announcements? Can universities ignore suspension of classes by local government units?

Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has dismissed concerns about the Philippines’ mounting loans from China, saying they are not a “debt trap.”