Philippines Politics news API - Live news headlines from Philippines

Supported Countries - 165

Get politics headlines from Philippines with our JSON API.

🔑 Get API key for the Philippines politics News API

Country Parameter

The country paramter for the Philippines is PH.

Some example queries:

Below is the search query to fetch random 100 news-sources of Philippines.

https://newsdata.io/api/1/sources?country=ph&apikey=YOUR_API_KEY

Some of the well known sources

Live Example

This example demonstrates the HTTP request to make, and the JSON response you will receive, when you use the News API to get politics headlines from Philippines.

Politics Headlines from Philippines

https://newsdata.io/api/1/latest?country=ph&category=politics&apikey=YOUR_API_KEY

{

"status": "success",
"totalResults": 31,
-
"results": [
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "ab2c5d1c907eed5476291c0e36a80c26",
  - "title": "De Catalina: Why should we vote? (part 2)",
  - "link": "https://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/de-catalina-why-should-we-vote-part-2",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "cebu",
    - "opinion"
    ],
  - -
    "creator": [
    - "Emilio de Catalina"
    ],
  - "description": null,
  - "content": "The word democracy shows that “vote” signifies “power to rule” and “casting of vote” signifies “casting of power to rule or govern.” Suffrage is a right and duty. “Vote” can be considered a property owned by every citizen in a democratic society. If “vote” is a precious property, for the common good, then it should be treated sacredly, not as a shabby commodity sold and bought every election time, just like what Max Surban calls “oks-na-oks” in one of his songs. Vote’s sanctity must be the basis of suffrage. Vote is a right because it is our precious property. Vote is an obligation because there should be representation of, by and for the people in governing the nation. For without representation, society would be chaotic, the nation would just be like a jungle. Now, shall we sell or throw away our “vote,” a precious property of every citizen in a democratic society? If we sell our “vote” as cheap as P50 or as expensive as P2,000 or higher, then we just trample upon the precious, God-given property: the kratos. We are like a person who swaps his 10 acres of land with a tobacco pipe. We fit in what the Lord Jesus Christ says, “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces” (Mt.7:6) And if we do not cast our vote (boycott), we just consider our very kratos as a cadaver, buried in the cemetery of apathy to the nation. We are like a person who is given an investment (vote) by his master; instead of investing it to earn profit, he rather buries it in the ground (see Mt.25:24-30). Selling vote and boycott incapacitate our right to ask for a clean, smooth and honest governance. And if the elected people think they own the power to rule or govern, they just lord over the people and do just what they want to do. The owners of the power, the people, unaware of their kratos, become the abused subjects of their own power, like pork cooked by its own fat oil. “Casting of vote” must be an honest and meritorious act, done in view of the good of the people/nation. It is not contrary to the attitudes taught by religion, e.g., Christianity. Being a “Christian” and being a “citizen” of a nation are united in the one being called “man” living in a Christian and democratic society. Intrapersonal goodness (man-to-himself) is right but not enough. Interpersonal goodness (man-to-man) is right but not enough. For Christians, for example, something more is needed. Today, metapersonal consciousness (man-to-nation) seems a deficiency or destitution. A greater portion of people is indifferent or unaware of their God-given duty towards the nation. A person may adhere only to intrapersonal and interpersonal virtues. But, is not metapersonal consciousness not part in following God? Couldn’t Jesus’ words “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (Mk.12:17) be extended to mean that Jesus also recognizes the welfare of the State after the welfare of the soul? This country is proud to be the only Christian nation in Asia, yet it is one of the most politically corrupt. Why should we vote? The answer is semantically contained in the compound Greek word, demos + kratos.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-10 12:09:57",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://media.assettype.com/sunstar%2F2025-05-10%2Fngun3ged%2Fvote.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max&rect=0%2C0%2C720%2C405&w=480",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "sunstar",
  - "source_name": "Sunstar",
  - "source_priority": 170617,
  - "source_url": "https://www.sunstar.com.ph",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/sunstar.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "neutral",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 0.13,
    - "neutral": 99.73,
    - "negative": 0.14
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "ai_region": null,
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "8204e54caa3a04972b61ebd348a361ab",
  - "title": "Tell it to SunStar: Pope Leo XIV and his vision of a missionary church",
  - "link": "https://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/tell-it-to-sunstar-pope-leo-xiv-and-his-vision-of-a-missionary-church",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "cebu",
    - "opinion"
    ],
  - -
    "creator": [
    - "SunStar Cebu"
    ],
  - "description": null,
  - "content": "“Peace be with all of you!’ Dearest brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting of the Risen Christ, the good shepherd who gave his life for God’s flock. I too would like this greeting of peace to enter your heart, to reach your families, to all people, wherever they are, to all peoples, to the whole earth. Peace be with you!” These were the opening words of Pope Leo XIV’s first address to the world. Caritas Philippines joins the Holy Father and the whole church in thanking God for his election and renewing one of the core gifts and graces of our Christian faith, the peace that only the Risen Lord can give. “I will give you shepherds after my own heart.” (Jer. 3:15) This is the promise of God that is “ever ancient, ever new.” (St. Augustine) He once more gave us a shepherd after his own heart. This too can be said of the Holy Father’s opening lines, that the power and beauty of the Resurrection is “ever ancient, ever new,” a gift and grace renewed through different eras and across cultures, the central proclamation of the church, “Christ is Risen!” Pope Leo XIV’s commitment to a synodal church and his vision of a missionary church support Caritas Philippines’, as well as Caritas Internationalis’, work and mission. This inspires us to double our effort to implement sustainable, replicable and scalable programs that will serve the poor, marginalized and vulnerable sectors of our society. The Holy Father’s choice of name, Leo XIV, reminds us of Pope Leo XIII’s contribution to the church and to the world by leading the church into the modern times as we entered the 20th century. His 1891 encyclical, “Rerum Novarum,” ushered in the church involvement in social justice issues during the time of the Industrial Revolution. This became the foundation of the Social Teachings of the Church in modern times and which, together with the Gospel, provides Caritas the worldview and framework of its works. We believe Pope Leo XIV, like Pope Francis, will inspire us to build a church engaged in social issues, a synodal church of, for and with the poor. In his words: “To all of you, brothers and sisters of Rome, of Italy, of the whole world, we want to be a synodal Church, a Church that walks, a Church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close especially to those who suffer.” On behalf of the 86 archdioceses and dioceses in the federation of Caritas Philippines, we offer our prayers for the Holy Father and commit our support for and join our work with Pope Leo XIV’s vision of and mission for the Universal Church. By Most Rev. Jose Colin M. Bagaforo, D.D. Bishop of Kidapawan President, Caritas Philippines",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-10 12:07:51",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://media.assettype.com/sunstar%2F2024-05%2F63772524-fe3d-44bb-b3ad-53fb7ae3b48a%2FSunStar%20Tell%20it.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max&rect=0%2C14%2C750%2C422&w=480",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "sunstar",
  - "source_name": "Sunstar",
  - "source_priority": 170617,
  - "source_url": "https://www.sunstar.com.ph",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/sunstar.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "positive",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 98.46,
    - "neutral": 1.03,
    - "negative": 0.51
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "politics",
    - "religious events and festivals"
    ],
  - "ai_region": null,
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "60f6919f3c55aaa57ed9307794fab861",
  - "title": "Lim: Vote wisely",
  - "link": "https://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/lim-vote-wisely-2",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "cebu",
    - "opinion"
    ],
  - -
    "creator": [
    - "Melanie T. Lim"
    ],
  - "description": null,
  - "content": "When you’re told to vote wisely, what does it mean? By what criteria do you judge anyone who seeks public office? Mine are competence for the position sought and character of unassailable integrity. Every candidate should possess, at the very least, some education, job experience (not necessarily related to the position being sought), intellectual and emotional intelligence as well as critical thinking, decision-making and organizational skills. More than anything else, they should possess courage, commitment, honesty, dedication, integrity, political will and emotional maturity. Let’s not judge candidates based on their ability to sing, dance or entertain us. Let’s not vote for candidates based on their last names. Let’s vote for candidates based on their track record. And by track record, I don’t mean the candidate who has distributed the most “ayuda” (assistance). I’ve heard it said many times, “I’m voting for X because she gives a lot of ‘ayuda.’” But where does the money come from? Personal funds? If so, how was it acquired? Public funds? Then, it was yours to begin with. Filipinos love “ayuda.” Who doesn’t? But a dole-out is a quick fix, appropriate only for a calamity or emergency. When we accept a dole-out, we need to understand that we simply employ a band-aid solution to a problem we need to solve in the long-term: financial stability. A skills-based school head once told me that while they provide free technical and vocational training as well as housing and even guarantee jobs to qualified trainees after completion of the course, there is a dearth of applicants. Parents cannot be persuaded to send their adult, unemployed children for training because skills training takes too long. Parents prefer to depend on regular government “ayuda.” Ayuda has created a culture of mendicancy in our country so that now, mendicancy is endemic in Filipino culture. We have to look beyond the fulfillment of our immediate needs and think about how a quick fix can create a bigger problem in the long-term. It’s like popping a painkiller every time we feel pain then end up with a bigger problem because after a while, we have become dependent on them. We are a country teeming with poverty and candidates exploit this. They try to buy the votes of the electorate through any type of monetary distribution. Good governance is about managing government services and resources. It’s about uplifting lives not by distributing money but by providing skills, training, education and jobs so people can become financially independent and self-reliant. It’s about teaching people to work to earn money, not to wait for someone to hand them money to tide them through the next emergency. It’s about instilling the values of hard work, dignity and self-worth. To judge candidates by their track record means to look at their past performance. Did they do a good job? Were organizational goals achieved with fairness, truth and transparency? Don’t vote for Robinhood — the guy who steals from the rich to give to the poor. It is still thievery. No one should gain economically at the expense of others even if they have less in life because those who have more worked for what they have. Let’s create a country where the middle class comprises the biggest sector of society. The only way we can alleviate poverty is through education, skills development, employment and business opportunities. Don’t vote for yourself. Vote for the country. Don’t vote for today only. Vote for the future, as well. Don’t vote for the one who can serve your interests. Vote for the one who can serve the country best. Vote wisely.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-10 12:05:36",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://media.assettype.com/sunstar%2F2024-05%2F02895cc2-8942-4424-9736-b80354223fef%2FSunStar%20Lim?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max&rect=0%2C14%2C750%2C422&w=480",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "sunstar",
  - "source_name": "Sunstar",
  - "source_priority": 170617,
  - "source_url": "https://www.sunstar.com.ph",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/sunstar.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "neutral",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 1.76,
    - "neutral": 97.82,
    - "negative": 0.42
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "ai_region": null,
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "ba114239b36d71f775816022f86580c4",
  - "title": "Cabaero: New pope, spark of hope, and our midterm elections",
  - "link": "https://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/cabaero-new-pope-spark-of-hope-and-our-midterm-elections",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "cebu",
    - "opinion"
    ],
  - -
    "creator": [
    - "Nini B. Cabaero"
    ],
  - "description": null,
  - "content": "“God is in control.” That was one of the comments posted under the announcement of the surprise election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as Pope Leo XIV last week, an event that comes as the Catholic Church marks the 2025 Jubilee centered on the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.” The papal conclave was shrouded in secrecy, but what came out of the cardinals’ decision was a clear signal of the values they sought in a new leader. When Pope Leo XIV stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica before thousands gathered in the square and billions more watching online and on television, the immediate reaction was: “Who is he?” News reports later revealed why he was chosen from among the 133 cardinal-electors. Prevost stood out not for his popularity or prominence in media lists, but for his quiet strength, deep spirituality, humility, intelligence and effective leadership of his archdiocese. He was a missionary, a man familiar with the realities of the global Church, and a great listener who draws out others’ thoughts and feelings without imposing his own, people said. He also gave a message of peace through dialog in a time marked by political divisions and wars. Cardinal Prevost was not a frontrunner for pope in news reports before the conclave. So when white smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel and his election was announced, there was a momentary silence as people were stunned and then tried to recall who he was and where he came from. But that silence soon gave way to cheers and celebration. That is why saying “God is in control” was an apt way to describe the events leading to the selection of a new pope. It was a moment that felt like divine intervention, unexpected, grounded in faith, and full of meaning; and it dovetails beautifully with the Jubilee’s invitation to walk in hope. As Pope Francis had said, “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us, and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision.” The faithful are invited to visit pilgrim churches, say prayers and reflect on Christ as our hope. It is hard not to draw a parallel between that message and the midterm elections happening tomorrow, Monday, when we are again called to choose our senators, congressional representatives and local leaders. The hope is that we will not have the same kinds of leaders: the corrupt, members of political families, those without any record of governance, or who see public service as a retirement plan or fallback career. Let the surprise of Pope Leo XIV’s election remind us that change is possible and that we, too, can defy expectations. If the Church, in prayerful discernment, can find a humble servant-leader when least expected, then surely we, as voters, can choose with faith, clarity and hope.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-10 12:04:14",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://media.assettype.com/sunstar%2F2025-05-10%2Fent3biih%2FCARTOON.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max&rect=0%2C0%2C720%2C405&w=480",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "sunstar",
  - "source_name": "Sunstar",
  - "source_priority": 170617,
  - "source_url": "https://www.sunstar.com.ph",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/sunstar.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "positive",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 93.55,
    - "neutral": 5.97,
    - "negative": 0.48
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "ai_region": null,
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "fed9889b3deabdab977bab2b576cf82c",
  - "title": "Time to punish Pakistan as a global terror hub",
  - "link": "https://asiatimes.com/2025/05/time-to-punish-pakistan-as-a-global-terror-hub/",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "global terrorism",
    - "opinion",
    - "jaish-e-mohammed",
    - "fatf grey list",
    - "kashmir",
    - "imf",
    - "india-pakistan war",
    - "pahalgam attack",
    - "hamas",
    - "al qaeda",
    - "lashkar-e-tayyiba",
    - "the resistance front",
    - "pakistan terrorism",
    - "isis",
    - "world bank"
    ],
  - "creator": null,
  - "description": "On April 16, Pakistani Army Chief General Asim Munir delivered a provocative and communally charged address that raised serious concerns at the time. Five days later, The Resistance Front (TRF)—a proxy of the UN Security Council-designated terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT)—claimed responsibility for the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26. The attack [...]The post Time to punish Pakistan as a global terror hub appeared first on Asia Times.",
  - "content": "On April 16, Pakistani Army Chief General Asim Munir delivered a provocative and communally charged that raised serious concerns at the time. Five days later, The Resistance Front (TRF)—a proxy of the UN Security Council-designated terrorist organization (LeT)—claimed for the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26. The attack specifically targeted civilians on religious grounds. In response, India has been exercising its “Right to Respond” by taking decisive counterterrorism action aimed at foiling further cross-border terrorist infiltration and dismantling the infrastructure of internationally designated terrorist organizations, including LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Internationally designated terrorist organizations and their operatives are not only politically shielded but also financially supported by the Pakistani state. This political support originates primarily from the Pakistani Army—commonly referred to as the “Establishment”—and radical religious elements within Pakistan’s political spectrum. The Establishment leverages these terror networks to wage proxy wars against India, compensating for its inability to engage in conventional military conflict due to economic and strategic limitations. Moreover, by continuously attempting to destabilize the Indian state through acts of terror, the Establishment seeks to retain its dominant role in Pakistan’s internal decision-making, deflecting attention from governance failures by fueling religiously driven nationalist sentiment among the populace. On the other hand, extremist political actors support these groups to consolidate their vote banks as their communal rhetoric aligns with ideologies that resonate with certain voter segments. The financial support for these activities is indirectly sustained through the loans, grants and aid that Pakistan receives from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other multilateral institutions. This is evident from Pakistan’s repeated placement on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list due to its consistent failure to demonstrate adequate enforcement against terror financing and to prosecute or convict UN-designated terrorists operating within its territory. Through informal financial channels like the hawala system, terror networks operating from Pakistan facilitate the illicit trafficking of arms and ammunition across the so-called “Golden Crescent”, a region encompassing Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. These arms networks often extend into the Middle East, Africa and beyond, reaching extremist non-state actors and designated terrorist groups such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other jihadist outfits. The threat is not limited to weapons alone. Violent extremist ideologies are also actively propagated from this region. A recent example includes the reported between Hamas leaders and Pakistani terrorist organizations, which took place shortly before the Pahalgam attack—highlighting how radical networks collaborate across borders and fuel terrorism. These interconnected and transnational networks ultimately undermine political stability, pose a grave threat to secularism and civil liberties, and often serve as the ideological foundation for lone-wolf terrorist attacks. In a nutshell, the consequences of inaction are both direct and indirect—political, social and economic—and the global community cannot afford to turn a blind eye. Multilateral institutions such as the IMF and World Bank must exercise heightened diligence when approving financial assistance to states like Pakistan, which has a well-documented history of enabling terrorism. This includes implementing stringent pre-sanction checks to assess whether any portion of previously disbursed funds may have been diverted—directly or indirectly—for terror financing or activities that undermine regional and global security. Robust international cooperation at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels is essential to counter this ongoing threat of state-supported terrorism.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-10 05:33:41",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://i0.wp.com/asiatimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Pakistan-The-Resistance-Front-LeT.jpg?fit=780%2C439&quality=89&ssl=1",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "asiatimes",
  - "source_name": "Asia Times",
  - "source_priority": 67073,
  - "source_url": "https://asiatimes.com",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/asiatimes.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "georgia",
    - "yemen",
    - "afghanistan",
    - "cyprus",
    - "india",
    - "singapore",
    - "saudi arabia",
    - "maldives",
    - "japan",
    - "united arab emirates",
    - "malaysia",
    - "china",
    - "south korea",
    - "north korea",
    - "taiwan",
    - "thailand",
    - "pakistan",
    - "mongolia",
    - "brunei",
    - "lebanon",
    - "indonesia",
    - "kyrgyzstan",
    - "syria",
    - "israel",
    - "bhutan",
    - "iran",
    - "turkey",
    - "armenia",
    - "qatar",
    - "philippines",
    - "hong kong",
    - "kazakhstan",
    - "iraq",
    - "bangladesh",
    - "laos",
    - "vietnam",
    - "timor-leste",
    - "kuwait",
    - "myanmar",
    - "azerbaijan",
    - "jordan",
    - "nepal",
    - "oman",
    - "sri lanka",
    - "uzbekistan",
    - "turkmenistan",
    - "macau",
    - "bahrain",
    - "cambodia",
    - "tajikistan"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "negative",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 0.11,
    - "neutral": 0.08,
    - "negative": 99.81
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "conflicts & war",
    - "national security"
    ],
  - -
    "ai_region": [
    - "pakistan,asia"
    ],
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "735f2334729f3b4b79f188db356f99d9",
  - "title": "Viva Pope Leo XIV!",
  - "link": "https://opinion.inquirer.net/183115/viva-pope-leo-xiv",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "latest opinion",
    - "editorial",
    - "columns"
    ],
  - "creator": null,
  - "description": "Habemus papam. We have a pope. A new spiritual leader has risen to shepherd the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, chosen from among the 133 cardinal-electors who gathered beneath the Sistine Chapel’s frescoed ceiling to discern and decide the future of the Roman Catholic Church. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, a native of Chicago in the United",
  - "content": "Habemus papam. We have a pope. A new spiritual leader has risen to shepherd the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, chosen from among the 133 cardinal-electors who gathered beneath the Sistine Chapel’s frescoed ceiling to discern and decide the future of the Roman Catholic Church. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, a native of Chicago in the United States and a long-time missionary in Peru, is now Pope Leo XIV, the 267th successor of St. Peter. Elected on the second day of the conclave, the 69-year-old Augustinian friar is the first American pope, succeeding the first pontiff from Latin America, Pope Francis of Argentina, who died on April 21. Yet it would be a disservice to describe Pope Leo XIV as just a political pick following centuries of European dominance in the papacy. He is, by all accounts, a servant-leader known for his humility, closeness to the poor, and commitment to social justice. He earned the nickname “Saint of the North” in Peru, where he waded through floodwaters and helped purchase oxygen plants during the COVID-19 crisis. As bishop of Chiclayo and later head of the Vatican’s powerful office that vets bishops, he quietly shaped the Church’s global leadership. When he stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and offered, “Peace be with you all,” in Italian and Spanish–avoiding English entirely–it appeared to be a sign that his heart, like Francis’, belongs not only to his native country but to those in the peripheries. For Filipinos, the conclave brought more than the usual anticipation. There was, undeniably, a collective breath held across the islands, for within the sacred halls of the Vatican, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, affectionately known as “Chito,” stood among the most talked-about papabili. Many had hoped that his peers would recognize not just his qualifications, but also what his election could mean symbolically: the first pope from Asia in modern memory, and the first ever from the Philippines. Alas, that dream will have to wait. For now, at least, the crushing pressure of expectation has been lifted off the weary shoulders of Tagle and the Philippine Catholic Church, allowing them to train their energies on the persisting challenges that confront the faithful. The Church in the Philippines must continue to stand not on the strength of one man’s potential papacy, but on the communal witness of its people and pastors. As a cardinal, Tagle remains a powerful figure in the Vatican, with five years of experience running the Dicastery for Evangelization and the rare distinction of having worked closely with the new pope on key reforms. Both men were aligned with Francis’ mission of compassion and inclusion. Tagle, along with Cardinals Jose Advincula of Manila and Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, represented a strong Filipino presence at the conclave. Their participation, a first for both David and Advincula, was a breakthrough that signaled how the Philippines would help shape the Church’s global direction in years and decades to come. Pope Leo XIV is not a stranger to Filipinos. In 2004, the then Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine visited Talisay City in Cebu to bless a friary. In 2010, he returned to the Philippines to celebrate Mass at San Agustín Church in Manila as part of his duties. In the spirit of Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV has voiced a desire for a missionary Church, “open to receive everybody that needs our charity, our presence, dialogue and love.” No doubt Filipinos will find in him a pope who inspires through authenticity and a deep moral compass. Prevost’s election also rekindles the hope that the Church might continue, even expand, the reforms begun under Francis: a more open conversation on women’s roles, inclusivity for LGBTQ+ Catholics, and genuine accountability in the face of clerical abuse. Still, his past is not without controversy. Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a US advocacy group for abuse victims, has raised concerns about his prior handling of abuse cases in Chicago and Peru. The question they ask, one that the entire Church must echo, is this: Will he act decisively to end the abuse crisis? The Catholic Church faces deep wounds and painful reckonings. It is no longer enough for the pope to preach love; he must also lead with justice and bravery. The dream of a Filipino pope may not be realized today, but Tagle remains one of the most influential Catholic leaders of our time. In him and his brother cardinals, the seeds of that dream keep growing, and the hope they ignited in Filipinos’ hearts is undimmed. Now we extend our prayers and goodwill to Pope Leo XIV as he takes up the cross of Peter. May he, too, be a shepherd who walks with his flock. May he build bridges in our divided world. May he confront the sins within the Church and lead with honor and fearlessness. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . And may he be the pope who listens to the sensus fidelium–the voice of the faithful–wherever they may be.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 21:17:04",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://www.inquirer.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/new-inq-fb-def.jpg",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "inquirer",
  - "source_name": "Inquirer",
  - "source_priority": 9835,
  - "source_url": "https://www.inquirer.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/inquirer.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "positive",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 99.41,
    - "neutral": 0.34,
    - "negative": 0.25
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "ai_region": null,
  - -
    "ai_org": [
    - "viva pope leo xiv!"
    ],
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "8f34f680e70d623730caadba398cd675",
  - "title": "Pope Leo XIV: What’s in a name?",
  - "link": "https://opinion.inquirer.net/183111/pope-leo-xiv-whats-in-a-name",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "columns",
    - "latest opinion",
    - "columnists"
    ],
  - "creator": null,
  - "description": "After his election, Pope Francis was asked why he chose the name “Francis,” to which he replied that a cardinal had whispered in his ear, “Remember the poor,” and he did. Throughout his papacy, Francis made it his mission to steer the Church towards the least, the marginalized, and the lost. He said he wanted",
  - "content": "After his election, Pope Francis was asked why he chose the name “Francis,” to which he replied that a cardinal had whispered in his ear, “Remember the poor,” and he did. Throughout his papacy, Francis made it his mission to steer the Church towards the least, the marginalized, and the lost. He said he wanted a “Church that is poor and for the poor.” Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, chose the double name “John Paul II,” following his predecessor John Paul I (Cardinal Albino Luciani) who sought to carry on the work of the two popes of Vatican II, John XXIII and Paul VI. Finally, when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became pope, he chose the name “Benedict XVI.” The last pope who chose that name, Benedict XV, was a man of peace who sought to guide the church and humanity during World War I. The practice of those elected pope changing their name is ancient. It began with a man named Mercurius who was elected pope in 533 AD. Having been named after the pagan god Mercury, he chose to change it to “John II,” and so began the practice of one having been made pope to choose a name by which he would be known by the faithful. So what’s significant about Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost’s choice of the name “Leo”? Pope Leo XIV is the first North American born pope. He’s also an Augustinian, that is, he is a member of a religious order, like Pope Francis. He’s a citizen of Peru, as well as the United States, and was a missionary in that South American country for a number of years before Pope Francis brought him to Rome to head the Dicastery for Bishops. He’s also a canon lawyer. But, back to the name he chose. What possible significance could there be to that choice? The last pope named Leo, who reigned from 1878-1903, was the pope who, in many ways, first brought the Catholic Church into the “modern world.” His encyclical letter “Aeterni Patris (Of the Eternal Father),” published in 1879, revived the study of Thomism and really initiated Catholic scholarship into the modern age. In fact, it was on account of this encyclical that the Higher Institute of Philosophy of the Catholic University of Louvain, the oldest Catholic university in the world, was established. Such opening allowed for the greater flourishing of Catholic scholarship in so many areas, and paved the way for the amazing developments in the Church, leading to the Second Vatican Council. Pope Leo XIII was also a staunch defender of the poor and marginalized. In fact, the first papal “social encyclical” was written by him, with the input and assistance of bishops in the United States, in particular, the great Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore. Every subsequent pope has written and published an encyclical commemorating this groundbreaking work, the last major one being Pope John Paul II’s “Centesimus Annus (One Hundred Years)” published in 1991, on the 100th anniversary of Leo XIIII’s encyclical. There’s an important detail that is often overlooked with regard to this monumental work of Leo XIII, and that is the fact that it was written as a kind of reflection on the work that the pope and the American bishops at the time did to aid in the establishment and strengthening of the first and largest labor movement in the United States and Canada. Called “The Knights of Labor” it was led by an Irish Catholic named Terrence Powderly. By the time Leo’s “Rerum Novarum” was published, its membership was almost at a million. Whereas the labor movement in Europe at that time was regarded with a great deal of caution and suspicion by the European bishops (because of the dangers of communist, socialist, and masonic influence and possible infiltration), their counterparts in the United States, aware that theirs was a church of “the poor and especially immigrant laborers,” and knowing fully well that the fears expressed by their European counterparts were somewhat exaggerated, sought instead to encourage the labor movement, and recommended that Pope Leo XIII enjoin Catholics to become part of it. So why did Cardinal Robert Prevost choose the name “Leo”? At some point, like Pope Francis, he will share what went on in his heart and mind. But he did give us some indication in his first address on the loggia of St. Peter’s: mercy, love, charity, encounter, building bridges, openness, welcome, and most importantly, peace–all seemingly in short supply in the world at this time. Until he fully shares with us his reasons for his name choice though, we can only just speculate. But judging from the reasons previous popes had for choosing their names, it would be safe to say that Pope Leo XIV, the former American cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, chose that name to let us know what his priorities are, where his ministry as Peter’s successor will take the Church, and what we are to expect as he begins his work after the Spirit-inspired and groundbreaking papacy of Pope Francis. —————- Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . Fr. Ferdinand Santos is currently academic dean of St. John Paul II College Seminary, Antipolo, and former rector-president of St. John Vianney College Seminary, Miami, Florida",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 21:02:47",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://www.inquirer.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/new-inq-fb-def.jpg",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "inquirer",
  - "source_name": "Inquirer",
  - "source_priority": 9835,
  - "source_url": "https://www.inquirer.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/inquirer.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "neutral",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 0.22,
    - "neutral": 99.52,
    - "negative": 0.27
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "ai_region": null,
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "8669946d9301bdc1e29be47554d819c8",
  - "title": "Survey evaluation time",
  - "link": "https://opinion.inquirer.net/183112/survey-evaluation-time",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "columns",
    - "latest opinion",
    - "columnists"
    ],
  - "creator": null,
  - "description": "The pre-election survey work of Social Weather Stations (SWS) is done for the year. Our senatorial results are in last Thursday’s: “SWS confirms May 2025 survey for Stratbase Consultancy on voter preference for Senators for the 2025 elections” (www.sws.org.ph, 5/8/25). That morning, Stratbase had sent media its report, “Admin-backed Senate bets continue to lead in",
  - "content": "The pre-election survey work of Social Weather Stations (SWS) is done for the year. Our senatorial results are in last Thursday’s: “SWS confirms May 2025 survey for Stratbase Consultancy on voter preference for Senators for the 2025 elections” (www.sws.org.ph, 5/8/25). That morning, Stratbase had sent media its report, “Admin-backed Senate bets continue to lead in May SWS survey,” which reviewed the movements in the six surveys from December 2024 to May 2025. Those not on the Stratbase mailing list may see the SWS webpage for the numbers. The sponsor’s statement. The Stratbase report quotes its president, Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit, as expecting an intense battle among candidates up to the 17th place. “Ultimately, who secures the 11th and 12th seats will hinge on the ground strength of their political machinery, the mobilization of loyal supporters, and the power of a consistent, credible message that truly resonates with the electorate.” He reminds the public, and I concur, that the most important survey is the one at the ballot box itself. “Let us cast our votes not just based on popularity or proximity to power, but on track-record, integrity, and vision. The future of the nation rests in the hands of the electorate.” The partnership of Stratbase with SWS has been good. Both organizations are nonpartisan, and do not intend to favor any of the contenders. What gets released to the public, and when, is the call of the survey sponsor, not the survey-doer. Just yesterday, SWS confirmed the Stratbase results for party list. (www.sws.org.ph, 5/9/25) The SWS 2022 Senate race experience: only the rankings moved. For the senatorial elections of May 9, 2022, SWS’ final pre-election survey was on April 19-27, or two weeks earlier. The survey’s final 12 all won, but with somewhat different rankings: No. 1 in the survey ended No. 3 in the official count, which I’ll denote 1/3. The other survey leaders finished 2/1, 3/2, 4/5, 5/7, 6/4, 7/12, 8/9, 10/10, 11/11 and 12/8. For the entire set of 64 candidates in 2022, the correlation of survey ranks with final ranks was 97.6 percent (we’ll publish the names and numbers in due time). That was in 2022. No one knows what will happen in 2025. Nothing is set in stone; much can be learned from survey history (see “Election survey stories,” 3/22/25). The research records, and most of all the raw data, should be preserved for study. See the other races tracked by SWS. The webpage has voter-preference results for many local races, to confirm the public releases made by their respective sponsors. The latest example is the race for Congress in the 2nd district of Parañaque City (posted 5/7/25)—can a 54-31 (percent) lead as of April 10-14 be overcome by next Monday? Also posted recently are the voter preferences for governor, vice governor, and congresspersons of the province of Albay (5/6/25); the race for mayor of Caloocan City (4/30/25); for party list in Albay (4/23/25); for mayors in the 2nd district of Albay (4/22/25); for mayors in the 1st and 3rd district of Albay (4/22/25); for vice mayors and councilors in the province of Albay (4/22/25). We do not question the sponsors’ decisions to release their findings; our duty is simply to confirm their media releases. Publication of election surveys hardly affects voters themselves, but it definitely influences the morale and the fund-raising capability of the campaigners. I was told that, even after election day itself, there can be dirty tricks to thwart the honesty of the election count. Favorable surveys inspire vigilance that is needed to defend the integrity of the elections. What matters most is for the full and honest count of the votes to confirm the accuracy of the surveys, especially those conducted very close to election day. Isn’t it amazing that a small sample of a few hundred, scientifically assembled, survey respondents can foretell the sentiments of millions of voters? Isn’t it wonderful that, at present, ordinary Filipinos can speak fearlessly and honestly to field interviewers—whom they have never met before—about their political views? Interviewing is not such a simple matter. Personally, I don’t recommend directly asking, “why do you want to vote for Ms. X?” or, say, “why don’t you want to vote for Mr. Y?” I think one learns more by probing carefully, and noninvasively, into respondents’ basic attitudes, deep aspirations, and meaningful past experiences, and then analyzing if, and how, all these relate to any issue at hand. Surveys are for many more topics besides politics. Because survey research has been generally reliable in the case of elections, it has become more acceptable for all the other social sciences, including economics, my own field. If Filipinos are truthful about their intended votes, it follows that they’re also truthful about their poverty and other economic problems. Of course, surveys won’t be 100 percent perfect, but in general they have been valid, and from year to year we learn more. Dubious survey operations will get weeded out; the reliable ones will stay. Whatever happens, there’s always the next election. —————- Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . Contact: [email protected] .",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 21:02:47",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://www.inquirer.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/new-inq-fb-def.jpg",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "inquirer",
  - "source_name": "Inquirer",
  - "source_priority": 9835,
  - "source_url": "https://www.inquirer.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/inquirer.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "neutral",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 0.08,
    - "neutral": 99.84,
    - "negative": 0.08
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "elections"
    ],
  - "ai_region": null,
  - -
    "ai_org": [
    - "stratbase",
    - "sws"
    ],
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "54900a229597dedc79245ef56a7350eb",
  - "title": "NEVER SURRENDER",
  - "link": "https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/05/10/opinion/editorial-cartoon/never-surrender/2110167",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "opinion"
    ],
  - -
    "creator": [
    - "The Manila Times"
    ],
  - "description": null,
  - "content": "Get the latest news delivered to your inbox Sign up for The Manila Times newsletters By signing up with an email address, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy .",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 16:11:00",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net/manilatimes/uploads/images/2025/05/09/620445.jpg",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "manilatimes",
  - "source_name": "The Manila Times",
  - "source_priority": 33634,
  - "source_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/manilatimes.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "positive",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 97.31,
    - "neutral": 2.21,
    - "negative": 0.48
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "ai_region": null,
  - -
    "ai_org": [
    - "the manila times"
    ],
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "2b58f6c1601758fb4e40d6f5242cd194",
  - "title": "Govt finally getting on track with the economy",
  - "link": "https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/05/10/opinion/editorial/govt-finally-getting-on-track-with-the-economy/2110143",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "opinion"
    ],
  - -
    "creator": [
    - "The Editorial Board"
    ],
  - "description": "ON Thursday, the gross domestic product (GDP) growth data for the first quarter (Q1) of the year (January through March) was released by the Philippine Statistics Authority, and the news was largely encouraging. Although the 5.4-percent GDP growth rate for Q1 fell below the government's target and almost every expert forecast, there were some positive signs in the outcome, not least of which are some welcome indications that our policymakers are finally looking at the chaotic global environment with some realism.The 5.4-percent GDP growth rate was significantly lower than the 5.9 percent recorded in the same quarter a year earlier, although it was slightly higher than the 5.3-percent pace in the fourth-quarter 2024. The first-quarter result was significantly below the 6.0- to 8.0-percent target set by the government for 2025, and well below the consensus of analysts polled by The Manila Times, who expected a 5.8-percent result.Socioeconomic Planning Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon provided what could be considered the official government take on the Q1 GDP result, saying that it showed a \"measured start\" to the year, one that has \"many layers.\"\"While this pace (5.4 percent) falls short of our initial expectations, it reflects developments from the broader global context of tempered economic activity amid persistent uncertainties,\" she added.To better understand the first-quarter result and what it means for the Philippines' economy going forward, it is helpful to recall what was happening in the world during the first three months of the year. Broad economic uncertainty formed almost instantly upon the inauguration of United States President Donald Trump. Trump immediately got to work creating chaos by ordering massive cuts to US foreign aid spending, the gutting of numerous US government agencies with mass layoffs and the closure of a number of key offices, launching a campaign of mass deportations and issuing threats of invasion — in one form or another — of Canada, Panama and Greenland. Trump also warned of impending punitive tariffs the US would impose on almost every country, although that would not actually happen until the beginning of April.Elsewhere in the world, the Israeli campaign to destroy Gaza proceeded unabated, as did the war in Ukraine, neither helped by Trump's fumbling attempts to act as a mediator. Critical election campaigns in Canada and Australia were also in full swing, with some uncertainty about the eventual outcome of those, and there was a federal election in Germany, the campaign for which featured, most alarmingly, open but ultimately unsuccessful interference by Trump partner and \"unofficial\" US official Elon Musk in support of the neo-fascist Alternative for Germany party.There was also one large-scale natural disaster during the quarter, a powerful earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28. At least 3,700 people were killed, including a number in neighboring Thailand.Against this backdrop, which encouraged most of the world to begin preparing itself for worse to come in the rest of 2025, the Philippine economy did rather well. It was likely supported to some extent by businesses and consumers \"front-loading\" purchases in anticipation of Trump's tariffs, and it was certainly supported by increased spending ahead of Monday's (May 12) midterm election. As Undersecretary Edillon pointed out, below target or not, the Q1 growth pace was second only to Vietnam's 6.9 percent and equal to China's first-quarter result.While the government's 6.0- to 8.0-percent growth target for this year continues to be unreasonably optimistic, we take encouragement from some statements made by the government that indicates it is looking at the first quarter's largely positive result as a stable foundation on which to build a response to whatever might happen in the rest of the year. These include a focus on developing trade, improving the investment environment, and supporting small and medium enterprises. Efforts to keep inflation low are also continuing, which may seem unnecessary given the historically low current rate of 1.4 percent, but most external indicators point to higher inflation in the coming months, so this is a proactive stance on the part of the government.All in all, the sense we have from the government's current perspective on the economy is that it is focusing on maximizing what the country has to work with in an uncertain environment. That is the right way to look at things at this time.",
  - "content": "ON Thursday, the gross domestic product (GDP) growth data for the first quarter (Q1) of the year (January through March) was released by the Philippine Statistics Authority, and the news was largely encouraging. Although the 5.4-percent GDP growth rate for Q1 fell below the government's target and almost every expert forecast, there were some positive signs in the outcome, not least of which are some welcome indications that our policymakers are finally looking at the chaotic global environment with some realism. Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 16:10:00",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net/manilatimes/uploads/images/2025/05/09/620419.jpg",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "manilatimes",
  - "source_name": "The Manila Times",
  - "source_priority": 33634,
  - "source_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/manilatimes.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "positive",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 99.17,
    - "neutral": 0.61,
    - "negative": 0.22
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "economy"
    ],
  - "ai_region": null,
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "5df352f90bfbca14576c1d3576fd9632",
  - "title": "When numbers warn: Why anti-Duterte forces must unite now",
  - "link": "https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/05/10/opinion/columns/when-numbers-warn-why-anti-duterte-forces-must-unite-now/2110166",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "opinion"
    ],
  - -
    "creator": [
    - "Antonio Contreras"
    ],
  - "description": "THERE is a seismic shift under way in Philippine politics, and the numbers reveal a paradox too dangerous to ignore. President Ferdinand \"Bongbong\" Marcos Jr. (BBM) is losing ground. His trust and approval ratings are declining, according to surveys; his political base is demobilized, and yet, paradoxically, his senatorial slate under the \"Alyansa\" coalition remains dominant.Meanwhile, Vice President Sara Duterte, despite facing an impeachment complaint and allegations of corruption, is surging in popularity.This emerging pattern is not simply a curiosity for political analysts. It is a warning sign for the anti-Duterte forces. Unless anti-Duterte forces act with strategic precision, they risk being steamrolled, not because they lack support but because they lack unity.The numbers reveal a sobering reality. Around 60 percent of Filipinos support the International Criminal Court's trial of Rodrigo Duterte. Seven out of 10 voters reject pro-China candidates. And yet, the political landscape remains perilous. Sara Duterte's trust ratings are climbing. Pro-Duterte candidates may move closer to the Magic 12. Bong Go, a close Duterte ally and a poster boy for the Duterte-era China policy, continues to top Senate polls despite widespread anti-China sentiment.How can these contradictions exist?The answer lies in the messy realities of Philippine political culture. Voting behavior is not purely ideological or rational. It is a cocktail of name recall, media exposure, patron-client relations and emotional branding. Filipino voters operate within a fragmented political culture where personal narratives and emotional connections trump policy clarity. One can oppose China's incursions into Philippine waters and still vote for Bong Go because they remember him handing out aid or lamenting on camera Rodrigo Duterte's arrest.Thus, issue-based surveys do not always translate into issue-based voting. Discontent with the administration does not automatically punish its allies at the polls. Instead, loyalty to personalities, not policies, dominates.This phenomenon makes the imperative for unity and strategic alliances even more urgent.The Duterte base remains highly energized, motivated by a sense of survival and grievance politics. The impeachment complaint against Sara Duterte has only deepened their commitment, transforming loyalty into an existential battle. Meanwhile, Marcos loyalists, who lack the militancy and mobilization capacity of the Duterte diehards, are adopting a passive, business-as-usual attitude. BBM's political base is fragmented, uninspired and slowly being out-shouted by the more militant Duterte camp.Add to this, the reality that Sara Duterte's narrative of being persecuted by a corrupt, elitist administration has taken hold among the populist base. Even allegations of bribery, confidential funds misuse and public threats of violence have only reinforced her image as a tough, anti-elite warrior.Marcos, for all his access to state resources and elite networks, is failing to animate his coalition. His promises of \"unity\" have disintegrated into visible discord. Domestic issues have somewhat eroded his numbers. His senatorial ticket lacks charisma and coherence. Without a compelling narrative or energized base, BBM is bleeding support, squeezed between an increasingly militant Duterte camp and a consistently hostile anti-Marcos traditional opposition.This presents a strategic opening and a strategic risk.The anti-Duterte forces, composed of progressives, liberals, national democrats, independents and Marcos loyalists, must recognize a singular truth. If they remain fragmented, they will lose to the pro-Duterte forces in the long run.The Philippine electoral system rewards consolidation, not fragmentation. The 40 percent Duterte base, loyal and disciplined, can overwhelm a fractured 60 percent majority. This is no longer a battle of ideas but a battle of electoral arithmetic. Every vote cast for a fringe, unwinnable candidate is a vote indirectly assisting pro-Duterte forces to capture power.Strategic voting is now an existential necessity. Purity tests and ideological rigidity must be set aside. Anti-Duterte voters may have to hold their noses and support candidates who are not their first choice but who have the best chance of defeating Duterte-aligned figures. It may mean a progressive voting for a liberal centrist. It may mean a Marcos critic voting for an anti-Duterte Marcos loyalist, if only to block the return of impunity.The lessons from other countries are clear. In Turkey, Hungary and even the United States during the 2020 elections, broad coalitions emerged not because everyone agreed on everything but because the stakes demanded it. The Philippine opposition to Duterte may have to exhibit the same political maturity.The task is daunting. Coalition politics is messy. It forces strange bedfellows to work together. But it is the only democratic tool left in an era distorted by troll farms, information warfare and populist manipulation.Moreover, anti-Duterte forces who are also anti-Marcos must shift their narrative away from nostalgia and regret. Regret that Leni Robredo \"would have been better\" is not a political program. It does not build bridges with undecided voters. Instead, focus should be on a future-oriented agenda that resonates across classes and political identities. They must move beyond \"I told you so\" politics and into offering real, relatable hope.At the same time, polling institutions must evolve. We need fewer horse race metrics and more critical surveys that probe the \"why\" of voter preferences, not just the \"who.\" Without deeper insight into the fragmented rationalities shaping Filipino political behavior, voters risk fighting battles they do not even fully understand.In this volatile environment, message discipline and electoral discipline must go hand in hand. Public intellectuals, influencers, sectoral leaders and political organizations must hammer home one message. Strategic voting is not betrayal. It is survival. Every anti-Duterte voter must ask not who inspires most, but who can beat the forces that would like to take the nation back.The 2025 midterm elections are a crossroads. They will determine whether the country moves forward or falls back into the shadows of impunity. The anti-Duterte forces remain numerically the majority. But majorities only matter if they act like one.If they fail to unite, history will not be kind. The numbers already offer a dire warning. Unity is not just desirable. It is essential for the survival of democracy itself.",
  - "content": "THERE is a seismic shift under way in Philippine politics, and the numbers reveal a paradox too dangerous to ignore. President Ferdinand \"Bongbong\" Marcos Jr. (BBM) is losing ground. His trust and approval ratings are declining, according to surveys; his political base is demobilized, and yet, paradoxically, his senatorial slate under the \"Alyansa\" coalition remains dominant. Meanwhile, Vice President Sara Duterte, despite facing an impeachment complaint and allegations of corruption, is surging in popularity. Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 16:09:00",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net/manilatimes/uploads/images/2025/05/09/620444.jpg",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "manilatimes",
  - "source_name": "The Manila Times",
  - "source_priority": 33634,
  - "source_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/manilatimes.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "negative",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 0.14,
    - "neutral": 0.12,
    - "negative": 99.74
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "government"
    ],
  - -
    "ai_region": [
    - "philippine"
    ],
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "267539d241e47b1af71c4a0b63c95d53",
  - "title": "Why I'm boycotting the Senate election on Monday",
  - "link": "https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/05/10/opinion/columns/why-im-boycotting-the-senate-election-on-monday/2110162",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "opinion"
    ],
  - -
    "creator": [
    - "Yen Makabenta"
    ],
  - "description": "First wordWHEN I go to my election precinct on Monday and take up my ballot, I intend to skip filling up the section of the ballot reserved for senatorial choices and turn my attention wholly to the congressional district and local elections.I will take this unusual step to place on record my protest against and total rejection of the Senate's complacency about its abysmal record in opposing every initiative for constitutional reform and opposing all proposals to democratize and upgrade the Senate's representation of our country's 118 million population.The midterm election campaign is coming to a close with the lips of incumbent senators and aspiring senatorial candidates sealed and silent on the outstanding and fundamental flaws of the chamber in its composition and its record in lawmaking.I protest first and above all the unconscionable and inexcusable failure of the Senate to democratically and fairly represent all our people in its decision-making.The distortions and inequities are sharp and offensive. For many years now, the nation has tolerated a situation where three cities in the nation's capital region are better represented in the Senate than most of our regions and provinces. Las Piñas, San Juan and Taguig have two senators each, but entire regions and provinces, like my home region and province of East Visayas and Leyte, do not have a single senator to represent our over 2 million population. Worse, the senators from Las Piñas, Taguig and San Juan happen to also be members of political families and dynasties.And now in Monday's balloting, one of these families, reportedly led by the country's richest citizen (billion for billion), wants to add another senator to their stable.And so we have an abysmal situation where a few families are better represented in the Senate than tens of millions of our people.I protest, secondly, the Senate's invention of the P200 million per year pork barrel for each senator which must be the chief reason why senators keep running for reelection even after exceeding their term limits. And the reasons why scores flock in every election to run for the Senate.There is in the archives of the Manila Bulletin, a column by the late former senator Ernesto Maceda, wherein he listed down the senators who were instrumental in inventing the budget insertion as the means for creating the senatorial pork barrel. Some of these inventors are still in the Senate, riding high on the pork barrel.I will boycott the Senate election, thirdly, because the Senate has been the chief reason why the 1987 Constitution has not been and could not be amended not even once. Senators blocked all initiatives, by claiming every time that Charter reform would dilute the powers of the Senate. They even blocked and demonized the people's constitutional right to propose constitutional amendments.Significantly, throughout the midterm election campaign, we did not hear any of the incumbent senators or aspiring senatorial candidates speak out on the outstanding flaws of the Senate as representative of the people.Everyone wants to keep the fiction that because our senators are voted at large, they are therefore true representatives of the entire nation. This is why we succeed mainly in placing entertainers and clowns in the chamber who do not have the slightest training or preparation for lawmaking,20th CongressFinally, and most importantly, I will boycott the Senate election because I consider the 20th Congress that will be inaugurated in July as the nation's last best hope for meaningful reform and regeneration.The new Congress could represent a new beginning for the Republic if it boldly takes up the challenge of making purposive constitutional reform and refuses to be deterred by anti-Cha-cha propaganda.We can go right ahead toward renewal, if we finally leave behind the Senate's deplorable record as \"the graveyard of reform.\"Congress without the Senate would not be a crazy idea; most democracies in the world function without one. They have parliament.The fact is parliamentarism lost by a margin of one vote to presidentialism in the deliberations of the 1986 Constitutional Commission.But this is another argument for another column.yenobserver@gmail.com",
  - "content": "First word WHEN I go to my election precinct on Monday and take up my ballot, I intend to skip filling up the section of the ballot reserved for senatorial choices and turn my attention wholly to the congressional district and local elections. Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 16:08:00",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net/manilatimes/uploads/images/2025/05/09/620440.jpg",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "manilatimes",
  - "source_name": "The Manila Times",
  - "source_priority": 33634,
  - "source_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/manilatimes.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "negative",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 0.11,
    - "neutral": 0.09,
    - "negative": 99.8
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "elections"
    ],
  - "ai_region": null,
  - -
    "ai_org": [
    - "senate"
    ],
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "48ecad80f6b5c21e62bb16d0aba3d50c",
  - "title": "In the shadows of identity: The spy novels of Georges Simenon",
  - "link": "https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/05/10/opinion/columns/in-the-shadows-of-identity-the-spy-novels-of-georges-simenon/2110161",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "opinion"
    ],
  - -
    "creator": [
    - "Danton Remoto"
    ],
  - "description": "I AM reading the spy thrillers of Georges Simenon, which consistently got good reviews in their earlier and present translations being done by Penguin Books.Although Simenon is celebrated primarily as the creator of Inspector Maigret, his literary legacy is far broader and more psychologically intricate than the conventional detective series might suggest.Simenon wrote over 400 novels and novellas, many of which delve into the dark corners of the human psyche.Among these, his spy thrillers and espionage-themed books stand out for their subtlety, existential undertones and refusal to conform to the tropes of the genre. Rather than focusing on international conspiracies or high-stakes heroism, Simenon explores the inner lives of compromised individuals, everyday betrayals and the invisible lines between loyalty and deceit.In \"The Snow Was Dirty,\" he constructs a chilling narrative set in a fictionalized, occupied France. The protagonist, Frank Friedmaier, is the son of a brothel owner who becomes enmeshed in a world of violence, black-market dealings and moral decay. Although not a spy in the traditional sense, Frank operates in a climate of suspicion and manipulation that mirrors the dynamics of espionage. His actions are shaped by an environment where everyone hides their true intentions and where survival often requires betrayal.As one excerpt puts it: \"He no longer even tried to justify his actions to himself. There was a sort of calm in that. A kind of cold peace.\"Simenon uses Frank's descent into criminality as a lens through which to examine the human capacity for rationalization and detachment. The novel is as much about internal espionage — the lies that we tell ourselves — as it is about external deception. The result is a bleak but compelling exploration of complicity and identity.On the other hand, \"The Little Man from Archangel\" is a quieter, more insidious thriller when compared to the overt chaos of \"The Snow Was Dirty.\" Jonas Milk, a timid, unassuming bookseller in a provincial French town, lives a peaceful if unremarkable life. His wife, Gina, disappears, and Jonas chooses to lie about her whereabouts to avoid scandal.This small deception grows into a suffocating web of deception as neighbors, police and even Jonas himself begin to question his motives and morality. \"He had tried to live as if nothing happened, but everything had changed. It was as though he had stepped out of his life without meaning to, and now couldn't find his way in.\"Here, espionage is domesticated. The surveillance comes not from intelligence agencies but from neighbors and social institutions. With the skill of a master novelist, Simenon depicts how communities can become complicit in the psychological destruction of an individual, turning everyday life into a theater of suspicion and fear.It is a longer and swifter version of \"Maria Concepion,\" the short story of Katherine Anne Porter, where a whole town shields the crime committed by Maria Concepion — the brutal killing of Maria Rosa, the mistress of her husband, who is the father of Maria Rosa's child.\"The Train\" is perhaps Simenon's most direct engagement with the themes of wartime espionage. Set during the German invasion of France, the novel follows Marcel Feron, a radio repairman fleeing with his family. On the train, he is separated from his wife and child. He finds himself traveling with Anna, a mysterious woman who may either be a Jewish refugee or a spy.As the journey progresses, Marcel forms a deep emotional bond with her, questioning his loyalty, desires and place in the world. \"He had never imagined life could change in a single hour. Yet he wasn't afraid. The sensation was closer to weightlessness.\"The novel captures the disorientation and moral fog of wartime, where allegiances are fluid and survival often demands emotional compromises. Anna's ambiguous identity adds a layer of espionage intrigue, but it is Marcel's internal conflict that drives the narrative forward. As with many of his novels, Simenon doesn't offer answers — only the haunting suggestion that in times of crisis, people reveal their truest and most distorted selves.In \"The Mahe Circle,\" espionage is turned inwards. Dr. Francois Mahe, a middle-aged physician, becomes obsessed with a young girl he sees during his family vacation on a Mediterranean island. Over the course of several visits, he constructs an elaborate narrative about her life and her alleged abuse, projecting his dissatisfaction about his own existence onto this imagined drama. \"He couldn't have said why he cared. Only that he did. It was the kind of knowing that didn't require facts.\"The novel is a skillful study in psychological surveillance. Mahe spies on the girl not for state secrets or political gain but for a sense of meaning and control. His internal monologue and emotional unraveling resemble the paranoia of a field agent caught between reality and projection. Simenon uses this story to launch a critique on the illusion of objectivity and the dangers of unchecked obsession.Written in 1946, this novel may now make some readers squeamish about the topic and the content of the work. But those who go beyond the bare bones of this novel will be amply rewarded.George Simenon's spy thrillers defy easy classification. They avoid the conventional trappings of espionage fiction — no high-tech gadgets, no globe-trotting heroes, no climactic shoot-outs. Instead, they explore the espionage of everyday life: the lies we tell, the secrets we keep and the moral compromises we make.In the sample of three novels that I discussed, Simenon crafts stories that are as much about psychological survival as they are about espionage. These novels reveal the spy not as an elite agent but as any individual navigating the murky waters of suspicion, identity and fear. In doing so, Simenon expands the boundaries of the genre and offers a haunting commentary on the way we live.Danton Remoto's books include \"Riverrun: A Novel,\" \"The Heart of Summer: Stories and Tales,\" and \"Boys' Love: A Novel,\" all from Penguin Southeast Asia. They are available at Fully Booked Online and www.acrephils.com.",
  - "content": "I AM reading the spy thrillers of Georges Simenon, which consistently got good reviews in their earlier and present translations being done by Penguin Books. Although Simenon is celebrated primarily as the creator of Inspector Maigret, his literary legacy is far broader and more psychologically intricate than the conventional detective series might suggest. Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 16:07:00",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net/manilatimes/uploads/images/2025/05/09/620441.jpg",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "manilatimes",
  - "source_name": "The Manila Times",
  - "source_priority": 33634,
  - "source_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/manilatimes.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "neutral",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 9.02,
    - "neutral": 90.58,
    - "negative": 0.4
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "movies"
    ],
  - "ai_region": null,
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "b0191425818727db0f44776087a97bb0",
  - "title": "The Philippine Pavilion at Osaka Expo: Depicting a country without tomorrow?",
  - "link": "https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/05/10/opinion/columns/the-philippine-pavilion-at-osaka-expo-depicting-a-country-without-tomorrow/2110142",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "opinion"
    ],
  - -
    "creator": [
    - "Jaime J. Yambao"
    ],
  - "description": "THIS writer served for a time as secretary of the interagency committee that prepared the Philippine Pavilion at the World Exposition that took place in April-October 1992 in Seville, Spain. The pavilion was criticized by some Filipinos for presenting too much of ancient history and little of the directions that the country was taking then and its aspirations for the future. The Seville Expo having taken place a few years after the EDSA Revolution, many Filipinos at the time regarded their country and themselves as quite exceptional. Perhaps the committee could hardly be blamed for the emphasis it placed on history because that expo happened to be taking place in Spain with which the Philippines shares a lot of history. The pavilion actually not only sought to show that much shared history but also the rich culture that the Filipinos had before the coming of the Spaniards through the display of antique jewelry and gold accessories. (A risky decision that turned out to be. A private-sector contributor to the gold display reportedly lost a part of her collection to criminal elements that followed her on her way home to the Philippines).The Seville Exposition actually had a distinctly historical theme: \"The Age of Discovery,\" celebrating the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus. But to the public, the World Fairs from their beginning in the 1800s have served mainly to keep track of the progress of humankind and make the members of the international community aware of each other's activities, accomplishments and plans in this regard. Seville presented itself during the expo as the City of the Future. Expo 1992 had the first express train to ferry visitors to the exposition site, and it was the first time that pavilions made their presentations in high-definition television. Many pavilions dealt primarily with their scientific and technological accomplishments, and featured sci-fi landscapes.The abovementioned criticism of the Philippine Pavilion in Seville may well be made of that one in Osaka 2025. The purpose of expos in general, as mentioned above, is obvious from the theme of the Osaka one: \"Designing Future Society for our Lives\" and from its three subthemes: 1) Saving Lives; 2) Empowering Lives; and 3) Connecting Lives. The preparatory committee for reasons of its own chose a separate theme for the Philippine Pavilion: \"Nature, Culture and Community: Woven Together for a Better Future.\" In short, \"Woven.\" One strains to see the relevance of this separate theme to the overall theme of the Osaka Expo.The main exhibits of the Philippine pavilion are the fabrics woven by the peoples, especially indigenous communities, of the 18 regions of the country. The architecture of the pavilion is based on the act of weaving with a chosen sample of the fabrics encased in sealed windows that floated with the wind. These fabrics would have caused this writer to be quite excited about the Philippine Pavilion had this expo been held two decades earlier. They have by now lost a great deal of their novelty to him. What ignited initial interest in these indigenous fabrics was the beautiful coffee table book based on a study led by then-senator Nikki Coseteng. They have since found their way to becoming or decorating everyday items, like clothes for men and women, neckties, shoes, bags, bedcovers, table covers, napkins, menu covers, etc. But better late than never, especially for foreign audiences to whom these fabrics would be new. The Japanese, technologically advanced though they may be, are just the people who would appreciate traditional fabrics. The architecture of the pavilion is beautiful and stands out, in reality and memory. The design is inspired by the act of weaving and lends a sense of unity and coherence to the whole project. It is certainly good news to this writer that rattan flourishes once again in the country. It disappeared for some time because of over and unsustainable exploitation. Because of the use of rattan, the pavilion blends wonderfully with the architectural culture of Japan as represented by the huge ring of wood that encloses the foreign pavilions.Accounts of the pavilion in social media tell readers that the pavilion after Osaka will have a second life at the National Museum of the Philippines. It does have the air of a museum already. Those fabrics have a place in a Philippine pavilion but given the proper context and importance.One could wish the pavilion imparts a broader and deeper sense of the archipelago called the Philippines today and tomorrow. It is a pity that Namria took forever to release its new map of the Philippines based on the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas. The pavilion in Osaka might have shown the extent of our exclusive economic zone and continental shelf and the bountiful resources, living and nonliving, over which the archipelago has sovereign rights. The Philippines is a growing maritime power. The pavilion might have shown our history and development as a nation of shipbuilders and seafarers, from the barangay of precolonial times, the galleon of the Spanish period, the container ship of today, to the Navy and Coast Guard ships made in the Philippines of tomorrow.The Philippines is on the cusp of accelerated economic growth with the frenetic upgrading and development of infrastructures the country is undertaking, bridges that will connect widely apart islands, railways and expressways that will reduce travel time between regions and communities, and airports that will facilitate the access of investors and tourists, foreign and domestic, to business and manufacturing hubs, and to beaches and other tourist destinations. In this effort, the country relies on the engineering genius its people have amply demonstrated as overseas workers and now have the opportunities to realize at home. The Philippines have a big population that is predominantly young and of working age. They are propelling the country to grow among the fastest in the region, with enough of them to share with other countries suffering from an aging population and labor shortages.With digital, artificial intelligence and internet means, the Philippine Pavilion might in the future be able to capture more fully the country's rich biodiversity and the economic benefits the people derive from it. Visitors can only be astounded by our coral reefs and the amazing variety and quantity of fish species thriving in them. An arboretum of tree and plant species endemic to the Philippines can explain the low amount of dangerous gases the country emits to the atmosphere. The rare mammals and birds of the country are a tourist attraction by themselves. The Philippines may already take pride in the measures it undertakes to adapt to climate change, particularly the terribly destructive and frequent typhoons, including the deepening and dredging of river systems and flood control measures.The Philippine Pavilion currently admits 20 people every 15 minutes. Limited space seems to be a problem. A pity if there isn't enough space for live performances by our dancers and singers. Of the latter, it is suggested that the country's award-winning choirs be allowed to demonstrate the Filipinos' love and talent for singing. A restaurant, too, is said to operate in a few weeks. It is hoped that there will be space for kitchen and customer tables, too, inasmuch as Philippine cuisine is getting more popular worldwide.The pavilions that social media recommend as must-see are those that have sci-fi qualities. Among them are those that feature robots, such as an ultra-fast mechanical horse. While the rider is guaranteed not to fall off, the robot is ugly and no substitute for the beautiful, regal and loving animal that a horse is. There's a robot that can serve tea. Imagine a machine hosting your function! If that is the future the train is going, I want to get off!",
  - "content": "THIS writer served for a time as secretary of the interagency committee that prepared the Philippine Pavilion at the World Exposition that took place in April-October 1992 in Seville, Spain. The pavilion was criticized by some Filipinos for presenting too much of ancient history and little of the directions that the country was taking then and its aspirations for the future. The Seville Expo having taken place a few years after the EDSA Revolution, many Filipinos at the time regarded their country and themselves as quite exceptional. Perhaps the committee could hardly be blamed for the emphasis it placed on history because that expo happened to be taking place in Spain with which the Philippines shares a lot of history. The pavilion actually not only sought to show that much shared history but also the rich culture that the Filipinos had before the coming of the Spaniards through the display of antique jewelry and gold accessories. (A risky decision that turned out to be. A private-sector contributor to the gold display reportedly lost a part of her collection to criminal elements that followed her on her way home to the Philippines). The Seville Exposition actually had a distinctly historical theme: \"The Age of Discovery,\" celebrating the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus. But to the public, the World Fairs from their beginning in the 1800s have served mainly to keep track of the progress of humankind and make the members of the international community aware of each other's activities, accomplishments and plans in this regard. Seville presented itself during the expo as the City of the Future. Expo 1992 had the first express train to ferry visitors to the exposition site, and it was the first time that pavilions made their presentations in high-definition television. Many pavilions dealt primarily with their scientific and technological accomplishments, and featured sci-fi landscapes. Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 16:05:00",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net/manilatimes/uploads/images/2025/05/09/620418.jpg",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "manilatimes",
  - "source_name": "The Manila Times",
  - "source_priority": 33634,
  - "source_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/manilatimes.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "neutral",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 0.26,
    - "neutral": 99.63,
    - "negative": 0.11
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "awards and recognitions"
    ],
  - -
    "ai_region": [
    - "osaka,virginia,united states of america,north america",
    - "osaka,ōsaka prefecture,japan,asia"
    ],
  - -
    "ai_org": [
    - "philippine pavilion"
    ],
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "ea2edec110dd545267dbb2e313e836ab",
  - "title": "'Dios mabalos'",
  - "link": "https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/05/10/opinion/columns/dios-mabalos/2110116",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "opinion"
    ],
  - -
    "creator": [
    - "Mauro Gia Samonte"
    ],
  - "description": "IN Bicol, we don't say, \"salamat.\" We say, \"Dios mabalos.\" Somebody does you something good, you don't consider it as a personal favor but as a gift from God, and it is God who will reward you for your good deed.Dios mabalos.Into the homestretch of the senatorial campaign, I found myself itching to establish liaison with erstwhile Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos. The surveys continue to picture him as remaining among those below voters' preferences, and I just found myself increasingly wanting to contribute to efforts that could reverse the trend.I don't know Abalos from Adam. I remember him first for being the mayor of Mandaluyong City who moved on to being the chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) when the rules of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) were changed such that entries were no longer finished products like before but merely film project proposals. It was these film proposals that were awarded financial subsidies of P1 million each. So, participants in the MMFF already got fat cash awards with no films yet submitted but scripts. This was quite unlike in the case of \"Burlesk Queen,\" which in the first Metro Manila Film Festival in 1977 won 11 out of 12 awards, including Best Screenplay for myself.Under the revised rules, I could only lose hope of ever joining the festival again for keeps. I simply lacked the talent for the political nitty-gritty necessary to avail of the P1-million pre-filming subsidy.No thanks to the MMDA chairman then as far as I am concerned.And yet, as the senatorial elections fever began, and I noticed that he was nowhere near the Magic 12, I found myself feeling bad. If a number of front-runners in the race have nothing to show but showbiz allure and sheer media mileage, why not one who had been steeped in practice as a public servant.I find the phenomenon hard to explain. Why should I have this urge of doing something good to somebody whom I don't even know personally? OK, Abalos' platforms reflect his affinity for the poor: reform to the Rice Tariffication Law, affordable housing, electricity and power reform, and labor rights.In Mandaluyong, the Abalos housing model was able to shelter more than 7,000 families with affordable schemes of P1,500 to P1,800 amortization. During his time in Congress, he amended housing laws to simplify land acquisition methods. As Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary, he also supported the 4Ps program and proposed housing allocations for overseas Filipino workers. He pledges to lobby for lower costs of electricity by proposing to remove VAT on electricity and fuel for power generation.The above platforms certainly qualify Abalos to be a viable option in the midterm elections.Indeed, that's precisely the whole point here. If you happen to like the guy because of his laudable performance in public service, go ahead, vote for him. But to be desperate that he is not getting anywhere in the top ranking is surely crazy.Otherwise, in a universe made up of immeasurable energies, always there must occur an inevitable magnetism among them such that either they repel or attract one another.Believe it or not, somebody up there finally prompts me now to write this piece.In a circumstance where politicians are perceived as a bunch of deceiving opportunists lumped in the common attribute of scheming to exploit the fortunes of the government, I should be the last person to cite anyone among the senatoriables as an exception.And yet true, my desire to connect with Abalos grew obstinate. I must convey to him an idea of how to pick up in the ratings.But I am old, quite too old to be able to move around. Neither do I have the network of men and facilities to track him in the frenzy of the electoral campaign.Into the last two weeks of the campaign period, I gave up the effort of ever connecting with Abalos and presenting to him an idea of getting him into the winning circle: capture the Bicol vote.How to? Imagine streets and plazas, and nooks and corners, everywhere allowed by law, splashed with posters carrying one single slogan: \"Dios mABALOS saindo gabos (God will reward all of you).\" Statistics show that the Bicol Region commands 4,053,977 votes; the Quezon and Rizal provinces, and Metro Manila certainly teem with Bicolanos. Estimate how much of that figure can serve as a comfortable base, then add it to your foundation accumulated during your tenure as DILG chief and see if it does not catapult you among the 12 winning senators.Already, Abalos has the edge of being endorsed by former vice president Leni Robredo, the most prominent Bicolano so far.That's much reason for Abalos to be thankful.But in Bicol, you don't say \"Thank you.\" You say, \"Dios mABALOS.\"",
  - "content": "IN Bicol, we don't say, \"salamat.\" We say, \"Dios mabalos.\" Somebody does you something good, you don't consider it as a personal favor but as a gift from God, and it is God who will reward you for your good deed. Dios mabalos. Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 16:04:00",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net/manilatimes/uploads/images/2025/05/09/620395.jpg",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "manilatimes",
  - "source_name": "The Manila Times",
  - "source_priority": 33634,
  - "source_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/manilatimes.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "neutral",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 0.18,
    - "neutral": 98.84,
    - "negative": 0.98
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - -
    "ai_region": [
    - "bicol"
    ],
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "b24a6d679df261ca7f88f97b689cb60c",
  - "title": "Vote for good governance this May 12",
  - "link": "https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/05/10/opinion/columns/vote-for-good-governance-this-may-12/2110115",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "opinion"
    ],
  - -
    "creator": [
    - "Al Vitangcol III"
    ],
  - "description": "THE upcoming national and local elections (NLE) on May 12, 2025, represent a crucial time for Philippine democracy. Given the various problems confronting our nation, this particular election offers an opportunity to stop the unending cycle of ineffective governance and systemic corruption in the government.As I mentioned in my previous articles, elections in the Philippines often perpetuate what can be called the poverty-corruption-miseducation cycle. Economically disadvantaged communities remain particularly vulnerable to electoral manipulation through vote-buying and patronage politics. Unscrupulous candidates exploit these vulnerabilities by providing temporary financial aid in exchange for votes, undermining the election process and frustrating the genuine will of the people.It is time to decisively reject candidates who lack substance and genuine public service orientation: nonperforming traditional politicians, celebrities without relevant qualifications, former athletes trading on fame rather than competence, members of entrenched political dynasties advancing family interests and recycled public officials with questionable track records.Instead, we must choose candidates committed to good governance — public servants dedicated to advancing the national interest rather than personal or business agendas. But what specific qualities should voters look for to identify candidates with genuine good governance capabilities?Don't vote for big campaign spendersA pattern of excessive campaign spending has emerged in the lead-up to the 2025 NLE, where numerous candidates for both national and local positions used huge financial resources well before the official campaign period even began. This was shown in political advertisements across massive billboards, extensive television and radio airtime, and sophisticated targeted advertising campaigns on social media platforms. Once the official campaign period commences, these same candidates distribute their own branded materials, grocery packages, host elaborate political gatherings, and in some cases, directly distribute cash to potential voters.According to recent reporting by Rappler, \"the 2025 election is shaping up to be one of the costliest elections in Philippine history.\" The analysis reveals that digital advertising platforms received the majority of campaign spending, \"the lion's share of the digital ads went up on YouTube and Facebook. But the share of the channel hid a few surprises: The largest segment, 30 percent or some P3.6 billion, was video ads on Android phones; the next two largest were static display ads on social media (23 percent) and on desktop (16 percent). The top advertisers (those who paid for the ads, as recorded by the social media platforms) included Sen. Francis Tolentino (1), senatorial candidate Camille Villar (2) and Makati mayor Abby Binay (5).\"Further investigative reporting in the article, \"Before the campaign period, TV ads of 2025 candidates exceed P10B before discounts,\" revealed that Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar, the daughter of one of the country's wealthiest individuals according to Forbes rankings, has outspent all competitors with advertisements valued at approximately P2.1 billion before discounts. Following closely behind are presidential sister and incumbent Sen. Imee Marcos with P1.9 billion in advertising expenditures, Makati Mayor Abby Binay with P1.29 billion and reelectionist Sen. Francis Tolentino with P1 billion.This excessive campaign spending raises a big question: Why are candidates willing to invest such huge sums in their electoral campaigns? How do they intend to recover these substantial costs? A straightforward calculation shows that the projected salaries and official benefits of senators — even across their six-year terms — would be insufficient to offset these campaign expenditures. The only conclusion that can then be drawn is that these candidates would recoup their investments through other means.The relationship between excessive campaign spending and potential corruption risks cannot be ignored. Candidates who spend excessively to secure their positions view public office as an \"investment opportunity\" rather than a commitment to public service.Thus, I urge voters not to vote for those candidates who engage in such lavish campaign spending.Don't fall for candidates' false promisesAnother critical factor voters should consider when selecting candidates is the nature and substance of their campaign promises. These commitments, pledges and policy proposals represent the agenda candidates intend to pursue if elected to office and serve as a fundamental basis for the voter's decision.Campaign promises vary significantly in their level of detail and practicality. The most credible promises include specific implementation strategies and realistic timelines for achievement. Conversely, voters should be cautious of candidates who rely on \"motherhood statements\" lacking concrete details. Such generalities may indicate a lack of serious policy consideration.Responsible voting requires assessment on whether campaign promises can be delivered. Promises that sound too good to be true, often are — particularly those that claim to solve poverty easily, create quick jobs or lower prices instantly.Perhaps most concerning are candidates who offer no substantive campaign agenda whatsoever. These candidates represent a particular risk to effective governance, as they enter office without a clear knowledge of their jobs.Hence, I urge voters not to vote for those candidates who make false and unrealistic campaign promises.allinsight.manilatimes@gmail.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/All.Insight.Manila.TimesViber: (0915)4201085",
  - "content": "THE upcoming national and local elections (NLE) on May 12, 2025, represent a crucial time for Philippine democracy. Given the various problems confronting our nation, this particular election offers an opportunity to stop the unending cycle of ineffective governance and systemic corruption in the government. As I mentioned in my previous articles, elections in the Philippines often perpetuate what can be called the poverty-corruption-miseducation cycle. Economically disadvantaged communities remain particularly vulnerable to electoral manipulation through vote-buying and patronage politics. Unscrupulous candidates exploit these vulnerabilities by providing temporary financial aid in exchange for votes, undermining the election process and frustrating the genuine will of the people. Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 16:03:00",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net/manilatimes/uploads/images/2025/05/09/620394.jpg",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "manilatimes",
  - "source_name": "The Manila Times",
  - "source_priority": 33634,
  - "source_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/manilatimes.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "positive",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 99.38,
    - "neutral": 0.32,
    - "negative": 0.3
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "elections"
    ],
  - "ai_region": null,
  - -
    "ai_org": [
    - "nle"
    ],
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "8970152044c05a6f5f7948303cf48856",
  - "title": "Go La Salle",
  - "link": "https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/05/10/opinion/columns/go-la-salle/2110160",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "opinion"
    ],
  - -
    "creator": [
    - "Alvin Santos"
    ],
  - "description": null,
  - "content": "Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 16:02:00",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net/manilatimes/uploads/images/2025/05/09/620438.jpg",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "manilatimes",
  - "source_name": "The Manila Times",
  - "source_priority": 33634,
  - "source_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/manilatimes.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "neutral",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 42.6,
    - "neutral": 56.59,
    - "negative": 0.81
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "education"
    ],
  - "ai_region": null,
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "b41c1807653c66b248e6a7676c81b666",
  - "title": "Voting in dissent: The role of protest votes in 2025 midterm elections",
  - "link": "https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/05/10/opinion/columns/voting-in-dissent-the-role-of-protest-votes-in-2025-midterm-elections/2110114",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "opinion"
    ],
  - -
    "creator": [
    - "Anna Malindog-Uy"
    ],
  - "description": "AS the Philippines hurtles toward Monday, the May 12, 2025 midterm elections, the political atmosphere is thick with frustration, fear and fury. The electorate is not simply choosing candidates; it is weighing whether the ballot remains a tool of empowerment or a symbolic act of resistance and protest against the current regime in the Philippines. In a country reeling from mounting domestic failures, including rampant corruption, food insecurity, spiraling inflation, political decay, widespread unemployment, economic challenges and lawlessness because of an unstable peace and order situation, protest votes may well become the most potent form of political expression.Likewise, the upcoming midterm elections cast a long shadow over the Philippines' political landscape, introducing an added layer of uncertainty that amplifies the existing volatility. With 317 congressional seats and numerous local positions at stake, the elections will be pivotal in shaping the country's immediate political future. However, the 12 Senate seats attract the most attention, given their critical role in the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte. These elections will not only determine the composition of Congress but also have far-reaching implications for the balance of power between the Marcos and Duterte political factions.The potential outcome of the May 2025 elections could fundamentally alter the political dynamics, either paving the way for the strengthening and consolidation of power by the Marcos-Romualdez political alliance or shifting the balance in favor of the Duterte faction. Such shifts would have significant ramifications for the 2028 presidential elections, as the results may impact the political fortunes of both factions and influence who holds the reins of power in the years to come. As such, the May 2025 midterm elections are more than just a contest for legislative and local offices. They are decisive in the ongoing political struggle between and among powerful dynastic forces, each vying for greater influence and control over the nation's future trajectory.Moreover, as campaign periods conclude and the day of casting votes is just around the corner, the critical challenge for the Filipino electorate is whether the polls bring forth leaders committed to addressing the root causes of massive corruption, inequality and social injustice. Or will they merely reinforce the status quo, ensuring that the same political families and political interests dominate, leaving little room for genuine political and policy reforms? This question is not only about the outcome of the elections but about the future trajectory of Philippine democracy. The answers will have profound implications, potentially determining whether the country can move beyond its historical political entanglements and pave the way for a more just and inclusive society.A nation in crisisIndeed, no doubt, the Philippines today stands at a crossroads of disorder and disillusionment. The specter of authoritarianism has returned, not through declared martial law, but through a mix of impunity, surveillance and suppression. The rule of law appears increasingly selective and instrumentalized. The arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte by the International Criminal Court, which holds no jurisdiction over the Philippines since its formal withdrawal in March 2019, marked a watershed moment that disregards Philippine sovereignty and independence, and is deaf to the sentiments of millions of Filipinos who credit Duterte with drastically reducing crime and instilling a stable peace and order situation during his time as president.Hence, the Philippines finds itself at a historic juncture, beset by a convergence of internal and external crises that threaten its sovereignty, democratic institutions, and national interest and integrity. Under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the country has been thrust into a maelstrom of political instability, economic hardship and contentious governance decisions.Adding fuel to public resentment are persistent and explosive allegations: unverified but widely circulated claims that Marcos' alleged drug addiction continues to circulate across social media and alternative news platforms. The silence from Malacañang on the issue, coupled with an absence of transparency and accountability, has done little to extinguish public suspicion. In any functioning democracy, such claims, whether baseless or not, warrant investigation or, at the very least, an unequivocal denial, or, at the very least, for the President to take a hair follicle test to put down the allegation to rest. Instead, the administration's strategy appears to be denial through omission.Furthermore, curtailing freedom of expression, state-sponsored suppression or silencing critics, dissenters and social media bloggers who are not kowtowing to the current regime's narratives on various issues are on the rise, evoking the darkest chapters of Philippine political history. All these mirror the signs of democratic decay seen in other failing democracies.Simultaneously, the Marcos government's celebrated economic and security alignments, particularly with the United States, have generated more symbolism than substance. These deals, often cloaked in strategic jargon, raise valid concerns about Philippine sovereignty and independence being bartered away in exchange for vague promises of economic development and deterrence, all while dragging the country deeper into the crosshairs of great power and geopolitical rivalries with little protection and no clear safeguards for the country's national interests — preservation of national sovereignty and independence, peace and economic prosperity.ConclusionIndeed, in this climate of disillusionment, protest votes take on an urgent and revolutionary character. They are not merely expressions of preferences and no longer mere choices but acts of defiance and declarations of disgust. Each vote cast against the traditional political elite repudiates systemic failure, corruption and repression, and signals a collective yearning for alternatives outside the decaying current political establishment. These protest votes may not immediately overturn the legislative landscape or change the composition of the Senate or the House of Representatives drastically overnight, but they send a powerful message, a resounding verdict; that the people are watching, and they are not amused, that the Filipino public is neither blind nor compliant, and the farce of governance has not gone unnoticed.Indeed, to vote in dissent is not to disengage from democracy but to reclaim it. The 2025 midterm elections are more than a referendum on individual candidates. They are a verdict on whether the people still believe in the current regime by consent, or whether they now see the political system as a rigged game played by a corrupt political elite in power, and are symptoms of a more profound crisis of leadership and legitimacy. Filipinos are tired of being told to choose between bad and worse. They want change. And if the ballot box is the only peaceful means left to demand it, then so be it. Hence, the protest vote is the sharpest weapon in the arsenal of a public pushed too far. Whether it can spark systemic reform or simply register public outrage remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: silence is no longer an option. And complicity is no longer invisible.To my Filipino compatriots in and out of the country, a protest vote is not a wasted vote; it is a conscious act of resistance in an age of betrayal. For many Filipinos, it may be the only way left to scream through the silence imposed upon them.",
  - "content": "AS the Philippines hurtles toward Monday, the May 12, 2025 midterm elections, the political atmosphere is thick with frustration, fear and fury. The electorate is not simply choosing candidates; it is weighing whether the ballot remains a tool of empowerment or a symbolic act of resistance and protest against the current regime in the Philippines. In a country reeling from mounting domestic failures, including rampant corruption, food insecurity, spiraling inflation, political decay, widespread unemployment, economic challenges and lawlessness because of an unstable peace and order situation, protest votes may well become the most potent form of political expression. Likewise, the upcoming midterm elections cast a long shadow over the Philippines' political landscape, introducing an added layer of uncertainty that amplifies the existing volatility. With 317 congressional seats and numerous local positions at stake, the elections will be pivotal in shaping the country's immediate political future. However, the 12 Senate seats attract the most attention, given their critical role in the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte. These elections will not only determine the composition of Congress but also have far-reaching implications for the balance of power between the Marcos and Duterte political factions. Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 16:02:00",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": null,
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "manilatimes",
  - "source_name": "The Manila Times",
  - "source_priority": 33634,
  - "source_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/manilatimes.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "negative",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 0.12,
    - "neutral": 0.1,
    - "negative": 99.78
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "elections"
    ],
  - -
    "ai_region": [
    - "philippines,asia"
    ],
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "3c6a6a3f56f870da0b00e26044470e0b",
  - "title": "It is time for Asia's MAGA: A nonmilitary quad alliance",
  - "link": "https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/05/10/opinion/world/it-is-time-for-asias-maga-a-nonmilitary-quad-alliance/2110112",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "opinion"
    ],
  - -
    "creator": [
    - "Kalinga Seneviratne"
    ],
  - "description": "THE current international tariff saga, based on a notion of the \"Make America Great Again\" (MAGA) ideology promoted by President Donald Trump and supported by millions of Americans, should, one would hope, trigger Asia's own MAGA — Make Asia Great Again. The latter is shaping up to be more the reality than the former.To give teeth to it and drive this MAGA movement, an Asian \"Quad\" needs to be launched that is made up of China, Japan, South Korea and India. Japan's realization of the futility of its flirting with the West to form an Asian North Atlantic Treaty Organization; China's fierce tariff battle with the United States; South Korea's impeachment of a president backed by pro-American Christian evangelicals; and India's deep resentment of US pressure to cut its trade ties with Russia have all created the environment for such a grouping to be born.Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing have recently shown signs of the formation of such an alliance, and New Delhi needs to be drawn into this. Since the June 2020 border skirmish between China and India, where New Delhi lost 20 soldiers, Washington has been fiercely wooing the South Asian country with offers of access to hi-tech arms and nuclear technology, among others, which are mainly military in nature.The US would like India to be its Israel in Asia — a possibility that has rattled New Delhi's South Asian neighbors and isolated India in the region. Yet, India has not fallen into that trap and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's excellent address to the United Nations General Assembly in September 2023 on the \"rules-based order,\" where he argued that such an order cannot exist if rules are made by a few to benefit themselves. Though he did not name any country, it was obviously directed at the West, and the US in particular. China would have quietly applauded that speech.Those who voted Trump to power have exposed the futility of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, that was set up at the US' behest and includes Australia, India and Japan to contain China with a military focus.Australia ditched it when it joined the Aukus (Australia, the United Kingdom and US) Anglo-Saxon club to jointly build nuclear-powered submarines to defend itself from China, which is Canberra's biggest trading partner. Now it is time for India and Japan to ditch it as well and join forces with China and South Korea to form an Asian Quad — let's call it Quadrilateral Development Dialogue, or Quadd, that is focused on economic, trade and development issues.Development agendaFollowing the coronavirus pandemic, India tried hard to gear Quad toward a development agenda, but it failed miserably, while for the US, their major concern was to use Quad to see Asia as a theater of conflict and arm its allies to defend them from a mostly imagined or hyped-up Chinese military threat. If Asians fight each other, that will ensure Western hegemony will continue in the region.If China is a partner in the new Asian Quad (or whatever you call it), that threat does not exist. Europe has the European Union to protect its security and for Europeans to talk to each other without outside interference. Asia needs such a structure to drive the global agenda in a multipolar world. The annual East Asian Summit is a joke: it is a community without an identity, as it includes outsiders such as the US and Russia.In the late 1980s, when the Asian economies were rising, Malaysia's then-prime minister Mahathir Mohammad proposed an East Asian Caucus that would include the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan, China and South Korea. He argued that Asians need a strong voice in international affairs as their economies rise.This idea was scuttled by Australia's then-prime minister Bob Hawke, when, during a speech in Seoul on Jan. 31, 1989, he proposed an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation grouping that included his Anglo-Saxon cousins: the US, New Zealand and Canada. Ten months later, 12 Asia-Pacific economies met in Canberra to establish APEC.A furious Mahathir refused to attend the first APEC summit in Seattle in November 1993, which led to Australia's then-premier Paul Keating calling him a \"recalcitrant\" who created a diplomatic furor, and as a result relations between Malaysia and Australia were in the doldrums for over a decade.When APEC was formed, India was not included, and the country was not pleased with it. In East Asia in the 1990s, India and the other South Asian nations were seen as the \"Indian subcontinent,\" ignoring history where Indian philosophy and culture shaped most of the Southeast and East Asian nations for centuries. At the time, India was seen as a stagnant, backward nation immersed in poverty and internal conflicts.But today, India is a global economic and technological powerhouse. As Columbia University's development economist Jeffrey D. Sachs noted recently, India is the world's most populous country, with the world's third-largest economy measured at international prices (purchasing-power parity), at $17 trillion, behind China ($40 trillion) and the US ($30 trillion) and ahead of all the rest. India is the fastest-growing major economy in the world, with annual growth of around 6 percent annually, and it is a nuclear-armed nation, a digital technology innovator, and a country with a leading space program.Voice for Global SouthIndia, like China, sees itself as a voice for the Global South. This was demonstrated at the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi in September 2023, when India steered the agenda away from a focus on Ukraine and toward a global development agenda. Japan, even though they have been a member of the exclusive Western club — the Group of Seven — for over four decades, has never been able to sway its agenda toward a less Western-centric one, especially when it came to global development issues.At the G7 summit in Hiroshima in May 2023, Japan's attempt to steer the meeting toward adopting a green development agenda favorable to the Global South was politely moved aside, and they adopted a \"de-risking\" policy to scuttle Chinese supply chains and its economic rise. India, which was an invitee to the summit, had no voice there.While Trump is trying to lure Japan into an anti-China trade block at the moment, as the Japan Times points out, around 20 percent of Tokyo's total commerce is with Beijing, larger than its trade with the US. India-China bilateral trade has been on the rise, with China being India's largest trading partner. In 2023, the total trade between the two countries reached $136.2 billion. After a high-level meeting of trade officials from both countries in late April, in a significant move that promises to reshape the economic landscape between two of Asia's largest economies, China has announced its readiness to open its markets to a greater variety of Indian goods. According to World Bank figures, South Korea's trade with China, valued at over $152 billion, is almost double that with the US at just over $82 billion.A formal trade and development-based Quad arrangement in Asia between its four economic powers could hasten Asia's MAGA and dwarf anything Trump's MAGA can achieve. It could also be able to control outside influencers who are trying to use the Philippines to create trouble in the South China Sea, and the Dalai Lama's pro-Western followers who are trying to destabilize the Himalayan borders between India and China.With all four countries' history of Indic-Buddhist civilizational influences, the peaceful ideas that Buddhism promotes could be a gel to hasten Asia's peaceful rise, rather than the West's attempts to make the region a theater of conflict like what they have done in the Middle East.Asian media need to get behind this Asian MAGA movement rather than acting like an echo chamber for Western media's adversarial reporting culture.Kalinga Seneviratne is the author of \"Global News Media: Countering Western Hegemony in International News.\" This article was first published on the IDN-In-depth News website in April 2025.",
  - "content": "THE current international tariff saga, based on a notion of the \"Make America Great Again\" (MAGA) ideology promoted by President Donald Trump and supported by millions of Americans, should, one would hope, trigger Asia's own MAGA — Make Asia Great Again. The latter is shaping up to be more the reality than the former. To give teeth to it and drive this MAGA movement, an Asian \"Quad\" needs to be launched that is made up of China, Japan, South Korea and India. Japan's realization of the futility of its flirting with the West to form an Asian North Atlantic Treaty Organization; China's fierce tariff battle with the United States; South Korea's impeachment of a president backed by pro-American Christian evangelicals; and India's deep resentment of US pressure to cut its trade ties with Russia have all created the environment for such a grouping to be born. Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 16:01:00",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": null,
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "manilatimes",
  - "source_name": "The Manila Times",
  - "source_priority": 33634,
  - "source_url": "https://www.manilatimes.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/manilatimes.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "neutral",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 0.17,
    - "neutral": 99.74,
    - "negative": 0.1
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "government"
    ],
  - -
    "ai_region": [
    - "asia,antique,philippines,asia"
    ],
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "afcf6f0fb3e0b8a712cc9d99f68d942b",
  - "title": "Watching the Kremlin’s new Putin documentary so you don’t have to",
  - "link": "https://asiatimes.com/2025/05/watching-the-kremlins-new-putin-documentary-so-you-dont-have-to/",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "ukraine war",
    - "russia",
    - "russian propaganda",
    - "opinion",
    - "vladimir putin",
    - "the conversation"
    ],
  - "creator": null,
  - "description": "As the chances of President Donald Trump’s peace deal in Ukraine seemingly recede, attention turns back to the question of Vladimir Putin and his war aims. What does the Russian president want to achieve from the conflict? And when – and under what conditions – will he be willing to make peace? Thousands of lives [...]The post Watching the Kremlin’s new Putin documentary so you don’t have to appeared first on Asia Times.",
  - "content": "As the chances of President Donald Trump’s peace deal in Ukraine , attention turns back to the question of Vladimir Putin and his war aims. What does the Russian president want to achieve from the conflict? And when – and under what conditions – will he be willing to make peace? Thousands of lives and billions of dollars hinge on the answers to these questions. Important insights into Putin’s worldview on this and other matters can be gleaned from a new 90-minute documentary, “Russia. Kremlin. Putin. 25 Years,” released by the state broadcaster Rossiya on May 4, 2025, and . The documentary looks back on Putin’s . I see the film as the Kremlin’s attempt to make its case to the Russian public. The film explains how Putin and why he is waging the war on Ukraine. Its release coincides with the commemoration of the in Europe, which Russia marks on May 9, as opposed to May 8 in the rest of Europe. As would be expected from a Kremlin-sponsored look at Russia’s leader, it is more hagiography than hard-hitting journalism. But as a into , I find it nonetheless revealing. It shows us the image that Putin wants to project to the Russian public, one that has been fairly consistent during his time in office. Softening the strongman The film starts with the loyal and somewhat obsequious journalist Pavel Zarubin at the end of his long working day in the Kremlin, at 1:30 a.m. The chat with Zarubin is interspersed with archival footage of key events and earlier speeches by Putin. Putin shows Zarubin around his apartment, which includes a chapel, a gym – Putin says he works out for 90 minutes every day – and a kitchen, in which Putin awkwardly prepares snacks for their chat. The rooms are immaculate but lifeless, albeit with a surfeit of gold leaf. The new documentary is carefully curated with clips showing Putin as a humble man of the people. “I don’t consider myself a politician, I breathe the same air as millions of citizens of Russia,” he says at one point. We do not see anything of his chain of . While Putin’s is that of a ruthless strongman, for domestic audiences the Kremlin has tried to soften this image. Here, the documentary is treading familiar ground. On the eve of Putin’s election in May 2000, the Kremlin and packed with heartwarming anecdotes about Putin’s childhood and daily life. The image being put forward contrasted to the realities of his early presidency, when . Blaming the West A common thread running through the film is Putin’s commitment to restoring the sovereignty and independence of Russia, which he sees as under threat by the Western powers. Prominently displayed behind Putin in the apartment is a portrait of Czar Alexander III, apparently a role model for Putin. is not well known in the West. An avowed nationalist, during his short rule from 1881 to 1894 he pursued economic modernization and avoided starting any foreign wars. The film is laden with anti-West propaganda. It argues that Western powers were behind the movement for independence in Chechnya, which threatened to break apart the Russian Federation. Putin goes on to blame the West for the current “ ” in Ukraine. In the Russian president’s telling, it was the West’s failure to implement the , which were supposed to bring peace to the restive Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. He suggests that the West used the Minsk accords as “a pause in order to prepare for a war with Russia.” Zarubin asks Putin, “Why does the West hate us? Do they envy us?” It’s a question that launches Putin into a potted summary of 1,000 years of Russian history. A similar thing happened during Putin’s notorious 2024 . Putin argues that, since the , the West has prioritized material wealth – while in Russia spiritual values come first. The film has several prominent references to the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in Russian identity. Early in Putin’s presidency he had been open to cooperation with the West, at Buckingham Palace and developing close relationships with and . But since the 2012 demonstrations , Putin has increasingly used the argument that the West has abandoned “traditional values” by promoting issues such as gay rights. Russian revisionism This is the first major official biographical documentary of Putin since , and it may be the closest we will get to an explanation of why Putin launched this war. There is a long feel-good segment about the with Russia in 2014, which is presented as the most important achievement of Putin’s time in office. The film shows images of destruction and suffering during the current war in Ukraine, without pointing out that it was Russia that started the war. It shows the devastated city of Mariupol and states incorrectly that the city was “destroyed” by Ukrainians. The documentary portrays the war in Ukraine as a direct continuation of World War II and a struggle against the allegedly created by the West as part of its goal to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia. The film shows Putin the widows and mother of fallen warriors. Putin thanks the women for their sacrifice – and they thank him for the opportunity to serve the motherland. This illustrates one of the central themes of the Kremlin worldview: that Russia is strong because its people are ready to sacrifice themselves. Another 25 years? Zarubin asks, “Is it possible to make peace with the Ukrainian part of the Russian people?” It’s phrasing that denies the existence of Ukraine as a sovereign nation. Putin replies, “It is inevitable despite the tragedy we are experiencing.” He expresses regret that there are only – as a great power, Russia needs more people. He also suggests he may need more territory, something that will be alarming for Russia’s neighbors. In one clip, Putin asks a boy, “Where do the borders of Russia end?” The boy answers, “The Bering Strait with USA.” And Putin responds, “The borders of Russia never end.” This framing also suggests that Putin is not interested in a peace deal with Ukraine in which Russia would see only limited territorial gains, which puts the over a potential US-sponsored deal in context. Asked about the recent falling out between Trump and Europe sparked in part by Washington’s more pro-Russian stance, Putin answers, “Nothing has changed since Biden’s time,” adding that the “collective West” is still bent on destroying Russia. Toward the end of the documentary, Zarubin asks whether Putin is thinking about choosing a successor. The Russian president says he constantly thinks about succession and would prefer a choice between several candidates. But the program does not provide any clues as to who that successor could be – and none of the potential successors are given any exposure. The Russian people have been told for years that it is . This film lies firmly in that tradition. The main intended message is clear: Putin is willing and able to fight on until he achieves victory on his own terms.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 15:49:48",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://i0.wp.com/asiatimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/file-20250508-56-e9eb6y-copy.jpg?fit=780%2C430&quality=89&ssl=1",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "asiatimes",
  - "source_name": "Asia Times",
  - "source_priority": 67073,
  - "source_url": "https://asiatimes.com",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/asiatimes.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "georgia",
    - "yemen",
    - "afghanistan",
    - "cyprus",
    - "india",
    - "singapore",
    - "saudi arabia",
    - "maldives",
    - "japan",
    - "united arab emirates",
    - "malaysia",
    - "china",
    - "south korea",
    - "north korea",
    - "taiwan",
    - "thailand",
    - "pakistan",
    - "mongolia",
    - "brunei",
    - "lebanon",
    - "indonesia",
    - "kyrgyzstan",
    - "syria",
    - "israel",
    - "bhutan",
    - "iran",
    - "turkey",
    - "armenia",
    - "qatar",
    - "philippines",
    - "hong kong",
    - "kazakhstan",
    - "iraq",
    - "bangladesh",
    - "laos",
    - "vietnam",
    - "timor-leste",
    - "kuwait",
    - "myanmar",
    - "azerbaijan",
    - "jordan",
    - "nepal",
    - "oman",
    - "sri lanka",
    - "uzbekistan",
    - "turkmenistan",
    - "macau",
    - "bahrain",
    - "cambodia",
    - "tajikistan"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "negative",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 4.64,
    - "neutral": 38.12,
    - "negative": 57.24
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "conflicts & war",
    - "government"
    ],
  - -
    "ai_region": [
    - "kremlin,montana,united states of america,north america",
    - "kremlin,oklahoma,united states of america,north america",
    - "ukraine,europe"
    ],
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "d09fc2a582984f45148910ffc64c61b1",
  - "title": "NYSE Content Advisory: Pre-Market update + U.S. & China trade talks set for this weekend",
  - "link": "https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/nyse-content-advisory-pre-market-update--us--china-trade-talks-set-for-this-weekend-302451132.html",
  - "keywords": null,
  - "creator": null,
  - "description": "NEW YORK, May 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) provides a daily pre-market update directly from the NYSE Trading Floor. Access today's NYSE Pre-market update for market insights before trading begins. Kristen Scholer delivers the pre-market update on May 9th...",
  - "content": "NEW YORK , May 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) provides a daily pre-market update directly from the NYSE Trading Floor. Access today's NYSE Pre-market update for market insights before trading begins. Kristen Scholer delivers the pre-market update on May 9th President Donald Trump announced a preliminary trade deal with the U.K. yesterday. It is the first agreement between the U.S. and one of its key global trading partners since the President's reciprocal tariff announcement on April 2 nd . Market action indicates investor optimism that this deal is the start of more progress. While details have yet to be finalized, President Trump said a 10% baseline tariff will remain in place on U.K. goods. This weekend, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are scheduled to meet with their Chinese counterparts in Switzerland . Opening Bell Barrick (NYSE: B) celebrates its new ticker symbol and next phase of growth Closing Bell Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) celebrates the 25 th anniversary of founding Watch NYSE TV Live every weekday 9:00-10:00am ET Video - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2683637/NYSE_May_9_2025_Market_Update.mp4 SOURCE New York Stock Exchange",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 13:02:00",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": null,
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "prnewswire_apac",
  - "source_name": "Pr Newswire Apac",
  - "source_priority": 1822,
  - "source_url": "https://www.prnewswire.com/apac",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/prnewswire_apac.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "afghanistan",
    - "india",
    - "australia",
    - "singapore",
    - "fiji",
    - "maldives",
    - "japan",
    - "malaysia",
    - "china",
    - "south korea",
    - "thailand",
    - "pakistan",
    - "mongolia",
    - "brunei",
    - "new zealand",
    - "indonesia",
    - "bhutan",
    - "philippines",
    - "hong kong",
    - "bangladesh",
    - "nepal",
    - "sri lanka",
    - "cambodia"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "business",
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "neutral",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 0.1,
    - "neutral": 99.81,
    - "negative": 0.09
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "financial markets"
    ],
  - -
    "ai_region": [
    - "united states of america,north america",
    - "new york,new york,united states of america,north america",
    - "china,texas,united states of america,north america",
    - "china,maine,united states of america,north america",
    - "new york,united states of america,north america"
    ],
  - -
    "ai_org": [
    - "the new york stock exchange"
    ],
  - "duplicate": true
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "6e993163bbc930424fd7b49a4f776912",
  - "title": "All eyes on the Philippines",
  - "link": "https://opinion.inquirer.net/183085/all-eyes-on-the-philippines",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "columnists",
    - "latest opinion",
    - "columns"
    ],
  - "creator": null,
  - "description": "Whatever the outcome of the papal conclave that is electing at this very moment—if it has not already elected—the successor of Pope Francis or the 267th pope after St. Peter, eyes around the world are already being trained on the Philippines because of the likelihood that a new pope might come from our neck of",
  - "content": "Whatever the outcome of the papal conclave that is electing at this very moment—if it has not already elected—the successor of Pope Francis or the 267th pope after St. Peter, eyes around the world are already being trained on the Philippines because of the likelihood that a new pope might come from our neck of the woods. Also, in a few days, we will have national elections, with every talpulano/a and his/her siblings and cousins up to the third degree simultaneously running for national and local posts. And how, as elected officials, will they serve this woebegone nation? Will they be a source of national pride or embarrassment? Our history as a predominantly Christian/Catholic nation (after Brazil and Mexico in numbers) is likely to be dredged up, from the time the Spanish conquistadores bearing swords and the cross stepped on our shores when we were not yet called Filipinos, later to be deprecatingly called indios. But now, more importantly, why the Philippines, which has the biggest number of Christians in Asia, continues to elect corrupt leaders and their minions who get away with impunity, while exhibiting a yawning gap between the very rich and the very poor. Oh, but not likely to be ignored is the fact that the immediate former president, who called God stupid and Pope Francis a son of a whore, has been languishing for two months now in the Scheveningen Prison of the International Criminal Court at The Hague in the Netherlands to be tried for crimes against humanity. Proof that many Filipinos, militant church members among them, are driven by the love of God and country, risk their lives, and stand up to authoritarian rule, cruelty, corruption, and injustice. Throwback to 2013: “You can do better than this,” then Archbishop of Manila Luis Antonio Tagle said while holding back tears in a press conference which I attended. He was referring to the staggering P10 billion in lawmakers’ pork barrel funds channeled through fake nongovernment organizations. In an opinion piece, I paraphrased some of Tagle’s words that stuck in my mind. How he wished, he said, that those who were involved in the scam—an intricate web, he called it—would walk the city streets at night and behold the hungry poor while they spread out on the sidewalks pieces of cardboard that would serve as beddings for the night. Choking on his words, Tagle said that if only they (the plunderers) would touch the poor and look into their eyes. But no, he said sadly, slowly, emphatically. “The poor are absent in their minds.” What burst the dam inside me were his direct words to THEM: “You can do better than this.” No fire and brimstone from him, only simple words that carried a big message, a plea. And I remember the movie ”Priest” and the words unleashed by an angry bishop to one of his priests caught in flagrante delicto committing an indiscretion; “You are a boil on the body of Christ, a disgusting boil about to erupt and spill out its pus.” In the case of Filipino public officials who steal, gentle admonitions or even unprintable fire-and-brimstone tirades from church leaders only land on deaf ears. Many voters are still held in thrall by showbiz personalities who project themselves as God’s gift to Filipino citizens, whose entertainment value outweighs their worthiness as public officials. In less than a week, we will know the winners in our national elections (lawmakers and local officials), and in a few hours or days perhaps, the new pope, the supreme pontiff of 1.4 billion Catholics around the world. There has been last-minute bashing of one of our own who might end up filling the “shoes of the fisherman.” So Pinoy. But remember, Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio who would become Pope Francis, beloved worldwide, was himself bashed by some sectors in Argentina when he was archbishop. One reason perhaps why he never went back to his home country after he became a larger-than-life citizen of the world. For now, I bear in mind Jesus’ words: “No prophet is acceptable in his own country” and “You did not choose me, I chose you.” No one is good enough for a particular calling or vocation if not for the grace of God. Pope Francis had chosen, while still a bishop, the motto: Miserando atque eligendo which means lowly or unworthy but chosen. Tagle’s is “Dominus est! (It is the Lord!),” a stunned disciple’s cry after seeing the risen Jesus. Habemus Papam? —————— Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . Send feedback to [email protected]",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 09:20:23",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://opinion.inquirer.net/files/2025/01/Ma.-Ceres-Doyo-Human-Face.png",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "inquirer",
  - "source_name": "Inquirer",
  - "source_priority": 9835,
  - "source_url": "https://www.inquirer.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/inquirer.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "neutral",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 0.38,
    - "neutral": 98.53,
    - "negative": 1.09
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - -
    "ai_region": [
    - "st. pet",
    - "philippines,asia"
    ],
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "0b16451ccf3d9f9104849a37618824ec",
  - "title": "IPOPHL issues new rules to give ‘well-known’ marks added protection",
  - "link": "https://newsbytes.ph/2025/05/09/ipophl-issues-new-rules-to-give-well-known-marks-added-protection/",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "ipophl",
    - "trademarks",
    - "data privacy"
    ],
  - -
    "creator": [
    - "Newsbytes.PH"
    ],
  - "description": "A well-known mark under the new rules is granted a ten-year protection period from the official declaration.The post IPOPHL issues new rules to give ‘well-known’ marks added protection appeared first on Newsbytes.PH.",
  - "content": "The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has released the Rules and Regulations and Creation of the Register to help prestigious brands grow with broader levels of protection and increased valuation.In her welcoming remarks delivered during the formal launch of the rules last Monday, May 5, IPOPHL director-general Brigitte M. da Costa-Villaluz said the establishment of the register of well-known marks “is set as a system of economic and social transformation.”“But more importantly, it is a system of respect for IP rights and also a source of pride. That both Filipinos and international players will have pride in the trademark and trade name they create. And we use these to drive the economy,” da Costa-Villaluz added.The IPOPHL chief added that the registry can help protect IP against misuse and infringement.“Counterfeiting adversely impacts both domestic and international trade revenues. Indeed, all our laws, memoranda and precedent cases, are meant to create an economic environment to encourage not just foreign investment, but a fair system of economic cooperation,” da Costa-Villaluz added.During the open forum, which gave stakeholders the opportunity to seek clarifications, deputy director general Nathaniel S. Arevalo elaborated on the benefits of being declared a well-known mark.“With the introduction of the Well-Known Marks Registration Rules and Regulations, we are charting a new course in IP protection, enhancing commercial value, boosting consumer trust and increasing market share — thus attracting licensing opportunities and safeguarding the brand from dilution, tarnishment, and unfair competition, ensuring long-term legal and commercial advantages,” Arevalo said.Under IPOPHL’s Rules and Regulations for the Declaration and Creation of the Register of Well-Known Marks, a well-known mark is any mark declared by IPOPHL or any competent court to be “well-known.” The determination is based on the mandatory criteria under Republic Act 8293 or the IP Code of 1997.A well-known mark under the new rules is granted a ten-year protection period from the official declaration, which is renewable every ten years, provided that the registrant can prove continuous use in commerce within one year from the fifth anniversary of the declaration and upon each renewal.Spearheaded by the Bureau of Trademarks (BOT), the launch of the rules and regulations underscores a collaborative effort between IPOPHL and brands to protect and promote the vibrant landscape for both local and global enterprises.During the ceremonial launch, IPOPHL also welcomed its first filer, Jollibee Foods Corporation.“The designation of Jollibee marks as well-known marks will affirm our flagship brand’s strength built through our team’s dedication and the support of our business partners and customers. This designation will enhance broader protection and strengthen our global expansion, backed by strong brand equity, superior tasting products, and a passionate team committed to sharing the joy of Jollibee around the world,” said Ernesto Tanmantiong, global president and chief executive officer of the Jollibee Group.Jollibee’s representative, Quisumbing Torres law firm, also cited IPOPHL’s BOT for fortifying its international commitment to protect and enforce well-known marks.“The new procedure demonstrates that the Philippine trademark regime is dynamic, relevant, and responsive to the call of the times. We are optimistic that this approach will allow more brand owners to realize the full potential of their trademarks locally and now, globally,” said Divina Pastora V. Illas-Panganiban, partner at Quisumbing Torres and head of its IP Data and Technology Practice Group.The post IPOPHL issues new rules to give ‘well-known’ marks added protection appeared first on Newsbytes.PH.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 06:46:07",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://newsbytes.ph/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/trademark-IPO.jpg",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "newsbytes",
  - "source_name": "Newsbytes",
  - "source_priority": 595113,
  - "source_url": "https://newsbytes.ph",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/newsbytes.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "neutral",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 0.11,
    - "neutral": 99.81,
    - "negative": 0.08
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "awards and recognitions"
    ],
  - "ai_region": null,
  - -
    "ai_org": [
    - "ipophl"
    ],
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "9b19ba35f18e8e00cd162b1839851526",
  - "title": "Tell it to SunStar: Our vote, our power",
  - "link": "https://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/tell-it-to-sunstar-our-vote-our-power",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "opinion",
    - "manila",
    - "tacloban"
    ],
  - -
    "creator": [
    - "Tell it to SunStar"
    ],
  - "description": null,
  - "content": "By Bishop Antonio Tobias ELECTIONS are often a season of grand promises -- when the heavens and the Earth are offered to voters. Candidates traverse the nation, vowing solutions for even the smallest of worries. Fulfilling these promises, of course, is another matter. But it is a tradition that has endured. This makes it all the more curious that the high cost of electricity is barely a blip on the campaign radar. Curious, because surveys consistently show that voters care deeply about it. Electricity is a daily burden -- one of the largest expenses in a Filipino household -- yet our candidates, especially those vying for national positions, are conspicuously silent. Electricity is not a luxury. It is a necessity that sustains life and livelihood. From lighting homes to powering devices for work and school, electricity is essential. Yet its rising cost forces many to make unthinkable choices -- like skimping on meals just to keep the lights on. The Philippines already suffers from some of the highest electricity rates in Asia, despite having only a middle-income economy. In Metro Manila alone, per kilowatt-hour prices have jumped by about four pesos over the last five years. This has placed immense pressure on household budgets -- where electric bills rival food and rent. Worse still, our electricity is largely generated by fossil fuels -- dirty, expensive, and destructive to both people and planet. Power companies profit, the environment suffers, and the people pay. Yet those who aspire to lead this country remain silent. They covet the authority and prestige of public office, yet fail to show the wisdom and courage real leadership demands. Leadership, as Pope Leo XIV recently reminded the world, is not about words but action. In his first address, he called on the global Church -- and by extension, all leaders -- to move from “words to action” in the face of the climate crisis. His message resonates far beyond Rome. It is a challenge to all who hold or seek power: to stop dodging the hard issues and to confront the moral questions of our time. The cost of electricity is not just an economic issue -- it is a moral one. Access to clean, affordable energy is part of the common good. Leaders must be brave enough to challenge the status quo: to break the grip of power monopolies, overhaul outdated laws, and accelerate the transition to renewable energy that respects both people and the Earth. Sadly, wisdom is missing when candidates fail to recognize the suffering of their constituents. Courage is absent when they avoid the fight against entrenched interests. They chose this path of public service -- no one forced them into it. The least they can do is confront the real problems that plague the daily lives of Filipinos. The coming elections are not about personalities or slogans. They are about us -- the Filipino people. It is a rare opportunity to demand leadership that delivers, leadership that listens, leadership that acts. Let us not vote for those who ignore our most basic needs. Let us reject those who turn a blind eye to the moral urgency of the moment. Our love for the nation and hope for a better future will best be reflected in our ballots: if we turn our eyes away from empty promises from political dynasties, candidates who rely only on their showbiz fame, or those we already know to be corrupt -- our vote can drive change and elect Filipinos who intend to do good for our country. And may we, the often-overlooked and overburdened, remind them: power still belongs to the people. ****** Bishop Antonio Tobias is bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Novaliches, a part of the Meralco franchise area, and head of the Judicial Council of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 05:42:15",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://media.assettype.com/sunstar%2F2024-05%2F63772524-fe3d-44bb-b3ad-53fb7ae3b48a%2FSunStar%20Tell%20it.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max&rect=0%2C14%2C750%2C422&w=480",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "sunstar",
  - "source_name": "Sunstar",
  - "source_priority": 170617,
  - "source_url": "https://www.sunstar.com.ph",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/sunstar.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "positive",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 60.39,
    - "neutral": 38.62,
    - "negative": 0.99
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - -
    "ai_region": [
    - "earth,texas,united states of america,north america"
    ],
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "2205bff430460d0c44b672c69a797ae2",
  - "title": "Pope Leo XIV faces limits on changing the Catholic Church − but Francis made reforms that set the stage for larger changes",
  - "link": "https://interaksyon.philstar.com/politics-issues/2025/05/09/296094/pope-leo-xiv-faces-limits-on-changing-the-catholic-church-%E2%88%92-but-francis-made-reforms-that-set-the-stage-for-larger-changes/",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "synodality",
    - "pope leo xiv",
    - "politics + issues",
    - "robert prevost",
    - "papal watch",
    - "pope francis"
    ],
  - -
    "creator": [
    - "Dennis Doyle via The Conversation"
    ],
  - "description": "Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States has been picked to be the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church; he will be known as Pope Leo XIV. Attention now turns to what vision the first U.S. pope will bring. Change is hard to bring about in the Catholic Church. During his pontificate, Francis often [...]The post Pope Leo XIV faces limits on changing the Catholic Church − but Francis made reforms that set the stage for larger changes appeared first on Interaksyon.",
  - "content": "Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States has been picked to be the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church ; he will be known as Pope Leo XIV. Attention now turns to what vision the first U.S. pope will bring. Change is hard to bring about in the Catholic Church. During his pontificate, Francis often gestured toward change without actually changing church doctrines. He permitted discussion of ordaining married men in remote regions where populations were greatly underserved due to a lack of priests, but he did not actually allow it . On his own initiative, he set up a commission to study the possibility of ordaining women as deacons, but he did not follow it through . However, he did allow priests to offer the Eucharist , the most important Catholic sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, to Catholics who had divorced and remarried without being granted an annulment. Likewise, Francis did not change the official teaching that a sacramental marriage is between a man and a woman, but he did allow for the blessing of gay couples , in a manner that did appear to be a sanctioning of gay marriage. To what degree will the new pope stand or not stand in continuity with Francis? As a scholar who has studied the writings and actions of the popes since the time of the Second Vatican Council, a series of meetings held to modernize the church from 1962 to 1965, I am aware that every pope comes with his own vision and his own agenda for leading the church. Still, the popes who immediately preceded them set practical limits on what changes could be made. There were limitations on Francis as well; however, the new pope, I argue, will have more leeway because of the signals Francis sent. The process of synodality Francis initiated a process called “synodality ,” a term that combines the Greek words for “journey” and “together.” Synodality involves gathering Catholics of various ranks and points of view to share their faith and pray with each other as they address challenges faced by the church today. One of Francis’ favorite themes was inclusion. He carried forward the teaching of the Second Vatican Council that the Holy Spirit – that is, the Spirit of God who inspired the prophets and is believed to be sent by Christ among Christians in a special way – is at work throughout the whole church; it includes not only the hierarchy but all of the church members. This belief constituted the core principle underlying synodality. Francis launched a two-year global consultation process in October 2022, culminating in a synod in Rome in October 2024. Catholics all over the world offered their insights and opinions during this process. The synod discussed many issues, some of which were controversial, such as clerical sexual abuse, the need for oversight of bishops, the role of women in general and the ordination of women as deacons. The final synod document did not offer conclusions concerning these topics but rather aimed more at promoting the transformation of the entire Catholic Church into a synodal church in which Catholics tackle together the many challenges of the modern world . Francis refrained from issuing his own document in response, in order that the synod’s statement could stand on its own. The process of synodality in one sense places limits on bishops and the pope by emphasizing their need to listen closely to all church members before making decisions. In another sense, though, in the long run the process opens up the possibility for needed developments to take place when and if lay Catholics overwhelmingly testify that they believe the church should move in a certain direction. Change is hard in the church A pope, however, cannot simply reverse official positions that his immediate predecessors had been emphasizing. Practically speaking, there needs to be a papacy, or two, during which a pope will either remain silent on matters that call for change or at least limit himself to hints and signals on such issues. In 1864, Pius IX condemned the proposition that “the Church ought to be separated from the State, and the State from the Church.” It wasn’t until 1965 – some 100 years later – that the Second Vatican Council, in The Declaration on Religious Freedom, would affirm that “a wrong is done when government imposes upon its people, by force or fear or other means, the profession or repudiation of any religion. ...” A second major reason why popes may refrain from making top-down changes is that they may not want to operate like a dictator issuing executive orders in an authoritarian manner. Francis was accused by his critics of acting in this way with his positions on Eucharist for those remarried without a prior annulment and on blessings for gay couples. The major thrust of his papacy, however, with his emphasis on synodality, was actually in the opposite direction. Notably, when the Amazon Synod – held in Rome in October 2019 – voted 128-41 to allow for married priests in the Brazilian Amazon region, Francis rejected it as not being the appropriate time for such a significant change. Past doctrines The belief that the pope should express the faith of the people and not simply his own personal opinions is not a new insight from Francis. The doctrine of papal infallibility , declared at the First Vatican Council in 1870, held that the pope, under certain conditions, could express the faith of the church without error. The limitations and qualifications of this power include that the pope be speaking not personally but in his official capacity as the head of the church; he must not be in heresy; he must be free of coercion and of sound mind; he must be addressing a matter of faith and morals; and he must consult relevant documents and other Catholics so that what he teaches represents not simply his own opinions but the faith of the church. The Marian doctrines of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption offer examples of the importance of consultation. The Immaculate Conception, proclaimed by Pope Pius IX in 1854, is the teaching that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was herself preserved from original sin, a stain inherited from Adam that Catholics believe all other human beings are born with, from the moment of her conception . The Assumption, proclaimed by Pius XII in 1950, is the doctrine that Mary was taken body and soul into heaven at the end of her earthly life . The documents in which these doctrines were proclaimed stressed that the bishops of the church had been consulted and that the faith of the lay people was being affirmed. Unity, above all One of the main duties of the pope is to protect the unity of the Catholic Church. On one hand, making many changes quickly can lead to schism, an actual split in the community. In 2022, for example, the Global Methodist Church split from the United Methodist Church over same-sex marriage and the ordination of noncelibate gay bishops . There have also been various schisms within the Anglican communion in recent years . The Catholic Church faces similar challenges but so far has been able to avoid schisms by limiting the actual changes being made. On the other hand, not making reasonable changes that acknowledge positive developments in the culture regarding issues such as the full inclusion of women or the dignity of gays and lesbians can result in the large-scale exit of members . Pope Leo XIV, I argue, needs to be a spiritual leader, a person of vision, who can build upon the legacy of his immediate predecessors in such a way as to meet the challenges of the present moment. He already stated that he wants a synodal church that is “ close to the people who suffer ,” signaling a great deal about the direction he will take. If the new pope is able to update church teachings on some hot-button issues, it will be precisely because Francis set the stage for him. Dennis Doyle , Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, University of Dayton. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article .",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-09 03:25:42",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://media.interaksyon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/pope-leo-xiv-pray-balcony.jpg",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "interaksyon",
  - "source_name": "Interaksyon",
  - "source_priority": 17878,
  - "source_url": "https://interaksyon.philstar.com",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/interaksyon.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "neutral",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 31.35,
    - "neutral": 68,
    - "negative": 0.65
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - -
    "ai_region": [
    - "united states of america,north america"
    ],
  - -
    "ai_org": [
    - "catholic church"
    ],
  - "duplicate": true
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "45168f6fb2a83775d2b8eca12ef8190c",
  - "title": "Forging strategic ties with China",
  - "link": "https://opinion.inquirer.net/183091/forging-strategic-ties-with-china",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "columnists",
    - "columns",
    - "latest opinion"
    ],
  - "creator": null,
  - "description": "Jakarta—Nonaligned Indonesia has navigated through the complexity of big power rivalry by forging closer economic ties with China, while building more intensive relations on security and defense with the United States. But the geopolitical landscape is constantly changing, with Indonesia needing to adapt to maintain and protect its national interests. The inaugural “2+2 meeting” involving",
  - "content": "Jakarta—Nonaligned Indonesia has navigated through the complexity of big power rivalry by forging closer economic ties with China, while building more intensive relations on security and defense with the United States. But the geopolitical landscape is constantly changing, with Indonesia needing to adapt to maintain and protect its national interests. The inaugural “2+2 meeting” involving the foreign and defense ministers of Indonesia and China in Beijing last week could not have been better timed. The two countries signed the comprehensive strategic partnership in 2013, but without a strong security component, this relationship has not been all that comprehensive, nor China all that strategic. Significantly, this is China’s first 2+2 meeting with an Asian country, while Indonesia has already established this forum with countries like Australia, Japan and the US. Over the years, China has become Indonesia’s main trading and economic partner, an inevitable development given China’s rapid economic rise in the last two decades to become the largest economy in the world. But we also detect a more assertive, if not hegemonic, trait in Beijing’s foreign policy conduct that raises concerns in some quarters. This is all the more reason why the two countries should address the wider issues outside the economy, including security and defense, for this relationship to be mutually beneficial and sustainable. When the largest and third-largest Asian countries engage in confidence-building measures, the entire region benefits from the peace and stability that they ensure. A regular meeting of their foreign and defense ministers allows both countries to have frank discussions about the challenges facing them. There are the global issues such as the current trade and tariff wars, and the conflicts in Myanmar, Ukraine, and Gaza that necessitate their collaboration, but there are also the bilateral issues that need addressing. One pressing security issue that the ministers need to discuss is the escalating tension over territorial disputes in the South China Sea pitting China against several Southeast Asian countries but also dragging the US and other big powers into the region. Indonesia may insist that is has no territorial dispute with China in the Natuna Sea and dismiss Beijing’s claim of traditional fishing waters in the area as having no legal basis under international laws. But the reality is that there are frequent skirmishes between Chinese fishing boats, accompanied by Chinese coast guard vessels, and Indonesian Navy ships patrolling the area. The two countries have to stop sweeping this problem under the rug. In a closed-door setting, the ministers can try to reconcile this gap and may even pick up on the idea of joint economic cooperation in managing the area in dispute, as proposed in the joint statement by President Prabowo Subianto and President Xi Jinping in November. Indonesia should also use this forum to nudge China to stop dragging its feet in concluding negotiations for a code of conduct in the South China Sea, something that Jakarta, through Asean, has been pushing Beijing to agree on for over two decades. When signed, all countries are committed to resolving their territorial disputes peacefully without the use of force. The ministers should also explore ways of enhancing security cooperation as part of confidence-building measures to eliminate any suspicions Indonesia may have about Beijing’s intentions in the region, including its so-called “nine-dash-line” maritime claim that covers the entire South China Sea. Some of these suspicions are based on the well-documented history of the Chinese Communist Party’s intervention in Indonesian politics in the 1960s. Today, Indonesia has far more cooperation in the security sector with the US, and the annual large Garuda Shield joint military drill is expanding all the time, though China is excluded. Indonesia also still sources most of the weapons it needs from the US. It may take some more years before Indonesia feels equally comfortable in forging closer security and military ties with China, but the 2+2 meeting is a good beginning to put it on the right path. The intensifying big power rivalry between China and the US requires Indonesia to be even more resolute, not less, in upholding its nonalignment principles. The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network —————— Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . The Philippine Daily Inquirer is a member of the Asia News Network, an alliance of 22 media titles in the region.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-08 21:17:30",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://www.inquirer.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/new-inq-fb-def.jpg",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "inquirer",
  - "source_name": "Inquirer",
  - "source_priority": 9835,
  - "source_url": "https://www.inquirer.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/inquirer.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "positive",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 83.17,
    - "neutral": 16.04,
    - "negative": 0.79
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "international trade"
    ],
  - -
    "ai_region": [
    - "indonesia,asia",
    - "china,asia",
    - "jakarta"
    ],
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "5ae1e103671b81dc4e6a59d6a4212a52",
  - "title": "UniTeam then and now",
  - "link": "https://opinion.inquirer.net/183083/uniteam-then-and-now",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "columnists",
    - "columns",
    - "latest opinion"
    ],
  - "creator": null,
  - "description": "When the former “UniTeam” went their separate ways, I could not help but think of similar splits in Philippine history. In 1897, Katipunan leaders met to iron out issues between the Magdalo and Magdiwang, but ended up holding a snap election for a revolutionary government to replace the Katipunan. Elections are meant to unify, but",
  - "content": "When the former “UniTeam” went their separate ways, I could not help but think of similar splits in Philippine history. In 1897, Katipunan leaders met to iron out issues between the Magdalo and Magdiwang, but ended up holding a snap election for a revolutionary government to replace the Katipunan. Elections are meant to unify, but sometimes achieve the opposite. With the election of Emilio Aguinaldo as president, disunity was not resolved, it worsened. Andres Bonifacio, who initially presided over the meeting declared the election null and void. The next day, Bonifacio and his supporters issued what was probably the first election protest in our history. Aguinaldo was the lone Magdalo elected and he was not even physically present in a room dominated by Magdiwang. Was this a trap? Was Bonifacio betrayed by Magdiwang leaders related to his wife? Reflecting on this, we must go back to an election in 1891 to choose the leader of the Filipino community, which was split between Jose Rizal “Rizalistas” and Marcelo H. del Pilar “Pilaristas.” With the memory of Rizal’s boorish behavior at a New Year’s Eve party, Eduardo de Lete proposed a showdown, probably meant to formally challenge Rizal’s leadership. We only have one account of this election in Plaridel’s letter to his brother-in-law, dated March 31, 1891, when he stated this was a trap Lete prepped for Rizal. Lete actually got Rizal’s support for the election; they arrived at Plaridel’s place together. Plaridel raised a point of order: why have an election to unite what was already united? I addressed the group: “Every institution, every organization, has a reason for being only when it fills a felt need. What need does this new organization meet? For political purposes, within the limits of the law, we have the Spanish-Philippine Association; for purposes of propaganda, we have another circle at our disposal with valuable connections. “In short, all were against me and I was defeated as the only opponent of the plan. Naning (Mariano Ponce) shared my opinion but he did not think it advisable to insist and kept his mouth shut.” When Rizal was chosen to draft the rules, Plaridel intended to accept the rules without even reading them, but was struck by a provision that placed the newspaper La Solidaridad under the control of the elected leader. As editor of the paper, Plaridel objected, but Rizal assured him not to worry as he would be elected leader. After further clarifications, they cast their ballots, but didn’t meet the required majority of a two-thirds vote. Ballots were cast three more times with the same result neither for Rizal nor Plaridel so they decided to resume the next day. Before they parted, Rizal and Plaridel agreed to vote for a third candidate to avoid factions. Plaridel did not attend the elections, and when he returned home, heard that the first ballot was again inconclusive. Ponce, acting as Plaridel’s proxy, conferred with Rizal to field a third candidate acceptable to both parties but: “Rizal, without accepting or rejecting the proposal, replied that he was going abroad to work by himself because there was no unity possible where there were two Filipinos.” A second balloting, (the sixth since the previous day) was again inconclusive prompting Rizal to get all the ballots. He then separated all his votes and counted them for everyone in the room to see, before declaring: “Well, I see that I have 19 friends in the colony; goodbye, gentlemen, I am going to pack my bags, see you later,” and seizing his hat, went off. Ponce, who was under Plaridel’s instructions to block his election, then spoke to the Pilaristas to get them to swing their votes for Rizal and preserve harmony. Only then was Rizal elected, on the seventh ballot. Two advisers to Rizal were then proposed. Lete was elected but the second spot could not gain a majority for neither Mariano Ponce nor Galicano Apacible. Ponce was associated with Plaridel, while Apacible was seen as a Rizalista because he was Rizal’s cousin. Ponce then advised the Pilaristas to vote for a third person instead, but Rizal made it clear he would reject leadership if the third candidate was elected. How could Rizal work with two Pilarista advisers? To cut a long story short, a compromise candidate, Modesto Reyes, was elected. On the day of assumption of office, Rizal took the floor and, according to Plaridel “gave a long recriminatory speech, hit at Lete, and added that Mr. Del Pilar should have withdrawn his candidature immediately, with all the more reason since he himself (that is to say, I myself) had considered his victory inopportune (I really had said this): that in Manila the news of his (Rizal’s) defeat would have been badly received, since he was recognized there as the leader, and it would be very irregular if he were not also the leader in Madrid.” Rizal declined the election, and Plaridel, weeks later, filled the vacancy. Rizal then licked his wounds far away from Madrid telling a friend: “A scratch from a friend is worse than a blow from an enemy.” How come K-12 history class forgot these details? —————— Comments are welcome at [email protected] Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy .",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-08 21:17:30",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://opinion.inquirer.net/files/2024/04/looking-back-ambeth-r-ocampo.png",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "inquirer",
  - "source_name": "Inquirer",
  - "source_priority": 9835,
  - "source_url": "https://www.inquirer.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/inquirer.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "negative",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 0.22,
    - "neutral": 0.52,
    - "negative": 99.27
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - -
    "ai_region": [
    - "philippine"
    ],
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "df30ab9cf7a9a061b7ce4c11483df3f0",
  - "title": "A pilgrimage toward the May 12 elections",
  - "link": "https://opinion.inquirer.net/183084/a-pilgrimage-toward-the-may-12-elections",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "columnists",
    - "columns",
    - "latest opinion"
    ],
  - "creator": null,
  - "description": "In a few days, we, the Filipino people, will be summoned once more to the polls. It may seem routine to some, even transactional. But in truth, every vote is an offering, a line drawn in the soil of our nation’s future. This May 12, as we prepare to mark our ballots, we are called",
  - "content": null,
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-08 21:17:30",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": null,
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "inquirer",
  - "source_name": "Inquirer",
  - "source_priority": 9835,
  - "source_url": "https://www.inquirer.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/inquirer.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "negative",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 10.39,
    - "neutral": 39.37,
    - "negative": 50.24
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "elections"
    ],
  - "ai_region": null,
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "9d0f49c539ed3af7bba4533b5ec84c62",
  - "title": "Too obvious to ignore",
  - "link": "https://opinion.inquirer.net/183086/too-obvious-to-ignore",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "editorial",
    - "latest opinion"
    ],
  - "creator": null,
  - "description": "It sounds like a spy movie with all the classic subterfuge and layers of deception—except it’s all very real, and could severely impact the country’s political future and compromise our sovereignty. After several telling incidents, China’s moves to influence the May 2025 elections have become too obvious to ignore. Officials from the National Security Council",
  - "content": "It sounds like a spy movie with all the classic subterfuge and layers of deception—except it’s all very real, and could severely impact the country’s political future and compromise our sovereignty. After several telling incidents, China’s moves to influence the May 2025 elections have become too obvious to ignore. Officials from the National Security Council (NSC), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Senate, and even Malacañang recently sounded the alarm over China’s possible interference in the coming polls through the use of troll farms to boost disinformation, spy gadgets to hack into government sites, and funding support for pro-China candidates. During a Senate hearing last week, Sen. Francis Tolentino exposed China’s alleged “hidden and sinister” operations against the Philippines using a troll farm. The senator presented what he said was a 2023 service agreement between the Chinese embassy in Manila and InfinitUs Marketing Solutions, a Filipino-registered firm, with proof of a P930,000 payment for it “to provide keyboard warriors” or trolls to amplify disinformation favoring China. Tolentino said the NBI’s arrest of a Chinese national near the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) main office last week bolstered his committee’s findings on Beijing’s possible espionage activities. Espionage charges The arrested Chinese national yielded an international mobile subscriber identity device, an eavesdropping equipment that can intercept mobile phone traffic and track the location of mobile phone users. While the Comelec has insisted that its voters’ databank has remained intact, NBI Director Jaime Santiago said the suspect had been under surveillance for four to five days and was found to have stayed near the poll body’s premises for 30 minutes at a time. The suspect, who holds a Chinese passport with a tourist visa, is expected to face espionage charges in relation to the cybercrime law. “This isn’t an isolated case,” Tolentino said, citing a similar arrest in January, with the financial documents linked to InfinitUs seized from the suspects. Intelligence authorities similarly warned against China abetting “divisive political discourse” in the Philippines, with NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya telling a Senate hearing that “there are information operations [showing] that [China is] actually interfering in the forthcoming elections.” Usual modus for spying Beijing, said Tolentino, is “backing candidates who might repeal pro-sovereignty laws and undermine PH-US defense ties.” Several front-runners in the Senate race are known to be staunch allies of former president Duterte who maintained close links with Beijing during his term. Recall as well the case of Li Duan Wang, also known as Mark Ong, whose bid for naturalization based, ironically, on Tolentino’s bill, was approved posthaste by Congress. President Marcos however vetoed the bill that was opposed solely by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who had exposed Li’s dubious connections to a Pogo hub raided for alleged criminal activities. Police recently linked Li to the kidnap-murder of billionaire businessman Anson Que. And then there’s former Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, who was found to have falsified her Filipino citizenship, and was later identified by detained self-confessed Chinese spy She Zhijiang as being part of China’s Communist Party. While planting partisans in a foreign country is the usual modus for spying, former Interior secretary Benhur Abalos has warned that election interference also happens through information warfare and questionable funding. With anonymous posts by trolls on social media enabling such meddling, former senator Panfilo Lacson has urged the repeal of the country’s anti-espionage law, Commonwealth Act No. 616 of 1941, which he said is no longer responsive to modern threats, including fake online posts. False narratives Hontiveros similarly asked her colleagues to pass the Foreign Interference Act that would hold accountable “any Filipino found to be colluding with foreign powers.” She added: “This is a serious national security concern that undermines the integrity not just of our national elections, but also of our democracy While China has denied the spying and election meddling allegations, the words of its Foreign Minister carry little weight, given Beijing’s patently false narratives despite its videotaped acts of aggression in the West Philippine Sea. Call it reelection optics, but the fighting stance of some political candidates is just what might be needed to counter the self-serving disinformation being peddled by trolls and China’s proxy candidates. Malacañang, for its part, has vowed “to conduct a thorough investigation to uncover the truth behind [the election interference] allegations.” As it should. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . Such probe is a timely reminder for people to be more critical of online information, and to vote for worthy candidates who won’t allow China—or other alien powers—to subvert the country’s national security and weaken its democratic processes.",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-08 21:17:29",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://www.inquirer.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/new-inq-fb-def.jpg",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "inquirer",
  - "source_name": "Inquirer",
  - "source_priority": 9835,
  - "source_url": "https://www.inquirer.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/inquirer.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "negative",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 0.15,
    - "neutral": 0.09,
    - "negative": 99.76
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "movies"
    ],
  - "ai_region": null,
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "966b2c3b560ea788a1bd51bf36ffa530",
  - "title": "An appeal to candidates: Value the people, Respect the Electorate",
  - "link": "https://opinion.inquirer.net/183087/an-appeal-to-candidates-value-the-people-respect-the-electorate",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "letters to the editor",
    - "latest opinion"
    ],
  - "creator": null,
  - "description": "First, there was decadence and a show of machismo by putting down solo parents when Pasig City congressional bet Christian “Ian” Sia said with confidence: “Minsan sa isang taon, ang mga solo parent na babae na nireregla pa–Nay, malinaw, nireregla pa–at nalulungkot, minsan sa isang taon, puwedeng sumiping ho sa akin. (Some time of the",
  - "content": "First, there was decadence and a show of machismo by putting down solo parents when Pasig City congressional bet Christian “Ian” Sia said with confidence: “Minsan sa isang taon, ang mga solo parent na babae na nireregla pa–Nay, malinaw, nireregla pa–at nalulungkot, minsan sa isang taon, puwedeng sumiping ho sa akin. (Some time of the year, to those single mothers still menstruating—no, not you old lady—when you’re sad, you can have sex with me).” Then, a thoughtless and sexist remark, along with excessive exhibition of impropriety on the nursing profession by Misamis Oriental Gov. Peter Unabia during a campaign sortie in Mindanao: “The nursing scholarship is only for women, not for men. And only for beautiful women. It is a no-no for the unattractive because if a male [patient] who is already weak is attended to by an ugly nurse, what would happen to them? Their illness could get worse.” And these are the words of Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa during a proclamation rally of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipinas-Laban in mid-February: “There is no shame in having blood on my hands because I protected the Filipino people ... ‘yung aking mga kamay ay may bahid ng dugo, hindi ko po ‘yan ikinakahiya. Kung ‘yung aking mga kamay ngayon ay may bahid ng dugo, dugo ng masasamang tao. (If there is a blood in my hands, I am not ashamed at all. If there is blood in my hands, it is the blood of bad people.”) This is a chilling message of continuing impunity. This is apparently unremorseful and disrespectful to human life, and shows lack of accountability for the deaths of thousands of poor people. Of late, Gabriela, a progressive women’s group, condemned what it called a “kissing auction” during the campaign rally of Mayor Rammy Parayno and Vice Mayor Jimmy Parayno in Urdaneta, Pangasinan. An elderly woman called to the stage was promised P1,000 in exchange for a kiss from Vice Mayor Parayno. The reward reached P5,000. Why use an elderly woman for amusement during a sortie? It was not an issue whether the elderly willingly agreed; the question was why the Paraynos used her for amusement. What has become of us Filipinos? We have a pathetic situation—18.9 million youth who could not understand what they read, and politicians with no dignity in their actions. While the situation of the youth could be blamed on the educational system, social services, and governance, what explains the behavior of politicians? Moral bankruptcy is manifested in their way of campaigning, which reveals how they treat the electorate as cheap people and provides a glimpse of how they would govern and exercise their political obligations. Do not trust the trapos and those who rose to power through connections to big businessmen or dynastic families. If candidates are sincere and have good intentions, they should treat people with dignity. Candidates should learn by listening to people and edifying them rather than entertaining or putting them down. The electorate must be respected and given the highest esteem and honor. The campaign period should increase the awareness of people about issues that connect to their guts and daily survival, for them to live with respect and dignity. Lewd and misogynist remarks, humiliating gimmicks, and carrying out impunity do not make a better person or better politician. When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan. Proverbs 29:2 (NRSVUE) Dss. Norma P. Dollaga, KASIMBAYAN, Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . [email protected]",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-08 21:03:01",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://www.inquirer.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/new-inq-fb-def.jpg",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "inquirer",
  - "source_name": "Inquirer",
  - "source_priority": 9835,
  - "source_url": "https://www.inquirer.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/inquirer.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "positive",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 59.31,
    - "neutral": 2.67,
    - "negative": 38.02
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - -
    "ai_region": [
    - "pasig city"
    ],
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  },
- -
  {
  - "article_id": "923ba87992cf601dcdba8bcd73bf8ca3",
  - "title": "Our moral consensus",
  - "link": "https://opinion.inquirer.net/183090/our-moral-consensus",
  - -
    "keywords": [
    - "columns",
    - "latest opinion",
    - "columnists"
    ],
  - "creator": null,
  - "description": "As another election looms, with surveys being conducted left and right, some of us can’t help but be disappointed at how Filipinos are choosing their leaders. The disappointment comes from the assumption that, given the hardships we face as a nation, the next set of leaders must possess ideal characteristics to emancipate us from our",
  - "content": "As another election looms, with surveys being conducted left and right, some of us can’t help but be disappointed at how Filipinos are choosing their leaders. The disappointment comes from the assumption that, given the hardships we face as a nation, the next set of leaders must possess ideal characteristics to emancipate us from our present condition. We fear that the leading candidates in the surveys are not capable of carrying this difficult task. As we reflect on past experiences with elections, we realize nothing is new. We’re still stuck in the same cycle in a democratic process that promises reforms but consistently lets us down when the political spectacle is over. As I observe ongoing public conversations about the coming elections, I noted two interesting viewpoints: one comes from my socially and politically aware undergraduate students, and the other from an expert opinion I read online. I usually ask my students what they think is our biggest hindrance to achieving political maturity as a nation. Their response has been consistent: corrupt and incompetent politicians who are voted by ordinary citizens. Asked what we can contribute to change the present system, the answer remains the same as well: educate the voters. The other view explains why we continue to support politicians with bad record in public office. The author made reference to our deeply rooted relational culture that values “ pakikisama (getting along)” that presumably leads us to prioritize emotions over critical thinking. The relational culture, the argument goes, blinds us and prevents our being objective and rational in examining our candidates’ track record and performance. These two viewpoints have one glaring thing in common: they put the blame on ordinary citizens. The students’ view assumes an uneducated population, while the expert’s view treats ordinary citizens as blind followers of culture. Putting the blame on our people is a defeatist mindset and is even more troubling if we are not aware that we’re trapped in this game of victim-blaming. We are missing the point that the outcome of any event where ordinary individuals come together as one, including elections, reflects what the French sociologist Emile Durkheim described as our “collective conscience.” This concept refers to our ability to imagine and feel that we are guided by a common moral consensus, which allows us to be in the company of others despite being geographically separated from each other. It refers to our collective fears and longings as members of a single community. When Rodrigo Duterte came to power in 2016 and launched his antidrug war campaign, the project immediately resonated not just among his die-hard supporters, but to a lot of ordinary Filipinos afraid of being victims of crimes. The focus was mainly on the drug problem and Duterte’s brand of populism. When analysts and commentators were making sense of Duterte’s popular appeal to ordinary folk, the dominant discourse describes how he made himself relatable to the “ masa ,” given his popular rhetoric and unorthodox leadership style. Duterte’s popularity, we were told, also came from how he bent formal rules, bypassing tedious bureaucratic processes to speed up government transactions, including the legal process. But what’s missing in all these explanations is how Duterte was able to awaken our “collective conscience” by continuously reminding us of the persistent drug problem that threatens our moral consensus. In my mind, ordinary Filipinos who actively support Duterte until now are thinking beyond the drug problem. They are concerned with crimes in general and their impact on their lives. Duterte is their hero because they think he’s the only one who can protect them from that imminent threat. This phenomenon illustrates that ordinary Filipinos are mindful of their actions because they are guided by a certain collective moral compass. They think and act not just for themselves but for the welfare of others. Their support for politicians like Duterte is not necessarily driven by their lack of education, or by the “ pakikisama ” culture that portrays them as blind followers of the system. Their votes and candidate preferences symbolize how they see themselves and other people. They go to polling places and pick candidates whom, they hope, share their visions of the future. Moreover, the often-hated vote-buying practice does not automatically represent a lack of education among voters; it can also be a symptom of a weakening moral consensus. —————- Dr. Ricky R. Rosales is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. He is a senior lecturer at the UP Diliman Department of Sociology, and a news anchor for Teleradyo Serbisyo and Radyo 630. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy .",
  - "pubDate": "2025-05-08 21:03:00",
  - "pubDateTZ": "UTC",
  - "image_url": "https://www.inquirer.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/new-inq-fb-def.jpg",
  - "video_url": null,
  - "source_id": "inquirer",
  - "source_name": "Inquirer",
  - "source_priority": 9835,
  - "source_url": "https://www.inquirer.net",
  - "source_icon": "https://i.bytvi.com/domain_icons/inquirer.png",
  - "language": "english",
  - -
    "country": [
    - "philippines"
    ],
  - -
    "category": [
    - "politics"
    ],
  - "sentiment": "negative",
  - -
    "sentiment_stats": {
    - "positive": 0.16,
    - "neutral": 0.15,
    - "negative": 99.69
    },
  - -
    "ai_tag": [
    - "elections"
    ],
  - "ai_region": null,
  - "ai_org": null,
  - "duplicate": false
  }
],
"nextPage": null

}

Sub-Categories

top sports technology business science entertainment health world politics environment food