Archive - Editor's Pick

By MIA GOMEZ and JOHANNA SON BANGKOK – It’s been 10 years since civil society groups in ASEAN started having annual interactions with ASEAN leaders, including face-to-face meetings at summits. But beyond making news headlines, how effective have these been in influencing ASEAN’s work or its member states’ policies? How can engagement with ASEAN be

By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS THE ghost of Jaqueline Hamill must have come back to haunt Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte for disrespecting her even when she was dead after having been gang raped twenty years ago. Duterte refused to apologize over his statement captured in a 1989 video where he was regaling the audience about

    By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS NOW that more and more persons with credibility (among them Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV during the vice-presidential debate and much earlier former senator and now senatorial candidate Panfilo “Ping” Lacson) are questioning the sanity of his claim that he can rid the country of criminals, drug dealers and corrupt

      By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS  DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s proposed solution to the South China territorial conflict would make thrilling action-packed movie scene. In a speech before travel executives at the MOA-SMX last Friday (and in all his rally speches) Duterte said, “I will ask the Navy to bring me to the

THE disability sector breathed a sigh of relief when news broke in late March that President Benigno Simeon Aquino III had finally signed into law the bill exempting persons with disabilities (PWDs) from the value-added tax (VAT). For advocates, the enactment of Republic Act 10754 had been one nerve-wracking wait. Congress had already passed the

By JAKE SORIANO DURING the CNN-sponsored vice presidential debate Sunday, five of the six candidates talked about their proposed plans to achieve lasting peace in Mindanao. No one mentioned how they and their running mates intend to implement the peace agreements already signed by the Philippine government. Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. proposed to “continue” the peace

By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS DO we still have a President? More than 20 Filipinos died Saturday in a clash between government forces and the terrorist group Abu Sayaf in Barangay Baguindan Tipo-Tipo in Basilan. And there’s not a word from the commander-in-chief of the   country’s Armed Forces. As I was writing this piece at 5

   (Lumabas itong kolum sa Abante: www.abante.com.ph)  Ni ELLEN T.TORDESILLAS KAYA si Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte ay mura ng mura dahil gustong-gusto yan ng mga tagahanga niya. Mas malutong ang “Putang Ina” mas malakas ang palakpak. Nang sinundan namin ang kanyang rally noong Biyernes sa Parañaque, Las Piñas at Muntinlupa, nabingi ako sa santambak

By MARIA FEONA IMPERIAL VOTING by almost 1.38 million registered overseas Filipinos starts on Saturday, but the Department of Foreign Affairs has not deployed vote-counting machines (VCMs) to several countries because they still have to be reconfigured to print vote receipts. Last-minute adjustments being done on the VCMs to comply with the Supreme Court’s order

    By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS   CHINA has started the operations of a lighthouse in Subi Reef, The Chinese news agency Xinhua reported Tuesday. Xinhua said the 55-meter high lighthouse contains technology to monitor passing ships. The Philippines should be very concerned. Subi Reef is the nearest China- occupied feature in the disputed Spratlys

Thanks to KilaBalita for the above video and photo below. By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS THIS Governor Emmylou Talino-Mendoza of Cotabato is really something. I saw her on TV being interviewed on the bloody dispersal of the farmers rally in Kidapawan where at least two people died and many were injured and she expressed no sympathy.

                           By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS WHEN it was reported that voters could cast their votes in shopping malls this coming elections,  I thought it was a good idea. It’s like going to mass in a mall and proceed to the grocery and shopping