(MindaNews / 19 May) — The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism predicted that about 24 political dynasties were seeking to occupy at least five posts each in the election. According to Dean Julio Teehankee, “If you exceed 4 or 5,
MindaNews / 5 May — “The inclusion of election surveys in the list of items regulated by the Fair Election Act is a recognition that election surveys are not a mere descriptive aggregation of data. Publishing surveys are a means
(MindaNews / 21 April) – The story goes like this. My ancestor, Yu Sing Co, left China to find his fortunes in the Philippines. He arrived by boat in the early 20th century as American colonizers were settling in. He
(MindaNews / 07 April) – The top general of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Romeo Brawner Jr., recently caused alarm, and a little bit of scandal, with this statement addressed to our soldiers in the Northern Luzon Command
(MindaNews / 23 March) — Several national broadsheets have opted to serve as just another public relations tool of traditional politicians or tradpols, ignoring the fact that the money paid to them will be reimbursed from the hard-earned contributions of
(MindaNews / 10 March) – Do not be fooled by the suggestion that a political dynasty is acceptable if it “serves the people.” This is utter rubbish. Political dynasties are inherently undemocratic and therefore can never be normalized. Once in
MELBOURNE, Australia (MindaNews / 24 Feb) — President Bongbong Marcos certified as urgent the bills postponing the first regional parliamentary election in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Begging the question, is there a calamity or emergency in
According to Vice-President Sara Duterte, House Speaker Martin Romualdez is still bent on revising the 1987 Constitution to shift to a parliamentary system of government and then maneuver his way to be voted by the first elected parliament as the
“There is growing evidence that disinformation tends to thrive where human rights are constrained, where the public information regime is not robust and where media quality, diversity and independence is weak. Conversely, where freedom of opinion and expression is protected,
(MindaNews / 16 December) – A couple of months ago, I had the privilege to spend a week in Japan to do a series of seminar lectures in the Graduate School of Law and the Law School of Hitotsubashi University.
(MindaNews / 02 December) – I have been critical about inquiries in both the Senate and House of Representatives that are advertised as “in aid of legislation.” On the superficial level, the lawmakers running the show seem to be always
According to a paper published in 2022 by The Royal United Services Institute entitled, Malign Interference in Southeast Asia, the following are potential avenues for malign foreign interference: Notably, our government still has no specific and direct way to address
The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established pursuant to the Rome Statute, which is technically a global treaty. Acceding to the Rome Statute represented our commitment to the international community. According to the ICC website, the ICC “aims to hold
As the midterm election draws near, an old saying comes to mind, “Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan.” I am reminded of a passage from one of the works of Jose Rizal, The Indolence of
Constitutional rot is the steady erosion of constitutional norms. According to Professor Jack Balkin, Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment of Yale Law School, “it is the process through which a constitutional system becomes less democratic and
Vice-President Sara Duterte received a lot of criticism when she travelled to Germany as the country was being battered by Typhoon Carina. The fact that this trip was scheduled way ahead of time and approved by the Office of the
MELBOURNE, Australia (MindaNews / 15 July)—According to the Official Gazette website, the State of the Nation Address or SONA is the once-a-year event when our President faces a joint session of Congress. Notably, the SONA is one of only four
MELBOURNE, Australia (MindaNews / 1 July)—In the peculiar case of Falcis vs. Civil Registrar General, the Supreme Court explained that, “The basic democratic foundation of our constitutional order necessarily means that all organs of government, and even the People, read
(MindaNews / 17 June) — Social media was abuzz with criticisms of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos’ Memorandum Circular No. 52 requiring “all national government agencies and instrumentalities, including GOCCs and educational institutions, such as SUCs,…to integrate the recital of the
Congress, both the Senate and the House of Representatives, was envisioned to be the house of the people. Our house! It is supposed to be the tangible manifestation of the Philippines as a “democratic and republic state” as declared in
(MindaNews / 20 May) – Let us be technical about this matter first and foremost. The legislative power to conduct investigations in aid of legislation is conferred by Article VI, Section 21 of the 1987 Constitution, to wit: “SECTION 21.
MELBOURNE, Australia (MindaNews / 06 May) – The Editor-in-Chief of The Philippine Times invited me to join him to cover the Filipino community’s reception of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. held last March 5 at the Melbourne Town Hall. I
MINDAVIEWS MELBOURNE, Australia (MindaNews / 22 April)—As a democratic nation, we consciously endeavor to establish meaningful relations with other states. Our Constitution mandates adherence “to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations.” But it
The issuance of Executive Order No. 57 (series of 2024), renaming and reconstituting the National Coast Watch Council to the National Maritime Council, highlights the critical importance of our maritime security. Given our troubles in the West Philippine Sea, consolidating
MELBOURNE, Australia (MindaNews / 28 March)—Multiple actors are now contributing towards reclaiming our historical sobriquet, “Pearl of the Orient Seas.” For instance, several civil society organizations (CSOs)—Oceana Philippines and Blue Alliance Philippines, just to name a few—have been actively raising
(MindaNews / 22 November) — Section 3, Article I of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) provides, “The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region shall have a parliamentary form of government.” The specifics of this parliamentary structure are found in Article VII of the
MELBOURNE (MindaNews / 11 June) — The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or BARMM has been described as a “radical transformation” from its predecessor, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The former is a creation of Republic Act
It cannot be emphasized enough that for the newly organized Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) the path ahead is extremely challenging. Right up there in the BTA’s challenging to-do-list is the familiarization of the entire Bangsamoro community to the concept of
The BOL is essentially an overhaul of the current regional autonomy framework and without a doubt the transition will be extremely challenging. Needless to say, the newly organized Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) faces a gruelling path ahead.
The 1987 Constitution is considered one of the most enduring constitutions in the world because it has stood for almost 32 years without any amendment. This is an odd quality considering that most constitutional scholars will agree that a constitution
The implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) will face many challenges, both legal and practical. But I believe the entire country is rallying behind this landmark law because many are hoping that this new shot at regional autonomy will
MELBOURNE, Australia (MindaNews / 18 May) – Anomalies in our constitutional order were highlighted by the recent Supreme Court decision on the quo warranto petition against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. One of which is the fragility of our system
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 6 Apr) – The Consultative Committee organized by President Rodrigo Duterte is presently designing a federal structure for the country which he plans to announce in his State of the Nation address in July. In this
MELBOURNE (MindaNews / 18 March) — With the overhaul of our entire political system now underway, I am reminded of a question posed by Gregorio J. Tingson, then Chairman of the Committee on Preamble, National Territory, and Declaration of Principles
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews/06 November) — The big surge in public interest over human rights in both mainstream and social media is indeed a great development. And we have the Duterte administration and the 119 lawmakers in Congress who voted to
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews/06 October) — A federal government structure is characterized by constitutionally guaranteed “self-rule” and “shared rule” mechanisms. The form of government could be presidential, semi-presidential or parliamentary, bi-cameral or unicameral, but for the governance structure to be truly
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews/11 September) — Many federalism advocates were expecting President Rodrigo Duterte to push even harder for federalism in his second State of the Nation Address. But the President could only say that this matter is something “we have
MELBOURNE, Australia (MindaNews/11 August) — The population of the Philippines by 2020 will be 110 million. More critically, the school age population (0-19 years old) of the country will be around 44 million. By 2045, the same demographic will be
MELBOURNE, Australia (MindaNews/14 July) — The Supreme Court recently upheld the constitutionality of Presidential Proclamation No. 216. Ironically, this landmark decision has been trumpeted by some government officials as the green light for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 18 June) — It is not clear from the text of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Proclamation No. 216 if martial law was designed to be an anti-terrorism response by his administration. But according to his legal counsel,
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 30 May) – According to Malacañang, Martial Law over the entire island of Mindanao will “strengthen the hand of government in dealing with terrorists”. Former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada even believes, “Martial law
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 13 May) – The controversy over the number of deaths being linked to the War on Drugs is explosive. But the process of determining who should be accountable for them is utterly vitriolic. In fact, for
MELBOURNE (MindaNews / 02 April) — In the eyes of society, all criminals are vile villains. This is a bitter fact of life that has numbed many in the country to the brutality of the War on Drugs. But silence
MELBOURNE, Australia (MindaNews/17 March) — The United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development identified food security as an extremely urgent global priority. But truth be told, this matter is particularly more critical for the Philippines. It was just a year
