An alliance has been formed by those against the Duterte administration. It is composed of Yellowtards and former Cabinet members during the time of BS Aquino.
The group is called Tindig Pilipinas. It is supposed to be against tyranny.
And then there is Tapang at Malasakit, formed by presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.
They really have drawn the line, haven’t they?
This division of the people is dangerous. We are now defined by whether we are for or against one man.
As an opinion writer and observer of political events, I am neither for nor against President Duterte. When I believe he is doing right for the country, I support him. When I believe he is not, I don’t.
I think loyalty (or animosity) toward one person brings us to the road to perdition.
For those of us who live in a democratic space, there is need for assent and dissent because this is enshrined in the Constitution.
In my column yesterday, I bewailed the fact that we have become a truly troubled nation. The fact that we are also divided spells our doom.
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President Duterte may dismiss or ignore what the European Union Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy to the World. But since we continue to trade with and maintain bilateral relations with them, their findings on the war on drugs cannot be set aside.
The EU report said that despite positive developments in some areas, the human rights situation in the Philippines in the second half of 2016 worsened considerably.
The EU noted the worsened culture of impunity by the Duterte administration in connection with the war against illegal drugs.
The report also said that various problems remain and some key legislative measures were not acted upon.
Mr. Duterte may ignore what the EU is saying, and even threaten that he would no longer accept any help from it, but he cannot escape the fact that we still have diplomatic and trade relations with the bloc.
The Department of Transportation has finally filed graft charges against former Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya for entering into an anonymous deal that proved to be a disadvantage to the government and a daily scourge for hundreds of thousands of commuters every day.
While it was Busan joint venture was the one that won the bid, the entity that actually performed the work and collected payments was BURI.
The notice of award was issued to Busan JV on Dec. 28, 2015. Soon after, the assistant secretary for procurement and Bids and Awards Committee chairperson Camille Alcaraz asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to facilitate the registration of a special purpose company. BURI was incorporated Jan. 4, 2016.
That definitely constituted conspiracy.
Santa Banana, it’s clear that the respondents made a pile on the deal!
What goes around, comes around—this is all I can say to Abaya!
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President Duterte vowed to step down once the federal system of government is installed. This should be taken seriously.
I say this because there are two dangers to a federal system: The proliferation of political dynasties and the allocation of regions.
Tribalism is most prevalent in Mindanao. One group cannot get along with another.
I believe in a parliamentary system of government, but federalism?
When Mr. Duterte says he would step down once a federal system is in place, perhaps he knows something we did not.
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Malacañang said the resignation of Commission on Elections chairman Andres Bautista should take effect immediately. It renders the impeachment case against him moot and academic.
It’s good and bad for Bautista. Good because he would have time to concentrate on his defense. It’s bad because impeachment is a political exercise and the accused does not need to be proven guilty.
At least there will be one less distraction for the Senate.
