Opinion

The Philippines holds the magnetic compass when it called for a peaceful resolution of maritime disputes with China, which has been harassing the former’s vessels on humanitarian missions in the West Philippine Sea. Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said that much this week during the 2024 ASEAN-Australia summit in Melbourne where …

There appears to be a new border for China’s ambitions in Southeast Asia. The other day, the Philippine Navy, with its telescopes on the tension-filled West Philippine Sea, reported spotting two Chinese vessels “loitering” around the Philippine Rise, originally called Benham Rise, within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone and continental …

Why did it take so long for the Metro Manila Council to pass a resolution prohibiting e-bikes and e-trikes on national roads? After all, it’s been many years since these vehicles made an appearance in the metropolis and other urban centers. They competed with faster vehicles for precious road space, …

President Ferdinand Marcos has said rather clearly the Philippines will continue to defend its maritime territory which, in international law, denotes the coastal waters in immediate contact with the sea. That the 66-year-old President underlined this prior to his departure this week for Canberra, Australia, suggests the issue has now …

Now that the Commission on Elections has awarded a contract worth almost P18 billion to lease an automated election system for the 2025 midterm polls to a joint venture led by the controversial South Korean company Miru Systems Co. Ltd., the question is whether this new system will be beyond …

How do we deal with maritime issues with China in our Exclusive Economic Zone in the West Philippine Sea? That question has again surfaced after another recent incident where Chinese ships, including a China Coast Guard vessel, reportedly blocked Philippine Coast Guard vessels near Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, where the …

We heard the Climate Change Commission loud and clear when it urged Filipinos to take proactive measures against an increased El Niño activity. This chased the forecast of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s (PAGASA) of an increase in the number of provinces to be affected by the …

Rather queasy indeed, to have to read again that a regular rotational deployment by a Philippine vessel of fuel to Filipino fishermen and patrol operations in Bajo de Masinloc has been blocked and “blinded” by the Chinese Coast Guard. Bajo de Masinloc, 150 miles west of Luzon and nearly 559 …

How should the government position the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to really make a difference in the lives of the poor? As the national poverty reduction strategy and a human capital investment program that provides conditional cash transfer to qualified household-beneficiaries, it will enable poor Filipino households to meet …

Haze and worry now challenge nearly 350,000 residents of Tuba town and Baguio City in Benguet following forest fires there raging since early this month, not helped any by winds and the ferocious El Niño phenomenon. The residents – men, women and children – have been suffering from the smoke …