Th International Criminal Court must realize by now that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte hardly fits into the mold of the criminal tyrants that it needs to prosecute and convict. Why? How can you call a leader who is so well-loved by his people at a time when the term “lameduck” should be hanging heavy on his chest? We have seen criminal tyrants in the world, and we know how repugnant their deeds have been. But these tyrants murdered their people on a whim, often on account of religious beliefs. We have seen wholesale massacres that didn’t spare women, children and the elderly. Such leaders must ..read more

The final State of the Nation Address of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Monday, July 26, 2021, would rank as the most watched and applauded event in his five-year reign. Despite the usual detours from his prepared speech, and the laborious length of about two hours and 40 minutes, Duterte’s SONA accomplished what every speech should: PENETRATE THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF THE AUDIENCE. Millions of Filipinos became teary-eyed as President Duterte confessed the job was harder than he had expected, aggravated by Covid 19 and a string of natural calamities. One could easily see the frustration and la ..read more

By last count, 13 senators have signed the resolution calling for yet another investigation into allegations that public funds are being used for the operation of “troll farms” that purportedly manufacturers an endless stream of fake news to prop the image of the Duterte administration and bash its political opponents. With elections just beyond the horizon — nine months and a few days — this initiative led by LIberal Party senators apparently wants to disable any such capability to influence the public mind on issues. It is fueled by the results of the latest Pulse Asia survey showing incumbe ..read more

The announcement was scheduled for August 4, or two weeks from now. But Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and his partner, Senate President Tito Sotto III, couldn’t contain their excitement and revealed two days ago that their plan to seek the two highest positions in the country is a go. That it came in the form of a text message to media organizations didn’t diminish the impact of their decision. All of a sudden, it’s all hell has broken loose among the forces seeking to defeat the Duterte administration’s candidate. The entry of the PISOT (this is one of the ACRONYMS coined by netizens) tand ..read more

Business executives call it “numbers crunching”. It’s a time for them to review their balance sheets and make decisions about next courses of action. In business, it’s always about making profits. Politicians also do numbers crunching – scrutinizing poll surveys and analyzing what is going well and what is not. For politicians with intentions on running in the May 9, 2022 elections, the last six months are likely to have been spent doing just that — crunching numbers. There is a science in poll surveys that cannot be taken lightly, and these periodic samplings of the voters’ pulse have become ..read more

With Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio almost a runaway winner for next year’s presidential elections at 28% in the latest Pulse Asia Research survey, it isn’t surprising at all that all guns are now being trained on her in a desperate bid to shoot down her possible candidacy. Since three weeks ago, Mayor Inday has been visiting various parts of the country meeting with local leaders, and it didn’t take long before the purpose of her cross-country trips was to solicit feedback to help her decide on whether to heed the clamor or not. Until her visit to Cebu City last July 9, Mayor Inday has ..read more

Not too long ago, Nokia was the giant in the telecommunications industry. Almost everyone owned a Nokia, although there were other brands in the market (Alcatel, Sony Ericsson and Motorola among others). Before that, Motorola was the king in the market. But where are these brands now? Almost gone to oblivion. The market is now dominated by Apple, Samsung and Huawei. With rapid advances in technology, these companies introduce upgraded models to give consumers more choices and better capabilites. The first smart phones were packed by more computing power than the massive main-frame computers ..read more

It was supposed to be a wide-ranging consultation with local leaders in various provinces of Luzon, a process that could take weeks and months, to enable Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and his purported running mate, Senate President Tito Sotto, to get a sense of what they think are his chances if and when he decides to run for President. Photo credit: SENATE PRESIDENT TITO SOTTO FACEBOOK The “tour” started in the historic Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan where the duo had their pictures taken while praying at a pew. That was a Thursday, July 8. To everybody’s surprise, the news coverage ..read more

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