Opinion

We are waiting for the date when the government and the country’s communist rebels will restart peace negotiations after a six-year suspension, aimed at ending 55 years of armed strife that has killed more than 40,000 people. The bloody conflict between security authorities and the New People’s Army, the military …

If you’re filled with hope as we enter a new year, you’re not alone. You’re one of the 96 percent of Filipinos – if we now have a total population of 140 million, that would mean more than 134.4 million of us – who have welcomed 2024 with optimism. That’s …

We agree wholeheartedly with a maritime expert who urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to file “an entitlement to a continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles in the West Philippines Sea.” That should be filed before a United Nations commission amid China’s aggression in claiming, under its mythical Ten-Dash Line, most …

The Marcos administration is on the right track in strengthening security cooperation with our neighbor Japan amid increased tension in the South China Sea. We have begun to enhance defense ties with Japan with the recent acquisition by the Philippine Air Force of a warning and control radar system built …

Worth waiting for by those who regularly traverse Metro Manila’s busiest thoroughfare for their daily commute is the EDSA Greenways project that will start in mid-2024 and is targeted for completion by 2027. The project seeks to promote sustainable mobility options for city dwellers by connecting upgraded pedestrian networks to …

There is a new COVID variant, classified by the Geneva-based World Health Organization as a variant of interest due to its “rapidly increasing spread.” “WHO is classifying the variant JN.1 as a separate variant of interest from the parent lineage BA.2.86 (which) was previously classified as VOI as part of …

There they go again. The Chinese state media accused the Philippines on Monday of repeatedly infringing on China’s territory in the West Philippine Sea Beijing calls its territory. The Chinese media have raised the board that Manila was spreading false information and colluding with extraterritorial forces to cause trouble. Such …

An early Christmas gift is what’s in store for an estimated 48 million poor and low-income Filipinos next year with the recent signing by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the P5.768-trillion 2024 national budget. This is definitely a pro-poor budget as it includes almost P500 billion social amelioration program or …

We heard Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo say the other day he and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a “frank and candid exchange” during their telephone conversations on issues affecting Manila and Beijing. Mr Manalo added the conversation ended – which is plain diplomatese – “with a clearer understanding of …

If both President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Speaker Martin Romualdez have indicated they are studying the option of amending the Constitution, particularly the provisions pertaining to the economy, is it a done deal? Apparently not. There’s the Senate, for one, that appears reluctant to heed calls to amend the fundamental …