While Duterteโs massive confidential fund controversy dominates headlines and impeachment proceedings, a quieter system operates nationwide. Governors, mayors and local officials manage their own โblack boxโ intelligence funds โ shielded from rigorous audits โ raising the same questions of accountability…
House Urged To Probe Alleged โWeaponizationโ Of BIR Audit Orders
MANILA, Philippines โ A ranking lawmaker is pushing for a House of Representatives investigation into alarming allegations of corruption within the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). The lawmaker particularly cited the misuse and โweaponizationโ of letters of authority (LOAs) and…
Is Local News Dead? Or Are We Killing It?
Local news isnโt dying a natural death. It is being killed slowly and methodicallyโnot by disinterest, not by digital disruption, but by a political and economic ecosystem that punishes truth-telling outside Metro Manila. For years, weโve been told that provincial…
Public Duty vs. Personal Interest โ Why PH Governance Keeps Failing the Ethics Test
Public office is supposed to be a public trust. Yet in practice, in the Philippines, it often functions like a family business, a political debt-payment system, or a personal investment portfolio. The gap between public duty and personal interest is…
Analysis: How Sara Duterte Became Marcosโ Unlikely Firewall Against an Ouster
IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay โ The political alliance that delivered one of the biggest landslide victories in Philippine history is now fractured beyond repair. In an unexpected twist, however, Vice President Sara Duterte โ once President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.โs most powerful…
Why Corruption in the Philippines Never Dies: Inside a System Built to Protect Itself
IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay โ Every new administration arrives with the same promise: to end corruption โonce and for all.โ But every administration eventually finds itself trapped in the same web โ scandals involving infrastructure, taxes, agriculture, procurement, or political influence.…
BIRโs โLetters of Authorityโ become the new cash cow, Tulfo flags: โIf DPWH has flood control, BIR has LOAโ
MANILA, Philippines โ In the long, familiar list of agencies plagued by corruption, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has long carried the reputation of being the worst offender โ thanks largely to its flood-control projects. But on…
Feature: Why the AFP is Staying Out of Any Ouster Plot Against Marcos Jr.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) today is no longer the same institution that toppled โ or attempted to topple โ presidents in the past. And that may be a good thing for our democracy. Rumors of destabilization and…
Opinion: The INC Rally is a Warning Shot โ Not a New People Power
The three-day rally of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) for โtransparency and a better democracyโ marks one of the most significant public mobilizations under the Marcos Jr. administration. It is loud, it is disciplined, and it is unmistakably political. But…
Opinion I Stop Corruption? Then Fix the System, Not Just the Scapegoats
โStop corruption; fix the system now.โ Itโs the kind of headline youโve seen before, the kind that makes you sigh because you know itโs true โ and you know youโve heard it too many times. But this time, the cry…
2 Mindanao provinces among Philippinesโ most flood-prone areas
Maguindanao and North Cotabato have been named among the 10 most flood-prone provinces in the country, according to data presented by Malacaรฑang on Monday, August 11. The disclosure came as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. rolled out sumbongsapangulo.ph, a public website…
