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  By DANA BATNAG IT WILL be a much-anticipated media event, but the filing of complaints against senators and congressmen allegedly involved in the pork barrel scam is unlikely to result in fireworks or other earthshaking political upheavals. That’s because filing a complaint with the Ombudsman is just the start of a long process—one that

By YEN BLANCO DELGADO ZAMBOANGA CITY—Residents of Zamboanga City are bracing for the worst, after the standoff between the military and the Moro National Liberation Front remained unresolved by nightfall.

  By ELLEN TORDESILLAS THE Department of Foreign Affairs issued Monday a media briefer on the China-Asean Expo (CAEXPO) but skipped the issue that President Aquino was not informed that China had canceled as early as Aug. 23 his planned attendance at the event on Sept. 3. DFA’s failure to relay China’s message to Malacañang

By ELLEN TORDESILLAS EARLY last week, President Aquino was telling everybody—from the Vietnamese defense minister  to guests at the 2013 Apolinario Mabini Awards in Malacanang—that he was pushing through with his Sept. 3 visit to China. The media reported the trip on Wednesday, and quoted the President saying, “Bibiyahe ho tayo next week. Mahaba hong

By JONATHAN DE SANTOS THE rallyists had their own calls and campaigns and clung to their own advocacies, but for a few hours at least, they were united in calling for the abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund and the prosecution of lawmakers and individuals involved in the allocation of public money to fake

By ELLEN TORDESILLAS  ALLEGED big-time pork barrel operator Janet Lim-Napoles has close ties with a Malacañang consultant whom President Benigno Aquino III ordered fired as soon as he discovered the connection two weeks ago. Brian Raymund Yamsuan, consultant to Executive Secretary Paquito “Jojo” Ochoa, was ordered dismissed after he was mentioned as having brokered Napoles’

By YVONNE T.  CHUA PRESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III announced Friday his administration is set to “abolish” the infamous Priority Development Assistance Fund, or PDAF.  But “pork barrel,” in reality, is staying. In Aquino’s own words, legislators will retain the discretion to “identify and suggest projects” for their districts under a new mechanism the budget

By LUZ RIMBAN THE  tape recording starts with the sound of the plane landing and people talking among themselves. “Everybody remains on board,” one of them says. Moments later, a single gunshot rings out and women are wailing. “What happened? What was that?” a woman’s voice asks. More gunshots. The wailing becomes louder. Then an

Slideshow by LUIS LIWANAG PORTIONS of Roxas District in Quezon City have again gone under water as relentless rain brought on by typhoon “Maring” and the monsoon caused the San Juan River to overflow. Like in the previous great deluges in 2009 (“Ondoy”) and last year (the monsoon or “habagat”), floodwaters reached chest to one-story

By TESSA JAMANDRE PRESIDENT Aquino is going on a one-day trip to China on Sept. 3 in what is seen as an effort to end strained relations with China triggered by the standoff in Bajo de Masinloc in April last year. The President has accepted China’s invitation to attend the 10th ASEAN-China Expo (CAEXPO) to

By JOHNNA VILLAVIRAY  GIOLAGON THE new accord being negotiated by the Philippines and the United States on increased American presence in the country will be covered by an executive agreement and will not be subjected to a Senate ratification. “We are looking at this agreement to be between the Department of National Defense and the

By ELLEN TORDESILLAS THE Aquino government  will announce tomorrow the start of the talks with the United States on providing increased access by American military personnel to Philippine facilities. The briefing to be conducted by  Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin will be held tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.  at the Patio