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Opinion

Will peace talks happen at all?

Is the projected peace talks between the Philippine government and the Maoist Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) expected to begin this year doomed to fail even before it has started? That’s a very real possibility if we’re to go by statements of the two sides. …

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Reprieve for PUV operators

There’s both good news and bad in so far as public transportation is concerned. The good news for jeepney drivers and the public is that public utility vehicle (PUV) operators who have yet to comply with the consolidation requirement under the government’s PUV modernization program will still be allowed to …

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Sympathy for the shock victims

We sympathize, as we stand in solidarity, with survivors of the Monday major earthquake that hit Japan which, like the Philippines, lies on the volatile Pacific Ring of Fire. In Japan, natural disasters occur frequently since the archipelago is along the nearly 40,000-km Ring of Fire, an area where meet …

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Common vision for peace

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 …

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Hopeful Filipinos

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 …

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Hear, hear

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 …

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Strategic partnership with Japan

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 …

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Active transport

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 …

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Be on guard

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 …

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Browbeater must be stopped

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 …

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