A ‘sea of trash’ emerged after the intense rainfall. And Cabinet officials actually debated whether to call this a ‘crisis’ or not. Just like Smokey Mountain back in my day, the garbage dump is a visual reminder of our failure to address intergenerational problems. We are likely to be constantly
August 24, 2026
Everyone involved is proceeding as if it was a criminal trial, even though all would always assert that impeachment is not a criminal proceeding. The only explanation for this weird twist is that it gives the protagonists the chance to showcase their dramatic chops. Sadly, their juvenile theatrics have distracted
August 17, 2026
Defenders of free speech have consistently pushed this powerful idea: the best response to bad speech is more speech. This principle, sometimes called ‘counterspeech’, is applied to disinformation too. Falsehoods should not be censored but challenged and corrected by civil society. This approach traces its roots to the characterization of
August 10, 2026
Long before free speech was twisted into a shield for publicly threatening to kill the President and his family, Filipinos knew what genuine censorship looked like. Under Spanish rule, criticizing government invited charges of sedition. Colonial rulers feared ideas because they understood a dangerous truth: words can overthrow oppressive regimes
August 3, 2026
Every SONA reminds us that electing clowns to Congress ensures bad governance. An even harsher reminder is that electing plunderers, which we have done many times, guarantees the plunder of the public coffers. But the most stinging lesson of all is the fact that Congress represents who we are as
July 27, 2026
Australia is developing the digital duty of care principle to keep cyberspace safe and secure for all users. Rather than regulating speech directly, which many of our lawmakers are eager to do, the approach seeks to impose statutory obligations on digital platforms to identify, mitigate, and manage reasonably foreseeable online
July 20, 2026
Article II, Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution declares that: “The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.” This constitutional principle establishes the underpinning ethos of our political order. Government possesses no inherent authority of its own;
July 13, 2026
The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte is must-see political theatre. Curtains opened a few days ago with prosectors from the House of Representatives hearing mass and petitioning God for a conviction verdict. This effectively sets up the Senate to be branded as a den of demons when they
July 6, 2026
We have a burning constitutional debate in our hands. It is about the last sentence of Article XI, Section 3 (6), “No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.” Pertinently, the phrase “two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate” is
June 29, 2026
One of the most enduring ideas associated with free speech is often attributed to Voltaire: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Whether Voltaire actually wrote those exact words is contested. But this quote continues to resonate because it
June 22, 2026
How do we find the truth? We rely on institutions whose purpose is to establish facts. For instance, when a crime occurs, the police investigate. When questions remain unresolved, the courts weigh evidence, hear witnesses, and arrive at findings. None of these institutions are perfect, but they provide society with
June 15, 2026
The latest WR Numero survey reflects the “quiet contradiction” of everyday media life for millions of Filipinos. We have successfully diagnosed the existential threat of networked disinformation, but we also learned that the problem at hand is “built into the platforms people cannot afford to leave, and the habits that
May 18, 2026
