Archive - Commentary

Whoever loses in the May 9 elections for President will have a hard time accepting defeat, but for very different reasons.

Three candidates – Lacson, Moreno and Gonzales – tried to dictate their will in the upcoming presidential race from the opulent perch of their press conference at the plush Manila Peninsula Hotel over the weekend. How can these three candidates, haunted by shady and fraudulent credentials, have the moral ascendancy to prescribe which candidate should run and who should withdraw?

Drilon's intent may have been good, for the purpose of eliminating fake accounts and trolls on the internet. However, it needs to be fleshed out thoroughly.

Vice President Leni Robredo was the elephant in Manila Peninsula’s Rigodon Ballroom in the early part of three other presidential candidates’ Easter Sunday press conference, and it seemed that they could not quite bring themselves to identify her.

I speak as a layperson who has studied Catholic theology and catechism.

From the time he assumed the presidency in 2016 until now that he is about to finish his six-year term, President Rodrigo Duterte has consistently criticized the party-list system, saying it has been abused, particularly by rich politicians, who have managed to stay in power through this mechanism.

There are ten candidates for president of the Philippines, including one who refuses to attend debates as a matter of calibrated packaging and four who should have been declared as nuisance candidates.

Rigoberto Tiglao strikes again.

At the proclamation rally last month of boxing champ-turned-presidential aspirant Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao, his mother, Dionisia, said in jest that she was worried her son would run out of money after the campaign because he has been giving it away.

The May 9 election for President of the Philippines is going to be a historic one, one way or the other.

​ What vested interest does China have in the forthcoming presidential elections?

She and her husband call President Duterte “ninong” (godfather).

President Rodrigo Duterte seems to be longing for attention. He will be giving up the presidency in three and a half months and the awesome powers that go with it. He is quacking like a lame duck even before his successor is elected.

It’s been years since I’ve attended a political rally, and more than a decade since I attended one for a presidential candidate. But I found myself with a ringside seat at the UniTeam’s Barotac Nuevo (Iloilo) rally thanks to Dr Ferjenel Biron, an ex- and returning congressman and the political leader and kingpin of the 4th District of Iloilo.

The sect also goes by another name, Ina Poon Bato Simbahang Naglalakbay.

As the world moves ahead to mark International Women’s Day, the clock on women’s rights is moving backwards. All of us are paying the price.

Muhammad Ali, arguably, was the best boxer of all time. For my generation at least. Not only could he “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee”, he was, as he was always boasting, “pretty” - while opponents like Joe Frazier were “ugly”.

Candidates in the May 9 national and local elections should take a cue from President Rodrigo Duterte and forget about federalism. Duterte said Filipinos are "not enamored" with the idea of changing the current presidential form of government.

We continually ask that question in earnest, because even her detractors cannot answer it objectively.

One of the most pointed attacks being levied against the leading candidate for president is one word: Magnanakaw (Thief).

The arrest last Friday of Dr. Ma. Natividad Castro sends shivers down the spine of many who experienced martial law. It is something that should not be happening in a democracy, particularly under an administration that claims that the justice system is well in place and working.

Six years ago, under the aegis of the Comelec, three presidential debates were held to allow the electorate to make informed judgments of their choices.

It has happened not just once but twice already that the Marcos camp knew about the decisions of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) ahead of the public, fueling speculations that it is getting insider information pertaining to the petitions against presidential aspirant Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

I had tried very much to understand where Aimee Ferolino Ampoloquio was coming from.

The truth is, the bicameral report provides less strict policies and a step back on existing regulations.

When a candidate promises to build more infrastructure and provide funds for livelihood and small businesses if elected, he or she must tell voters where he or she would get the money for these.

It was a baptism of fire that not only tested her mettle, but ultimately changed the political equation in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental.

If we are to believe the surveys, it appears that Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo's agenda for people living in the laylayan (fringe) of society has yet to have considerable impact on the targeted population segment.

Just a day after Jessica Soho made a big splash in her brand of presidential interviews on Jan. 22 over Channel 7, Boy Abunda followed with his own concept of presidential encounters on Jan. 24 onwards on his YouTube channel.

How many of you have given this a thought: what would you have asked the presidential candidates had you been in the shoes of Jessica Soho - or even Tito Boy Abunda, for that matter?