Fear, Mr. President, is what you want to instill in our hearts and minds. Easily, you picked out a tool in your arsenal of scare tactics, provoked by the words of the Chief Justice, reminding you of due process in your unrelenting war on drugs.

When you let that dreaded phrase slip out of your lips, surrounded by soldiers in a military camp, the message was as clear as the setting. The whole scene was foreboding. 

No, we are not treating this as a joke, an exaggeration, or as one of your rhetorical devices. We take this seriously.

In a little over a month as president, you have visited 14 military camps, showing that the military is your priority. We do not take issue with that.

But wooing the troops with the intention to impose martial law even in the clear absence of grounds? That is unacceptable.

We hate martial law the way you hate drugs, Mr. President. The feeling is visceral.

Thousands were detained and killed during those atrocious years, not even counting those who disappeared. Our freedoms were taken away from us, we couldn’t speak out, more so speak truth to power.  

You would know this. Your mother was among those who stood up against Marcos.

Human rights, that thing that you don’t care about, that you say shouldn’t be used as a shield to destroy this country, went out the window. Completely.

Yes, the Constitution allows you to call on the armed forces “to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion.” And it continues: “In case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, [the president] may, for a period not exceeding sixty days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law.” 

This is not the first time you made your fixation with martial law public.  As early as January 2014, you said: “I have no interest in running for president, but I will only agree if people will allow me to declare martial law.”

Enough, Mr. President.

To use your favorite words: don’t “destroy” our democracy; don’t “kill” our freedoms; and “stop” threatening to throw back the country to its authoritarian past. – Rappler.com

Let's admit that "bayani" is so ambivalent that really just about anyone's burial there or at any shrine can be the subject of a protracted, pointless debate.

Was Aguinaldo a bayani? And Bonifacio? And Luna? That is the problem with valuations in history. There is no canonical reading of history, because there persists the challenge of dealing with the past in the present. 

And what we have now – claims to an authoritative rendering of history, and the rejection of all other versions as "revisionist" – is the truly retrogressive return to a discredited Enlightenment posture. And quite clearly, Rizal, our bayani, was, and is still the traitor to Spain who, when death was imminent, vainly attempted to recant all he had written against Spain. 

And what of Ninoy Aquino? He is, for many, the bayani of the Marcos era, but it is as plausible to read that chapter if the 80's as the attempt of one man, with questionable political dalliances in the past, to wrest political power from Marcos, but who lost in trying to do so. Even now there are calls to re-name the international airport.

Sacrament of mercy?

As for those Catholic universities so called and associations that oppose his burial at LIbingan, how can you, at a time when Pope Francis steers the Church away from its sanctimonious posturing and calls on it to be a sacrament of mercy? 

What exactly are you blaming him for? Declaring Martial Law? The ConstItution of 1935 gave him legal authority to do so. For ruling in authoritarian fashion? The same Constitution set no parameters for martial rule. Because there were human rights abuses? But there were  before Marcos, and there have been after him! 

And what makes him culpable for every incident of abuse? Nothing, absent solid evidence, except a stupid reading of "command responsibility". Remember how everyone blamed him for Plaza Miranda? We were so sure he did it...and we were proved wrong. The CPP-NPA admitted they did it...and that Ninoy Aquino knew what was going to happen. 

So, where's the proof? There will be plenty of proof of human rights abuses. But that Marcos knew of them, or directed them, or should have known about them? I still must see that, in accordance with the stringent standards of the law on evidence....and sound epistemology! – Rappler.com

The author is Dean, Graduate School of Law, San Beda College and Chair, Department of Jurisprudence and Legal Philosophy, Philippine Judicial Academy.

Let's admit that "bayani" is so ambivalent that really just about anyone's burial there or at any shrine can be the subject of a protracted, pointless debate.

Was Aguinaldo a bayani? And Bonifacio? And Luna? That is the problem with valuations in history. There is no canonical reading of history, because there persists the challenge of dealing with the past in the present. 

And what we have now – claims to an authoritative rendering of history, and the rejection of all other versions as "revisionist" – is the truly retrogressive return to a discredited Enlightenment posture. And quite clearly, Rizal, our bayani, was, and is still the traitor to Spain who, when death was imminent, vainly attempted to recant all he had written against Spain. 

And what of Ninoy Aquino? He is, for many, the bayani of the Marcos era, but it is as plausible to read that chapter if the 80's as the attempt of one man, with questionable political dalliances in the past, to wrest political power from Marcos, but who lost in trying to do so. Even now there are calls to re-name the international airport.

Sacrament of mercy?

As for those Catholic universities so called and associations that oppose his burial at LIbingan, how can you, at a time when Pope Francis steers the Church away from its sanctimonious posturing and calls on it to be a sacrament of mercy? 

What exactly are you blaming him for? Declaring Martial Law? The ConstItution of 1935 gave him legal authority to do so. For ruling in authoritarian fashion? The same Constitution set no parameters for martial rule. Because there were human rights abuses? But there were  before Marcos, and there have been after him! 

And what makes him culpable for every incident of abuse? Nothing, absent solid evidence, except a stupid reading of "command responsibility". Remember how everyone blamed him for Plaza Miranda? We were so sure he did it...and we were proved wrong. The CPP-NPA admitted they did it...and that Ninoy Aquino knew what was going to happen. 

So, where's the proof? There will be plenty of proof of human rights abuses. But that Marcos knew of them, or directed them, or should have known about them? I still must see that, in accordance with the stringent standards of the law on evidence....and sound epistemology! – Rappler.com

The author is Dean, Graduate School of Law, San Beda College and Chair, Department of Jurisprudence and Legal Philosophy, Philippine Judicial Academy.

Just like President Duterte, I hate drugs. I want to eradicate it in this society. Almost every day, I ask myself why does it have to exist. More than its societal impact, it also destroyed my family 20 years ago. 

I am a daughter of a drug-dependent – or what people today call a drug addict. I was 3 back then when my mom finally decided to escape our house with me and my younger brother. We were 5, but my mom had to leave my two ates and kuya because she needed more time and resources. She knew 20 years ago that she needed to save us from a hellish life with my father. 

Aside from torturing my mom physically and emotionally whenever he was "high," my father had to let my mom do all the work: earn for our family and pay our debts which we incurred due to my dad's addiction. Almost all our properties were sold and my mom had to stretch everything just to keep us alive.

But that was not the reason why we had to leave. 

My father suffered from a serious mental disorder because of drugs. My mother knew that hallucinations occur among drug users. But my father suffered hallucinations far more serious than the usual. He became schizophrenic. His hallucinations came to a point were he would tell stories to my mom about how a father killed his kids somewhere near our area – stories that resembled our family. My mom was so threatened and knew that something had to be done before my father killed everyone of us.

Starting from scratch

That was the beginning of my mother's struggle. 

She had to start from scratch. My kuya had to stay in my lola's care; my two ates had to leave their schools and transfer to another province with us; and me and my younger brother had to accept the fact that we will no longer have a chance to experience a normal family. Our family suffered a lot just because my father did drugs. 

My father could have been a better father if he did not take drugs. He could have put those medals on me during my graduation day or had the chance to watch my brother during his competitions at school. He could have walked my ate and kuya on their wedding days.

But because drugs happened – all that is left in us is our hope that no other family would suffer for the same reason.

Drugs had been killing more families ever since. More than the stigma that it gives to the families and individuals suffering from it, drug destroys families and children's dreams.

Care, don't kill

What I understand from our story is clear: it has to end. And by ending it, we need not to kill and end lives. More than the hate that we are feeling towards the drug user, we need to show compassion and care. After all, as Filipinos, we are known to be the most caring people in the world.

Despite my father's mistakes, I am still thankful that after a decade, my mom and my siblings decided to send him to a rehab center rather than hate him and let him die in the field.

I know for sure that just like me, there are daughters of drug addicts out there who would choose to send their fathers to institutions who will cure and care for them.

These daughters might be saying the same prayers just like me. Please don't kill our father. He needs love more than your judgment of ending his life. – Rappler.com

(Editor's note: The author volunteered to write this piece on condition that we don't use her real name. We agreed to her request given the perspective that she brings as we debate the ongoing war on drugs. She works in government and lives in Makati.)

We’ve heard solutions and non-solutions to the Chinese aggressive actions in the South China Sea, and an official statement from Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr calling for restraint and sobriety following the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruling. Some demanded that China should leave the West Philippine Sea and others, to not agitate China and let their humiliation from the ruling, completely sink in.

First of all, the call for calm and restraint was expected coming from a diplomat.

We have to dig deeper into what exactly does Duterte plan to do with the ruling. China will not leave the Spratlys now that they’ve heavily invested in their artificial island projects and certainly not from the demands of a country that in their eyes is militarily insignificant. China will never consider the PCA ruling a humiliation because they’ve already drawn their conclusions from the start: the UN intervention would be irrelevant and it would be a meaningless loss against an unworthy opponent.

China’s unilateral actions have long been justified in their minds. Control of the South China Sea’s trading routes and the oil and gas reserves in the Spratlys, is more than just for economic reasons. It’s an important step toward fulfilling their global aspirations, to be able to challenge the only superpower in the world, the U.S. and then to become one.

It might be a little bit too late but it’s worth looking into some of the strategies of Chinese General-strategist-philosopher Sun Tzu of ancient China, one of which is “You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.” Two of China’s undefended weaknesses are in the cultural and economic places.

Checking the boxes

China recognizes the enormity of the task ahead and is well-aware of what it’ll take to get there. It starts with the economic wealth needed to fund building up its military power to match the US To be the next superpower has been their long-term goal and a failure will manifest itself as a huge blow to one of their weaknesses and what they fear the most: true global humiliation, in the strict sense. 

For China, the recent UN ruling is but a flea on a dog that it can tolerate to hang on forever. Its true fear is buried deeper than a “flea” could reach.

To allay their fears, they’ve been checking the boxes on the path to getting things done. These are military power, economic power, political influence, scientific influence and cultural influence, all to be close to or better than the U.S. It will take a long time but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that their lofty ambitions will come to fruition by around 2030.

They’ve so far checked one box when we saw their GDP based on PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) surpassed the US. 

The militarization of the artificial islands in the Paracels and the Spratlys is just one of their planned moves before they can check the military buildup and political influence boxes. There are many other moves, like parts of a puzzle, needed to support their intent to expand their territorial reach to become the first regional superpower, a stepping stone for the next world superpower. 

So what other things have they since accomplished?

The Chinese are the masters of reverse engineering.

For example, lagging behind the US in stealth technology, they embarked on detailed analysis of the downed F-117 stealth jet in 1999, followed by cyber-attacks for design data targeting the Lockheed Martin’s stealth projects. 

They’ve successfully launched a J-20, a cheaper copy of the F-22 Raptor but inferior unless proven otherwise. Then came the J-31 version of the F-35 Lightning II, but again with their own military doubting it has the same capability as the F-35. 

They only have one aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, their first reworked older Russian model and are now building a second one. They’re also busy on a more ambitious nuclear-powered 110,000-ton super aircraft carrier to better the 100,000-ton U.S. Ford-class aircraft carriers. They’ll do whatever is necessary to catch up with the U.S. despite knowing that it would be a very long and arduous undertaking. To put this into perspective, talking about aircraft carriers alone, today the U.S. has 10 Nimitz-class and 2 Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

Similarly, they have a ways to go before they can check the scientific box and being tight-lipped about the recent rash of cyber-piracy against the U.S., only explains their lack of innovativeness. 

In the world rankings on cultural influence in 2014, China was 14 positions below the US.

So nobody can blame them for first checking all the boxes, after all it’s only their future superpower status at stake.

The “what ifs”

The Philippines, weak economically and militarily, does not have many good options, but if we turn to another of General Sun Tzu’s strategies, “We should observe, calculate and outwit, without actually engaging in a battle”, there might just be a ray of hope for keeping the Spratlys.

China’s diminishing resources in coal, which will get exhausted in the next 35 years or so, was more than enough incentive to aim for the Spratlys. After they saw the low-lying fruit close enough to their backyard with the billions of dollars in oil and gas underneath the reefs, it was most cost-effective to build the artificial island that would support drilling operations and militarily, defend their cause. 

They also see in natural gas, the cleaner fuel of choice in line with their commitment to reduce GHG emissions and at the same time, another justification to delay the billions of dollars that will get tied up in their committed nuclear power plant projects.

So now ….

• What if Duterte announces an offer to foreign investors that they can’t refuse, to partner with the Philippines in a massive natural gas explorations near the Spratlys?
• What if Duterte starts the talks with the U.S. about a U.S. military base in Mindanao to ensure that the international trade routes in the South China Sea are preserved?
• What if Duterte, as he has threatened the power oligarchs in the recent past, invites foreign investors from Africa to South America, to build natural gas-fired power plants in Mindanao?
• What if Duterte incentivizes FDIs (Foreign Direct Investment) to move factories to Mindanao with guaranteed reliable low-cost power and low-cost labor that China cannot beat?
• What if Duterte promotes a full-blown environmentally-safe mining for rare earths that China is now virtually out of supply?

These “What ifs” are threatening situations that will feed directly into their fear of true humiliation because these will involve powerful global actors who will have skin in the game, not mere “flea” opponents that could be handily brushed off. 

Back in the mainland, China’s booming economy has become one of its biggest weaknesses. If we ask the General, he’ll say that China is now self-attacking one of its own undefended weaknesses. 

The manufacturing surge that catapulted their unprecedented GDP growth, was significantly supported by the conversion of farmers into factory workers. That in effect transformed a significant group more than the population of the U.S., into the new middle-class. 

However, the recent economic slowdown only fed into the fears of a “middle-income trap” that most former farmers are now already in. The government want them to spend but unlike the west, the former farmers would rather save as they’ve been culturally accustomed to. In view of that, a broad sustainable middle-class might not emerge.

Many can no longer go back to farming, as the rough transition from an export-driven economy to that of a consumption-driven one is underway. The feeling of being trapped will persist as more factories continue to cut manpower in response to the oversupplied global market.

The aftermath of massive factory layoffs will eventually morph into public protests and civil unrest. 

In the meantime, the government has been busy providing subsidies and assurances of some social safety net. Whether this program will have a happy ending or not, is yet to be seen.

In the near future, the Chinese government could be in a precarious position because a stalemate will be an indication of weakness and when publicized will manifest itself as instability around the country. They cannot allow this to develop because it will only support another segment of its potential true global humiliation.

Call to action

It’s time for President Duterte to click the “deploy” button for the “what ifs,” regardless of any notion that these are farfetched outside-the-box ideas.

In the eyes of Beijing, simply putting these out there will have the same impact as actually doing it. That’s because they’ll be faced with their own “What ifs” to think about and respond to, such as:

• What if some of these are already in the works?
• What if the critical point of no return for the Spratlys takes more time to be reached?
• What if China’s economic slowdown remains unabated with a struggling transition from an export-driven to a consumption-driven economy?
• What if the next US president displays a stronger view against a potential disruption of the South China Sea trading routes?

After the Beijing leaders have done their due deliberation, they’ll have to choose between “avoid true global humiliation” or “just let it play out." – Rappler.com

Rolly Calalang holds a BSME from UP Diliman and a BSEE from FEU Manila. He has experience in the power industry. 

Millennials broadly refer to youth born in the 1980s and 1990s.  They came of age at the turn of the new millennium.

But when commentators describe Filipino youth as millennials, they typically refer to a very specific segment of our population. Millennials are characterized as young people who are educated, tech-savvy, well travelled, and cosmopolitan with their choices in life.

Market researchers and advertisers are naturally interested in them as a target demographic.  

But they too reinforce the stereotype that they are highly mobile and readily willing to transfer from one job to another.

But there's a problem. These are, of course, young people who come from affluent backgrounds with a lifestyle that affords them to experience the best the world has to offer.

Eat, pray, love

To use the title of a hit movie, these millennials can choose to eat, pray, and love. Theirs is a disposition that is not only consumerist but also willing to encounter new discoveries.  After all, the affluence of the Philippine economy – thanks to booming industries and OFW remittances – has given birth to a segment of young people who can afford an experimental lifestyle.

Although their disposition is thoroughly individualistic, they are not necessarily egocentric.  Older people might find them selfish because, as studies show, millennials especially in the West "want it all" and they "want it now." This explains their insatiable drive for new gadgets, clubbing, travel, rewarding jobs, and even designer drugs.

But they are not self-seeking. They want occupations that give them meaning. Passion is a tangible virtue for them. And in many cases, their passion is about making a positive difference in the world. That's why they have many passion projects. After all, YOLO.

Passion, experience, adventure, and meaning. These are just some of the words that define today's millennial.

What's wrong?

But something is amiss with this caricature.

When generations are described wholesale – as Baby Boomers, Gen X, or Millennials  commentators in the Philippines commit at least two mistakes. First, these categories are directly imported from Western societies with their own historical conditions that shaped the consciousness of their young people as they were growing up. Filipino youth, having been born in the 1980s and 1990s, surely have their own social conditions. Many of them are not aware of Martial Law. Many of them are children of OFWs.

Second, commentators run the risk of essentializing young people by using such general categories. Essentialisms are problematic in sociological analysis because they impose only one way of understanding reality. Deviations are treated as outliers or abnormalities, which overlook other experiences that can enrich our understanding of social issues.

That is why from the point of view of the sociology of generations, observers need to underscore not only the dominant youth culture. We need to recognize other groups or segments of young people who may have undergone very different experiences even if they may belong to the same age group. Karl Mannheim, a classical thinker in the sociology of generations, calls these other groups generational units.

In this light, to call Filipino youth millennials conceals more than it reveals.     

The complex picture

Ours is a very young population. Half of Filipinos in 2015 were younger than 25.  As they will shape our future, young people need to be understood well.

Official unemployment statistics are revealing. While the total unemployment rate is declining, it is remarkable that as of April 2016, 50% of the unemployed are 15 to 24 years old. 28% come from the 25-34 age group.

Unemployment, in other words, hits our youth more than it does any other age groups.

For the lucky ones who found employment, the skills for which they trained at university may not match their current occupation. Students typically enroll in such courses as engineering, information technology, and business administration. But 80% of jobs generated in the past 6 years are in the service sector, which includes BPO, tourism, and retail.  

The findings of the National Youth Assessment Study 2015 are also instructive. The study, sponsored by the National Youth Commission, profiles the needs, attitudes, and economic state of Filipino youth aged 15-30 years old.

70.2% reported that their household income on average is less than P10,000. 18.8% of households are recipients of 4Ps, which means they are indigents. 42.5% of surveyed youth are hoping for a job within the next five years. Among those who are employed, 26.2% indicated that their occupation poses some form of hazard to their health.      

These basic economic data suggest that many of our youth are not as upwardly mobile as we thought they were. They have a very limited lifestyle.

Given this complex picture, characterizing the Filipino youth as millennials is a mistake. Affluent youth, after all, constitute only a very small proportion of young Filipinos. In urban centers like Manila and Cebu, we might take this for granted. Malls, cafes, and condominiums have become youthful spaces adjacent to universities and hipster offices.

But in the rest of the country, the opportunity to travel, set up enterprises, and pursue passion projects is not as widespread as we are led to believe. They are faced with barriers to relevant education, decent employment, and other entitlements that could enhance their prospects about the future.

Way forward

Maybe I am a party pooper, but we need to be cautious when we refer to the Filipino youth as millennials. My view is this: Not all Filipino youth are millennial insofar as their experiences and life chances are concerned.

So when commentators celebrate their independence, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit, they neglect the struggles of many other youth in our society. Purpose, adventure, experience, and meaning are buzzwords that matter only to young people who have the resources and time for such things.

Vulnerable youth, on the other hand, lead lives of precarity, risk, and social exclusion. They are not adventurous. They take risks simply in the hope of a better chance at life.

If we really wanted to make a difference in the lives of our youth today, we need to recognize not just their aspirations. We need to confront the barriers that make it difficult for them to achieve their dreams.

Jayeel Serrano Cornelio, PhD is a sociologist and the director of the Development Studies Program, Ateneo de Manila University.  With Dr Clarence Batan, he recently convened #Kabataan Ngayon: A Workshop on Youth and Social Change at the University of Santo Tomas.  He is also the author of Being Catholic in the Contemporary Philippines: Young People Reinterpreting Religion (Routledge, 2016).  Follow him on Twitter @jayeel_cornelio.

It has all the elements of the telenovelas that enamor this curious nation that we are — a married man falling for a highly-placed woman, uncoupled from her earlier partner by a failed marriage, power and money, mansions and escapades. But that’s the fodder for gossip, and we have more important tasks at hand.

Early in the presidency of Mr. Duterte, I foretold that one of his toughest problems would be learning that there was a gulf of a difference between “local” and “chief” as modifiers of the word Executive. I smelled trouble when, immediately after his election, he wanted to be known as the Mayor of the Philippines. The Presidency is no mere projection on a national scale of the ways of a town or a city mayor. The ropes have to be learned by which the powers of the Executive are reined in so that all three branches of government are in sync.

That is no easy task, especially for one who has gotten things expeditiously done at his word! This explains why he took a swipe at the Chief Justice who reminded him that disciplinary authority over members of the judiciary vested solely in the Supreme Court. This is also the reason that he chafes at a Senate investigation into the arrest and, many times, the deaths of suspected drug peddlers and pushers. Not that he fears attribution. He rather resents obstruction — although, of the theory, he is very well cognizant. In his eagerness to rid the country of what he rightly perceives to be at the root of so much evil, he does not look too kindly on those who, to him, stand in the way!

Of course, the Legislature — that part, at least, that does not count itself in the “super-majority” — and the Courts will protest that they are only doing their duty, and they will be right, but that is exactly the problem of checks and balances. It is a challenge congenital to any government that accepts separation of powers and a constitutional allocation of competence!

After all it is not only the President who can overreach. There have been complaints in the past, not altogether unjustified, that the chambers of Congress were overdoing investigations — and were, in effect, playing prosecutor. And there is nothing that more easily lends itself to exaggerated claims of competence than the so-called "expanded certiorari power" of the Supreme Court — of the judiciary, exactly, but hardly anyone ever turns to the lower courts in the matters of “transcendental importance”.

The matter of the burial of Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani is a case in point. My own personal heresy is that the Supreme Court should have made short shrift of the petitions and dismissed them outright. Baker v. Carr still makes a lot of sense, and when there are no judicial tools by which to resolve an issue — like who should be buried where — then the issue is not justiciable. That brand of judicial hospitality that readily accepts petitions against government actions or legislative enactment cannot be helpful. Sometimes, it comes in the form of the counter-majoritarian difficulty. At most times, it is really undue judicial breadth, plain and simple!

The plan of the Lower House to investigate Senator Leila de Lima is another example of over-reach. What will it conduct an investigation or hearings for? In aid of legislation? Under the Neri Doctrine, the chamber must at least give us an idea of the legislation it intends to pass. If in the exercise of its oversight powers, it simply has no way of compelling the attendance of a senator. In aid of prosecution? Then ask the Ombudsman or the Department of Justice to investigate, and if warranted, to prosecute — and spare the nation yet another long-running thriller (or melodrama — really, it all depends on what kind of show legislators want to put on.)!

The point therefore is that the tiff between President Digong and Senator de Lima is likely to resurface in other forms until all branches of government calibrate the exercise of their powers with due deference to coordinateness and separation of powers, without shunning the strict obligations of checks and balances. And there is no fixed formula for this. It is as much a matter of the temper and disposition of the key players in national life, as it is a matter of the extent and the limits of the powers of our institutions, and the way we have read our Constitution and our laws. – Rappler.com

Marathon talks between the Philippine government and the communist-led National Democratic Front (NDF) start today in Oslo, Norway, with both parties inching to an elusive peace deal.

Hopes are high that, finally, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its military arm, the New People’s Army, will arrive at a political settlement with the Duterte government, a milestone in the 30-year history of protracted negotiations between both parties.

In the post-Marcos era, Duterte is the first president to be openly sympathetic to and comfortable with the Left. This is the key change underpinning the burst of optimism on both sides.

On the part of the Left, the talks will be its biggest test since the communist movement suffered its worst split in the 1990s.

There are encouraging factors going for the peace talks:

• The release of CPP leaders from prison, notably Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, who hold sway over the armed troops, and their participation in the Oslo negotiations. (READ: Joma Sison, Tiamzons reunited after 30 years)
• The appointment of CPP allies in key Cabinet posts, namely, Rafael Mariano to the agrarian reform department, Judy Taguiwalo to the social work and welfare department, Liza Maza to the National Anti-Poverty Commission; and Silvestre Bello to the labor department (Bello also leads the government negotiating panel). This is a first since talks began in 1986: Duterte has reversed the process by getting leaders from the Left to join government even before any agreement has been reached.
• Confidence-building measures such as both parties’ declaration of a unilateral ceasefire, first by Duterte, no matter that it was short-lived, followed by the current truce called by the CPP; and
• Personal ties between CPP founder Jose Ma. Sison and Duterte.

This bright spot under the Duterte government, however, is getting little public attention. Through the unending war, the CPP has lost the support of the middle class. And there is little interest in whether the talks will succeed or not.

But there’s one thing can kill the spark of hope: the President himself. Here’s the Duterte paradox: he is the biggest factor going for peace with the communists yet he may also be its obstacle.

The President is a kind of leader the guerrillas have been fighting against: a perceived dictator in waiting who is currently presiding over hundreds of extrajudicial killings of suspected drug users and traffickers.

Still, we look forward to the results of the 5-day talks in Oslo – and hope that one of the world’s longest communist insurgency will finally see its end under this administration. – Rappler.com

I used to be against Duterte because of his endorsement of extrajudicial killings, his desire to bury Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani and his beastliness against an Australian WOMAN missionary; our WOMAN Supreme Court Chief Justice and the WOMAN Senator Leila De Lima.

But as I have been reading his supporters’ arguments I have changed my mind  and joined the Dutertian bandwagon for the following reasons:

Well, it is a bandwagon. It’s a 16 million person bandwagon. Surely if 16 million people say Duterte can kill anyone he likes, bury anyone he likes anywhere he likes, and threaten to rape anyone he wants dead or alive – then how can that be wrong? They trust him. And because they do, everyone else should.

Anyone who stands in the way of  President Duterte must be a yellowtard. I did not know myself really, until Duterte came along. But every time I feel or say anything critical about the man, his followers say I must be a yellowtard.

Because of endless repetition, I am beginning to feel that indeed I must be so. I looked in my cabinet and found some yellow T-shirts. I looked at old pictures and realized I once owned a yellow umbrella. I realized that my years of fighting for human rights in dangerous situations was just a front to hide my being a YELLOW coward.

In fact, ever since I have decided to be a Dutertian, I have been trying to accept other aspects of my identity which were previously hidden from me. That I used to be a paid journalist writing critical articles about him, for example. As I looked for all the yellow things I owned, I tried also to find the bank account that contains all that moolah that Noynoy Aquino sent me to write critical articles against President Digong. I am sure it must be somewhere. My fellow Dutertians say so. Soon as I find it, my journey to my real former self will be complete.

I am also going to sniff out the Rappler leadership as to who is responsible for its yellow bias. It keeps hiring people like my (former) self who are obviously paid hacks for the evil that being anti-God, I mean anti-Duterte, represents.

In the meantime, I will  write comments about every Rappler journalist critical of my President. I shall say that they should not be read, that nobody reads them anyway and that I am disappointed and will stop reading. To do this, of course, I am going to have to keep on reading these people.

I no longer want to be THE PROBLEM. I had always thought that people had the right to criticize government (even the Aquino administration) because good governance demanded critical participation so that officials could be held accountable and policies improved. I always thought that if I paid my taxes, did my job well, followed traffic rules, and tried to be civil and evidence-based when I contributed to national debates, I was doing my job as a good citizen. I had always thought the serious political disagreements should not be taken personally.

But it turns out that this view of governance is only good for previous presidents. For President Duterte, change has come. How can anyone disagree with such perfection and the 16 million wise persons who noticed this perfection when others were just too blind to see it? Anyone who disagrees with him is a b$*tch. Anyone who disagrees with him condones drugs and criminality and corruption. They are THE PROBLEM.

So maybe like Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  I don’t have to be bothered with questions about whether I really earned my riches legally or paid my taxes or violated any laws, now that I have joined the bandwagon.

I like to regress to when I was 6 or 7 old when I didn’t like to study and liked to curse a lot.

It’s so hard really to have to actually read things about, say, the drug war. Especially when those long documents by experts don’t agree with my President’s policies. Well, here is what I think of you, government officials (curse you, Obama), UN officials (take that, Ban Ki Moon), health and law enforcement officers (who cares about the WHO): you are all poo poo faces.

Speaking of 6 year olds, I really am looking forward to having no respect for grammar and punctuation in any of the languages I choose to express myself. And if anyone notes that maybe my arguments are hard to understand because my grammar, spelling and punctuation make them dizzy, I will call them elitist. Because we the mighty masses have no concern whatsoever about reading and writing. Courtesy and language rules are for people from Manila who have studied useless courses in college and gotten high grades. WELL LOOK WHO IS BOSS NOW!!?!!!!

By the way, it is very nice to keep using the caps lock key. As a five year old, I love the caps lock key. It makes that little square on my keyboard light up. Pretty. WHEEEE!

Vicious. I love vicious. I am starting a new psychological experiment to prove that a person whose job and/or outlook is to viciously attack any negative criticism of Duterte lives longer. Also a divided nation, polarized by the attacks of us Dutertians, will be a great nation. 

I really like China. I really think we should give them a pass in the West Philippine Sea. After all, they are really helping my President. 

I finally realized that I am not a babe and therefore cannot possibly be of any concern to the President. Since I am not worthy of getting his gonads going (apparently this is the most important criteria, lucky the woman who he wolf whistles), I should at least be quiet and not make noise. Since compliant babes are what really get our President happy, people like me should at least try to make up for our inability to do sexy dances by giving him starry-eyed adulation instead. After all, not all of us can be both babes and adoring. We can at least be adoring.

I just hate those women like Senator De Lima who have the gall to think they can criticize our President and expect respect as if she was a man. (Naku, De Lima, di ka na nakakatuwa.) Doesn’t she know she is just a woman who will always be judged along sexual criteria that please Duterte? We can’t tolerate the thought that she might enjoy a sexual life, when our President doesn’t like her. Listen, all you muddapakas out there, the only women who can be moral while having sexual relations are our President’s women or the women of men our President likes. Because all the men our President doesn’t like are gay and having a relationship with them is...I can’t say it, I can’t say what it is.

And if any of you make anything about my President’s sexual behaviors, well you have no respect at all for the man and the office. He is a man, he has his needs. 

I am sick and tired of due process. Kill them all! Enter their homes without warrant! And if someone like De Lima disagrees, smear her first and promise proof for later. Whenever later means.

If enough of these vermin die from bullets or shaming (unless of course those we name are dead judges in which case they need not report to their supervisors), we will have a peaceful and prosperous society. 

I have a brilliant suggestion. According to intelligence reports, a lot of tricycle drivers and bus drivers are on shabu. If we start killing them then we are able to phase out tricycles and diminish the number of buses plying or streets. We will achieve what a lot of traffic experts have been recommending.

And if anyone of those human rights sissies get in the way, KILL THEM TOO.

On the issue of extrajudicial killings, I have to admit that us Dutertians seem divided. Some say our God, I mean President, does not condone extrajudicial killings. Some say that is what he promised and that is why we voted him into office. Whatever! As long as you choose the explanation that wins the argument, we are fine with that.

Black and white thinking makes life so simple. Those of you who protect the rights of drug suspects don’t care one little bit about the REAL victims of drugs. Those of you who write things and disagree with him are all just theoretical people who just talk and talk and don’t do any real work on the matter. Only He is actually doing something about it. Either you are with Him or against Him.

So there. I now expect agreement from a gadzillion egg-shaped or letter profile picture accounts. I have seen the light. Those who disagree with me, and therefore also disagree with my President, should use their faces to do rectal examinations. – Rappler.com

This article presents a very preliminary empirical analysis of the fatalities unofficially linked to the government’s anti-drug campaign during the period from 30 June to 18 August 2016.

It derives preliminary insights from patterns of media-reported fatalities. Hopefully, it will aid the public to better appreciate the complex landscape of the anti-drug campaign, particularly given the country’s decentralized system of governance. We hope it will also contribute to increased accountability across various police units and local governments, as they seek to suppress drugs while still protecting the rights of all citizens.

Nevertheless, the analysis here is preliminary because of several important caveats.

First, the data is drawn from media reports, yet we cannot ensure that all fatalities linked to the anti drugs campaign have indeed been covered by media. Second, this dataset is unofficial. More careful investigation could sharpen the final list of fatalities, since most are likely pending further investigation. This analysis is not meant to prejudge those outcomes. Third, the information on the context of some of the fatalities is very basic and clearly does not shed full light on the exact nuances of each case. For example, finding a salvage victim in NCR does not necessarily mean that is where the assault took place. Again, this analysis is not meant to prejudge all other possible angles for investigation.

40% of fatalities are not due to police operations.

We begin by classifying the fatalities into three main contexts:

• fatalities linked to police operations;
• fatalities linked to assassins (including hitmen “riding in tandem”); and
• citizens found dead (or “salvage” victims).

Of those fatalities linked to police operations, we further disaggregate according to:

1) fatalities resulting from police buy-bust operations and shootouts;

2) fatalities resulting from serving arrest warrants;

3) fatalities resulting from attempting to escape arrest; and

4) fatalities resulting from serving a search warrant.

Figure 1. Distribution of Fatalities by Context

After assigning a 100-day task team to look into existing service contracts and ways of lowering electric bills, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso Cusi has now embarked on a new audit of the generation, transmission and distribution facilities involved during the recent Luzon rotating blackouts. He has tapped the assistance of the Institute of Integrated Electrical Engineers (IIEE) of the Philippines for his newly formed task force.

Are we back again into solving symptoms that the DOE has been doing for such a long time? 

In my previous article on resource inadequacy (READ: Challenge to new energy chief: Regroup with different level of thinking), I enumerated basic issues that have to be clearly understood and resolved before diving into his 100-day task. We don’t even know what has been done on these issues yet and here we are with Cusi blaming the May elections for the rotating blackouts.

Cusi, in defense of DOE’s failed policies, said that several power plants had tripped with other plants on scheduled maintenance outages. And we’re supposed to accept that excuse for resource inadequacy? Sounds familiar? Is this another Malampaya scheme?

With or without the increased demands during the elections, several existing problems have been left unresolved. After blackouts and brownouts, we usually get the same old treatment. The DOE kept telling us to take two aspirins and don’t call them in the morning.

With the assistance from the IIEE, will DOE continue to treat the symptoms?

First step

In looking into power resource adequacy, it’s just common sense to first verify the validity of the list of resources and the operational condition of each resource involved.

The first step is to get rid of the general list of installed power plants they’ve been publishing for ages. With a two-season climate, the net dry-season generating capacity is the more stringent for satisfying the highest peak power demands. The net dry-season capacity list should be the basis for power adequacy calculations. The net wet-season capacity list can be used for information and to re-program operations of the hydros based on abundant water.

The net dry-season capacity list must also be updated with appropriate de-ratings from the nameplate or rated capacities in addition to internal (house) load, based on verified equipment limitations. Baseload backup power must be provided for intermittent renewable plants on the grid, based on past experience. The net generating capacity must reflect the true reliable and 24/7 available power to the consumers.

Resource adequacy must always consider operational generating capacities no less than 115% of the peak demand, to ensure 24/7 system reliability. Sufficient reserve margins must exist in the event of unexpected problems or the probability of loss of large generating plants.

During the recent blackouts, the loss of five large plants could have been prevented using past maintenance records, performance tests and availability runs. Based on the health of the operating units, adjustments should have been made in the first place, in the outage schedule. For instance, limping plants should not be allowed on the grid providing a false sense of security. Some are unable to follow load without tripping because boilers not designed for cycling, cannot handle excessive tube and piping stresses.

The 350 MW Malaya 2 intake traveling screen problem was completely preventable. The 300 MW Calaca 2 and the 382 MW Pagbilao 2 tube leaks should have been predictable based on history and monitoring. The 325 MW GNP and the 647MW Sual 2 hydrogen leaks were maintenance failures. So a total of 2,004 MW generating capacity was lost due to O&M (operations and maintenance) problems but the costly replacement power was placed on the shoulders of the consumers.

But if you think about this for a second, the replacement power being available from the grid at WESM-hiked prices, means there was no physical but rather a “Malampaya-type” inadequacy. A repeated proof of DOE failed policy that has to end to protect the consumers against providers’ planned or unplanned mistakes.

DOE has been claiming more than enough reserve capacity margins in Luzon for quite some time based on the old capacity list, until these rotating blackout events came about. Ironically, the quick blame on lack of reserve capacity has been their most reliable fallback position when confronted by the consumers. But are the consumers responsible for ERC’s failure to monitor the presence of adequate reserves?

It’s about time

Consumers have been in dire need of more competency and less corruption from the DOE. There’s no better time than today to make it happen. President Duterte must direct the DOE Secretary to fix this. If it takes a complete overhaul of the DOE-ERC team, then so be it. He must bring technically competent people to bear.

Develop the net dry-season and wet-season capacity lists updated periodically and on “as needed” basis. Baseline performance tests must be conducted with the ERC for all plants. A mandated quarterly reporting to the ERC must be provided, until less frequency can be demonstratively justified on a case by case basis.

This will weed out the ailing and inefficient plants and restore the trust of the consumers on the actual 24/7 reliable capacity. For the large and relatively new units, an online plant performance monitoring program must be added if not already included, as part of the plant’s control and system monitoring software. Unannounced visits by the ERC must be implemented to verify efficient operation of each plant.

Conduct a comprehensive operational evaluation of the operating plants to identify the following. This evaluation must be published for consumer information and monitoring:

• Total dispatchable net baseload dry-season generating capacity
• Total non-dispatchable  net intermittent renewable generating capacity
• Total net fast-start fast-ramp capacity to pick up load after loss of large plants
• Total net load cycling capacity to handle peak loads or loss of small plants
• Aging and ailing plants to be retired
• Ailing plants with major equipment limitations, to be de-rated
• Old plants unable to comply with emissions and other environmental limitations

Publish the DOE/power generators/NGCP-approved schedule for plant maintenance outages showing the adequately staggered outage durations to mitigate the consequences of forced outages of large plants during each season.

Introduce the following amendments to the EPIRA law to promote competitive pricing:

• Unmask the layered ownerships of corporations, conglomerates and foreign investors to determine the power oligarchs exceeding the regional and/or national capacity limits. 
• Total ban cross-ownerships in the power generation, distribution and retail. 
• End monopoly of the power transmission and require a different grid operator for each region.
• Review and strengthen the WESM rules and regulations to prevent abuse of “market power” and impose harsher punishment, fines and penalties to violating companies including their executives.

In addition to the IIEE, Secretary Cusi needs a group of mechanical engineers with extensive experience in the engineering, construction and operation of power plants, to be successful in pulling out the roots of the power inadequacy problem. – Rappler.com

Rolly Calalang holds a BSME from UP Diliman and a BSEE from FEU Manila. He has extensive experience in the power industry in the U.S. and China.

 When I headed the Philippine Statistical Association Inc. (PSAI), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) invited the PSAI to conduct a third party evaluation of its Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) Program for Yolanda Victims. The emergency UCT program of UNICEF was aimed at providing quick relief to children and their families.

Ten thousand vulnerable families in Tacloban City and municipalities of Burauen, Dagami, Julita, La Paz, and Pastrana in Leyte were identified to receive $100 every month for a period of six months from February 2014 to July 2014.

The 10,000 household beneficiaries of the UNCT included households with pregnant and lactating women (PLWs), children suffering from moderate/severe acute malnutrition (MAM/SAM) or at risk of malnutrition, persons with disabilities (PWDs), persons with chronic illness, elderly persons, single female-headed households, child-headed households, households hosting separated children.

Dr. Celia Reyes, a PSAI lifetime member, and my esteemed colleague at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies who also serves as the Community Based Monitoring System (CBMS) Network Coordinating Team Leader, led the PSAI third party evaluation. 

The PSAI conducted three survey rounds to collect information on a panel of households that received the UCT support. In addition, focus group discussions (FGDs) were also conducted to better understand the quantitative results. Key stakeholders, such as the implementing partners and cash distribution personnel, were also interviewed.

Of the 10,000 households, a stratified random sample of 499 beneficiary-households was selected for interviews for three survey rounds by the PSAI. The number of panel households interviewed for the three rounds is 484, thus attrition in the panel was quite minimal: attrition rate from the first survey wave to the second wave 0.82% final attrition rate was slightly over 1 percent (1.22%).

Food, savings

The PSAI observed that across the survey rounds, the top three uses of the emergency cash transfer received by households were on food expenses, miscellaneous expenses and for savings. (See Figure 1). Thus, the cash relief was able to help the beneficiaries smooth their food consumption, with about half of cash received spent on food.  

More than half of the cash was spent on food and this led to a significant decline in the malnutrition prevalence among children from 5% to about 1% to 2%. 

Despite overall improvement in nutrition among children of beneficiary households, there were at least 21 children who were not malnourished during the first round of the survey were classified as malnourished by the third round of the survey. All of these children were located outside of Tacloban; these children were females, less than 1-year-old and have experienced hunger. 

The emergency cash was also used to address some of the other needs of beneficiary households such as medicines, housing repair, livelihood and education-related expenses.

The FGDs revealed that many of the households spent money on vitamins, particularly for children. Savings also became increasingly an important use of the assistance. Proportion that went to savings was highest during the first round since families saved part of transfer to be able to buy materials for repairing their houses.

However, utilization for miscellaneous expenses and savings has continuously declined over time. Some households used part of the money to start or expand livelihood activities, such as pig-raising, sari-sari stores and food vending.

The amount of the cash was very significant compared to their usual income and allowed them to purchase items that they would not ordinarily be able to purchase. Majority of the beneficiaries recovered, either partially or fully, from the devastation of Yolanda after the six-month program.

The UCT was also used for household expenses relating to clothing, shelter, debt, income generating activities, transportation, education, agriculture, water, and communication. Expenditure on shelter almost doubled between the first and third rounds. Utilization for income generating expenses increased by 1.2 percent since the 1st round.

Average monthly income of beneficiary households across sites increased during the duration of the program, but drastically declined after the grant ended. In almost all sites, average monthly income after the program ended was lower compared to the period when the program started. The biggest reduction is marked in the municipality of Dagami where monthly income has been reduced by an average of at least P 3,076 per month.

The UCT grant was twice that of average income of households, so this yielded a substantial effect on poverty incidence reduction. However, considering that the cash transfer constituted a significant portion of total income of the households, the end of the UCT program meant a significant reduction in the total income of the households.

This explains why some households fell into poverty during the third round.

The PSAI also noticed marked improvements not only in nutrition and income, but also in the areas of educational status of children, employment and housing. 

Table 2, for instance, shows that there was an overall improvement from round 1 to round 3, though there was a slight decrease in school attendance from round 2 to round 3.

About 61 in every 100 beneficiary households have recovered from Super Typhoon Yolanda. Of these 61 households, about half (28 households) have fully recovered while the other half (33 households) have partially recovered.

In particular, those who used part of their cash transfer for livelihood or for savings were more likely to have recovered. Households received on the average about 5 assistance programs. More than half of the households who received more than 10 Haiyan-related Assistance have recovered.

The UCT assistance program has a number of learning lessons especially for future interventions to disaster victims. While most often people have a condescending view of cash assistance, (whether conditional or unconditional), it appears that the UCT has been a big help to beneficiary households. 

The absence of conditionalities allowed the households to use the cash assistance as needed. Not all households, however, have fully recovered almost a year after Yolanda. Six months of assistance may not have been long enough for some households to get back on their feet.

The amount of P4370 per month over a period of six months is rather large compared to the usual income of the beneficiaries and cash assistance provided by other donors. This has allowed the beneficiaries to smooth their consumption of food and start/expand livelihood activities.

Costs, in terms of money and time, could be substantial on the part of the beneficiaries in obtaining the cash grants. More accessible distribution points could be considered for similar programs in the future. Distribution system for cash and non-cash transfers needs to be mapped out as part of disaster preparedness plans. Few and distant distribution points may pose significant costs on the part of the beneficiaries. Arbitrary distribution points may leave out some families in the communities.

Investments should clearly be made in having an updated list of residents in each area, with household and individual level characteristics that could be used as starting point for the list of potential beneficiaries.

Generating local level data such as the CBMS, can make communities and LGUs better prepared to cope with disasters (that are certainly recurring in the country). Well-defined criteria could be used in identifying beneficiaries to lessen reliance on skilled field workers to identify who should get into the program.

Coordination on the types of assistance can be improved. Greater coordination by LGUs, who have the main face of government in the field, can ensure that all affected households are covered by the different programs.

Alternative evacuation facilities should be identified. Return to normal routine, especially going to school for children, helps with the recovery process. Psychosocial impact assessment of disasters, particularly on children, need to be undertaken. Behavioral therapy could be provided to overcome trauma.

More details on the evaluation of UNICEF’s UCT program for Yolanda victims are to be discussed during the PSAI Annual Conference this coming August 31, 2016 to September 2, 2016 in Naga City. 

The PSAI hopes that stakeholders of disaster risk management and social protection will join the community of statisticians in this upcoming conference.  Disasters keep recurring, and it is time we, especially our nation’s new government, learn from lessons on how best to help those in need of help the most. – Rappler.com

Dr. Jose Ramon "Toots" Albert is a professional statistician who holds a PhD in Statistics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is a Senior Research Fellow of the government’s think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), and the immediate past president of the country’s professional society of data producers, users and analysts, the Philippine Statistical Association, Inc. for 2014-2015.  

Starting today, we will be aggressively deleting crude and disrespectful posts and comments that violate standards of civility.

Debates and discourse have always been anchored on basic principles of human decency, respect, and values.

We have zero tolerance for comments that curse, trash, degrade, humiliate and intimidate. Such behavior does little to inspire intelligent and informed discussion that is the foundation of a vibrant democracy.

Freedom of speech does not mean license to smear reputation and ruin credibility. Nor does it mean the freedom to be irresponsible and to defame. Freedom of speech, rather, is the recognition of the right of anyone to speak his or her mind, and to express a contrary view without being objectionable.

We are reclaiming our space as one that is safe from harassment on social media. No one should be afraid to write or speak what he or she thinks.

Four years ago, we set up Rappler and opened our site to comments and discussion in the belief that social media is the space where citizens can communicate with each other and use technology to help make this world a better place. This remains true today.

On Rappler, you should feel safe to express yourself without fear of being attacked and swarmed by an army of anonymous commenters who seek to silence and tame.

We welcome all views – as long as you're respectful of others who may or may not agree with you. Our moderation will become stricter to create, safeguard and protect this safe space. – Rappler.com

Simula sa araw na ito, agresibo naming buburahin ang mga bastos at magaspang na posts at comments. 

Kailangang ibalik ang kaayusan at respeto sa debate at diskurso. Hindi namin palulusutin ang mga nagmumura, nangmamaliit, nanghihiya, at nananakot ng kapwa. 

Kung nais nating lumawig ang demokrasya, hindi dapat bigyan ng puwang ang mga asal na bunga ng kamangmangan at maling impormasyon.

Ang kalayaan sa pananalita ay hindi katumbas ng pagsira sa reputasyon at pagwasak sa kredibilidad ng iba. Hindi rin ito pagpapahintulot na tayo’y maging iresponsable at mapanirang-puri. 

Ang kalayaan sa pagpapahayag ay ito: ang pagkilala sa karapatan ng bawat isa na ibahagi ang kanyang naiisip at nararamdaman. Kahit pa ito’y taliwas sa pananaw ng iba, hindi kailangang ipahayag ito sa nakakayamot na paraan.

Muli naming aangkinin ang espasyo ng Rappler bilang matiwasay na lugar para sa netizens. Dito, masasabi ninyo ang inyong saloobin nang walang takot na malapastangan o makuyog. 

Nang itinayo namin ang Rappler apat na taon na ang nakakaraan, pinahintulutan namin ang comments sa aming site. Naniwala kami noon – at naniniwala kami hanggang ngayon – na ang social media ay para sa usapan at teknolohiyang makatutulong sa pagpapabuti ng ating lipunan.

Sa Rappler, hindi kayo dapat matirya o mapagtulung-tulungan ng mga pulutong ng commenters na walang mukha at walang pangalan. Bibiguin natin ang layunin nilang patahimikin ang mga hindi nila kapanalig.

Bukas kami sa lahat ng panig at pananaw – basta’t marunong tayong rumespeto sa kapwa na may taliwas na paninindigan. Magiging mas mahigpit kami sa pagsala ng comments. Ito lamang ang paraan para maprotektahan ang payapang espasyong ito. – Rappler.com

Sugod karung adlawa, among hingusgan ang pagtangtang sa mga bastos nga mga komento nga nakalapas sa sukdanan sa maayong pamatasan.

Ang mga debate ug diskurso kanunay natong i-angkla sa prinsipyo sa pagkamaligdong, respeto, ug bili sa pagkatawo.

Wala mi pagtugot para sa mga komento nga pamalikas, bastos, nagtamay, nagdaot ug nagpakauwaw sa usa ka tawo. Ang mga matang sa pamatasan wala nag awhag sa intelihente ug maalam nga diskurso nga mao'y pundasyon sa madasigon nga demokrasya.

Ang freedom of speech kay dili lisensya aron mudaot sa reputasyon ug muguba sa kredibilidad. Dili sad kini nagpasabot sa kagawasan sa pagkairresponsable ug mangdaot. Ang freedom of speech nag ila sa katungod sa matag usa nga musulti ug mupadayag sa iyang nagkalaing  panlantaw nga dili man bastos, hilas ug law-ay.

Among giangkon ang among lugar nga usa ka luwas sa pagpanamastamas diri sa social media. Wala'y bisan kinsa nga angay mahadlok musuwat o musulti sa iyang gihunahuna.

4 ka tuig ang ni-agi sukad atong ga-sugod ang Rappler ug gi-tugutan namo ang pag-pangomentaryo og mga disukusyon sa website sa pag-tuo nga ang social media ang saktong lugar kung asa maka-storya ang mga tawo og mahimo nga gamiton nila ang teknolohiya para sa pag-lambo sa kalibutan. Mao gihapon ni ang among gi tuohan karon.

Diri sa Rappler, dapat bation mo nga luwas ka mupadayag sa imong kaugalingon nga wala'y kahadlok nga atakihon ug tabangan sa mga anonymous commenters nga nag-apas nga pahilumon ka ug paamohun. – Rappler.com

Para sa mga police reporter noong huling bahagi ng dekada 80 hanggang dekada 90 – mga panahong sumisibol pa lamang ang ating naibalik na demokrasya – ang salitang "stakeout" ay tunog musikang “rock & roll” sa aming pandinig.

Hudyat kasi ito na may aksiyong magaganap at kinakailangang hindi ka mapag-iwanan sa pagkuha ng detalye sa pagputok ng malaking balita. Kapag na-monitor namin kung ano'ng grupo ng pulis ang mag-o-operate, walang uwian dahil siguradong mag-aabang kami kundi man makabuntot sa mga operating unit.

Nang piliin kong maging isang police reporter, naadik na ako sa pagko-cover sa police beat. Sa pagsusulat ng mga crime story, sa pagbuntot at pagsama sa mga operasyon ng pulis – at ang pinakamahirap pero exciting – ang pakikipag-unahang makakuha ng lead sa mga imbestigador para sa ikalulutas ng isang malaking kaso. Kapag nakakuha kasi ako ng impormasyong mahalaga sa imbestigasyon, agad ko itong ibinabahagi sa officer-on-case kapalit ng kasunduang exclusive lang para sa akin ang pag-break ng balita matapos ang imbestigasyon.

Ito 'yung mga panahong maraming malalaking balita ang nagaganap sa ating bansa – banta ng coup halos tuwing weekend, operasyon para manghuli ng mga rebeldeng sundalo, sunud-sunod na mga bank robbery at kidnapping ng mga negosyante, at pagsiklab ng pulu-pulong kaguluhan sa Mindanao – kaya’t 'di puwedeng maging tutulug-tulog ang isang reporter. 

Nagbibigayan din naman kami ng istorya, pero kung may makaka-scoop ay masaya siya at sorry na lang ang iba. Matindi ang iskupan namin noon kaya kanya-kanyang kayod at hanap ng mga source, dahil kapag nalusutan ka ng isang istorya, siguradong sabon at memo ang aabutin mo mula sa mga bosing mong news editor – at ang kadalasang singhal na maririnig mo: “Natutulog ka kasi sa pansitan kaya ka naiiskupan!”

Ito ang dahilan ng pagpili ko sa salitang "stakeout" bilang pamagat ng kolum na ito. Isang pagbabalik-tanaw sa makulay na pamamaraan ng pagkuha namin noon ng mga balita, na ayon na rin sa natitira ko pang mga kaibigang opisyal sa Philippine National Police (PNP) at Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ay bihira na nilang mapansing ginagawa ng mga bagong sibol na mamamahayag. 

Dala raw marahil ito ng pagsusulputan ng mga makabagong gadget na gamit ng mga mamamahayag sa kanilang pagkuha at pagsulat ng mga istorya. Nababawasan na nga raw ang personal na pakikipag-usap sa kanila ng mga reporter dahil sa paggamit ng text, email, Messenger, at pagtawag sa cellphone. May mga pagkakataon nga raw na matagal na nilang nakakausap ang isang reporter sa cellphone at sa text pero di pa nila ito nakikita ni minsan.

Sabay singit ng komentong: “Sabagay mas ok naman na 'di sila tumatambay dito para walang asungot na gaya mo noon na palaging nakatanghod at nakabuntot sa aming operasyon,” kasunod ito ng malakas na tawanan. 

Sa pakiwari ko nga, nang umpisahang ipatupad ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ang kampanya niyang lipulin ang salot na ilegal na droga sa buong bansa sa loob ng unang 6 na buwan ng kanyang administrasyon ay bumalik ang dating sigla sa pagkuha ng mga balita sa police beat – sa iba’t ibang istasyon ng mga pulis sa buong Metro Manila at mas lalo na sa Camp Crame, ang tahanan ng mga pambansang operatiba ng PNP gaya ng Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), Intelligence Group (IG), Traffic Management Group (TMG), at ang pinaka-kontrabersyal sa ngayon – ang Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG).

Mga bagong mukha

Nitong mga nakaraang araw, sa pag-iikot ko sa iba’t ibang opisina sa Camp Crame ay nanibago ako sa pakikipag-usap tuwing magpapakilala akong taga-media na naghahanap ng mai-interview hinggil sa istoryang gusto kong talakayin sa aking mga kolum.

Halos karamihan kasi sa mga dati kong kakilala at mga sources ay nagretiro na. Ang mga dating aide, na-promote na at nasa ibang lugar nadestino. Kaya’t mga bagong mukha na ang dinatnan ko, at sa pakiramdam ko nga, hindi sila sanay na binibisita ng reporter. 

Pero mukha namang epektibo pa rin 'yung dati kong mga pamamaraan – matiyagang maghintay, magalang, at mababang loob – para makapalagayang-loob ang mga bagong opisyal na ito. Hindi naman ako nagkamali – sa palagay ko pa nga, mas magiging epektibo ang paggamit ko ng lumang paraan na ito sa coverage kapag isasabay ko na rin ang paggamit ng mga makabagong gadget na siya namang laging dala ng mga batang mamamahayag sa kanilang trabaho.

Mantakin ninyo, kapag nakalusot akong makasama sa mga operasyon nila sa ngayon at may bitbit na akong mga gadget na gamit nila, puwede na agad akong mag-live broadcast sa website kahit mag-isa at i-report nang blow by blow ang mga nasasaksihang nagaganap sa lugar kung saan sila may operasyon.

Para sa akin, ang pinakamahalagang magiging accomplishment ng isang reporter sa pagsama sa mga ganitong operasyon – mababawasan ang mga “drawing” na encounter laban sa mga sinasabing suspek na mga adik at tulak ng ilegal na droga dahil may reporter na maaaring magreport ng mga kapalpakan ng mga operatiba.

Kaya’t ang aking hiling sa inyo, samahan ako sa pag-i-stakeout sa pamamagitan ng pagsubaybay sa kolum kong ito. Pero hindi lang kayo dapat magbasa, sa halip ay magbantay na rin gamit ang inyong mga gadget at i-record ang mga insidenteng masasaksihan na maaaring makatulong sa paglutas ng krimen o pagbubulgar sa masasamang gawi ng ilang tiwaling “public servant” na nagkalat sa ating lipunan. 

At siyempre pa, kapag nakatiyempo kayong makakuha ng ekslusibong eksena ng isang malaking balita ay agad ninyong i-email sa daveridiano@gmail.com o itawag at i-text sa 0919-558-6950 para agad kong maibahagi sa mga kinauukulan. – Rappler.com

Dave M. Veridiano has been a police reporter for 30 years. He is a former senior news desk editor and currently writes a column for a daily tabloid.

Manipud ita nga aldaw, agresibo kami a mangikkat kadagiti bastos ken nagubsang a posts ken comments a saan a maikanatad iti nasayaat a sursuro. 

Dagiti debate ken diskusyon agsanggirda iti prinsipyo ti kinatakneng, respeto ken kababalin.

Awan ti anosmi kadagiti komentaryo a pagsasawan, mangtagibassit, mangpabain ken mangbutbuteng ti pada a tao. Dagitoy nga aramid saan a makatulong iti kinatakneng  a diskusyon a pundasyon ti narukbos a demokrasya.

No kayat tayo a mapalawa ti demokrasya, saan a rumbeng a maikkan ti lugar dagiti kababalin a bunga ti awan ammona wenno kina-ignorante ken saan a husto nga inpormasyon.

Ti kalintegan ti panagsao, saanna kayat a sawen a lisensiado tayo a mangperdi ti reputasyon wenno rakraken ti kredibilidad ti sabali a tao. Ken saanna kayat a sawen nga adda karbengan tayo nga agbalin nga iresponsable ken mamerperdi ti dayaw.

Ngem ketdi ti kalintegan ti agirakrakurak isu tay panangbigbig ti kalintegan ti tunggal maysa a mangiburay ti ania man a kapanunotanna ken kaririknana. No man pay daytoy ket saan a maki-ayon ti panirigan ti sabali, saan a rumbeng nga irakurak na iti nakasusuron a wagas.

Ngarud alaenmi manen daytoy a gundaway a mangtagikua  iti espasyo ti Rappler kas nasimbeng  ken natalged a lugar para kadagiti netizens.  Adda karbengan ti siasinoman a mangiburay  ti aniaman a kapanunotanna nga awan ti panagbuteng wenno panagamak. 

Idi inpatakdermi ti Rappler uppat a tawenen ti napalabas, inpalubos mi dagiti komentaryo ditoy site mi. Namati kami idi - ken mamati kami inggana ita – a ti social media para laeng ti pagdidiskusyunan ken teknologia a makatulong a mapaimbag ti sosyedad tayo.

Ditoy Rappler, natalged kayo a mangipeksa ti karirikna yo nga awan buteng kadagiti maibato kadakayo manipud kadagiti komentarista nga awan rupa ken nagan da a ti laeng gagem da  ket tay mangpasardeng kadagiti saan a maki-ayon iti pammatida.

Nawada ti ridaw mi a mangaklon iti amin a pagtaktakderan ken panirigan – no la ketdi ammo tayo ti mangrespeto iti pada tayo a tao a saan nga umayon ti prinsipyo tayo. Agistrikto kami itan a mangsagat kadagiti komentaryo. Daytoy laeng ti wagas a masalakniban ti kinasimbeng daytoy nga espasyo. – Rappler.com

Read the English version here

Read the Bisaya version here

Halos 2,000 tao na ang napapatay sa giyera kontra droga. Kamakailan, naglabas ng sulat pastoral tungkol dito si Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, obispo ng Kalookan. Narito ang full text ng kanyang sulat pastoral:

Mga minamahal kong mga kapatid sa pananampalataya sa Diyosesis ng Kalookan at iba pang mga kababayang may mabuting kalooban sa mga lungsod ng Kalookan, Malabon, at Navotas:

Sa nagdaang mga araw at linggo hanggang ngayon, naririnig ko sa aking puso ang alingawngaw ng mga salitang ito mula sa Banal na Kasulatan: "Sumisigaw mula sa lupa ang dugo ng iyong kapatid. Susumpain ka ng lupang tumanggap sa dugo ng kapatid mo mula sa iyong mga kamay. Kapag binungkal mo ang lupa hindi ito magbubunga para sa iyo...Ikaw ay maglalakbay dito sa lupa na parang isang lagalag," wika ng Panginoon kay Cain matapos niyang paslangin ang kapatid niyang si Abel, ayon sa salaysay ng Genesis 4: 10-12.

At dagdag pa ng Genesis 9: 5-6: "Pagbabayarin ko ang sinumang taong papatay ng kanyang kapwa-tao...sapagkat ang tao'y nilikhang larawan ng Diyos."

Kaya nga isa sa sampung utos ng Diyos ang "HUWAG KANG PAPATAY." (Exod. 20: 13) Dahil larawan ng Diyos ang tao, anumang makasakit sa tao ay nakasasakit din sa Diyos! "Gayon na lang ang pag-ibig ng Diyos sa daigdig lubhang ibinigay pa niya ang kaisa-isang Anak Niya...Isinugo ng Diyos ang kanyang Anak hindi upang hatulan ng parusa ang sanlibutan kundi upang iligtas ito sa pamamagitan niya!" (Juan 3: 16-17)

Sapagkat sa kabila ng ating pagiging makasalanan minahal pa rin tayo ng Diyos (Rom 5: 8), hindi niya niloob ang lipulin tayo at parusahan. Sa halip minabuti pa niya ang isuko ang sarili niyang buhay para sa ating katubusan (Filipos 2: 6). Ito ang pinakabatayan ng pag-unawa natin sa misteryo ng habag at malasakit ng Diyos, lalo na sa taóng itó na idineklara ni Papa Francisco bilang Hubileo ng Habag. Wika nga ng Kanyang Kabunyian, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, "Kung tayong mga tao ay gigil na gigil na magparusa, ang Diyos ay mas gigil na gigil magligtas." (BASAHIN: Tagle: 'Hangad ng Diyos ay hindi parusa, kundi kaligtasan')

Ito ang nais kong ipabatid bilang babala sa sinumang masangkot sa kusang pagpaslang ng kapwa-tao. Tanggap natin na may mga pagkakataon na maaaring makapatay ang tao ng kapwa-tao na hindi sinasadya o labag sa kalooban. Halimbawa'y sa mga sitwasyon ng pagtatanggol ng buhay ng iba o ng sarili, o ng bayan. Mapawalan man ng sala ang nakapatay dahil sa isang sitwasyong di-pangkaraniwan, nananatili pa ring mali ang "kusang pagkitil" sa buhay ng kapwa. Hindi kailanman ito magiging tama.

Halos araw-araw na lang ang balita tungkol sa mga taong pinapaslang sa ating mga pamayanan. Nakikita natin sa mga pahayagan at sa telebisyon ang larawan ng mga taong nakahandusay sa kalsada, duguan at wala nang buhay, habang nakatingin lang ang maraming tao, kabilang na ang mga bata. Sa maraming mga sitwasyon, ayon sa mga ulat, ang mga kaso'y may kinalaman sa malawakang kampanya ng ating bagong pamahalaan laban sa kriminalidad na kaugnay sa pangangalakal ng iligal na droga. 

Marami sa kanila ang basta na lang pinaslang nang labas-sa-batas (extrajudicially) ng mga di-kilalang tao (vigilante) dahil di-umano sa salang pagtutulak ng iligal na droga. Nakapangingilabot na pagmasdan kung paanong ang mga bangkay ng mga nasabing biktima ay binabalutan ng "package tape" habang buhay pa, tinataliang parang mga hayop, at sinasabitan sa leeg ng kung ano-anong mga paratang na nakasulat sa karton.

Kahit ipalagay pa nating totoo ang paratang, hindi kailanman tama na ilagay sa sariling kamay ang batas. Maitatama ba ang mali ng isa pang pagkakamali? Masusugpo ba natin ang kriminalidad sa pamamagitan din ng pamamaraang kriminal?

Marami sa mga pinapatay ay mga suspek daw ng paggamit at pagtutulak ng droga na diumano'y armado daw at nanlaban sa umaarestong kapulisan. Oo, nababatid natin ang matinding panganib sa buhay ng ating kapulisan ng pagtugis sa mga kriminal. Subalit hindi sapat na dahilan ito para iligpit na lang basta ang mga suspek lalo na kung ito'y hindi lumalaban o kusang sumusuko na.

Pagtutulak ng droga, 'imoral'

Aminado tayo – at dito sumasang-ayon tayo sa ating bagong presidente – na isang malaking salot sa ating bansa ang kriminalidad at kalakalan sa iligal na droga. Dapat lang na matigil ito at masugpo nang tuluyan dahil ito ay pumapatay at sumisira sa kinabukasan ng marami sa mga kababayan natin. Aminado din tayo na kailangan natin ang isang pamunuan ng pamahalaan at kapulisan na may "political will", hindi kasabwat ng mga kriminal, at may determinasyon sa pagsugpo ng malaking salot na ito na pumipigil sa pag-unlad ng ating bansa.

Ang gawaing pagpapayaman sa paggawa, pangangalakal, at pagtutulak ng mga drogang katulad ng shabu ay hindi lang iligal; ito'y imoral. Isa itong kasalanang napakatindi ng pinsalang dulot sa mga biktima, sa kanilang mga pamilya, sa ating mga pamayanan at sa buong lipunan. Ang dulot nito'y isang sistematikong pagpatay na may kaakibat na matinding sumpa ng langit sa mga kasangkot sa buktot na gawaing ito. 

Isang mabuting layunin ang sugpuin ang salot na ito. Subalit dapat din nating tandaan na hindi natin makakamit ang isang mabuting layunin sa pamamagitan ng mga masamang pamamaraan. Hindi natin masusugpo ang kriminalidad sa pamamagitan ng simpleng pagpatay sa sinumang paghinalaang kriminal. Paano pa maibabalik ang buhay kung ang napagbintangan ay mapatunayang nadawit lang pala o walang sala ngunit patay na?

Hindi natin maipagtatagumpay ang pag-iral ng batas, kapayapaan at kaayusan sa paraang marahas, labag-sa-batas, hindi makatao at hindi maka-Diyos. Sa halip, pagsumikapan nating sundin at pairalin ang batas sa ating kampanya laban sa iligal na droga. Palakasin natin ang pagpapalaganap ng impormasyon ukol sa perwisyong dulot nito, gayundin ang payapang partisipasyon ng taumbayan sa pagsugpo dito. Palakasin natin ang sistema ng katarungan sa ating lipunan. Bigyan natin ng pagkakataon makapagbagong-buhay ang mga kusang-loob nang sumusuko.

Ang pagkagumon sa bawal na gamot ay isang sakit. Ang addict ay dapat ituring bilang biktima, hindi bilang kriminal; maliban lang kung nasangkot na ito sa pagbebenta at pagtutulak ng droga.

Katulad ng Ama sa talinghaga ng alibughang anak (Lukas 15:11-32), salubungin natin ang mga ibig nang magbalik-loob. Iparamdam natin sa kanila na ang simbaha'y bukas, hindi lang para sa mga matuwid at magaling kundi para din sa mga maysakit at naligaw ng landas na nagnanais makabangong muli.

Nananawagan ako sa lahat ng mga parokya at eskwelahan ng diyosesis ng Kalookan. Sa anumang paraang kaya natin, tulungan nating makapagbagong-buhay ang sinumang addict na lumapit sa atin. Batid natin na hindi handa ang pamahalaan na tugunan ang napakaraming biktima ng pagkalulong sa droga na ngayo'y umaamin na at kusang sumusuko. Hindi sapat ang kasalukuyang mga rehab centers; at lalong hindi tamang gawing rehab centers ang mga bilangguan.

Buhayin nating muli ang diwa ng bayanihan; makipagtulungan tayo sa iba't ibang sektor, ahensyang gobyerno at di-gobyerno, at ibang mga kapwa-Kristiyano at kapwa mananampalataya. Tumugon tayo sa abot ng ating makakaya, kahit sa pamamagitan lang ng pagbubuo ng mga "spiritual support groups" o pakikilahok sa mga bibliya-rasal ng mga BEC (basic ecclesial communities) na aalalay at aantabay sa mga nagnanais magbagong-buhay.

Sa mga dating nagtulak ng droga na nagtatago at ibig nang sumuko ngunit natatakot na baka sila saktan o patayin kahit hindi lumalaban, huwag kayong mag-atubiling lumapit sa mga pari at humingi ng tulong upang kayo'y alalayan sa inyong pagsuko sa kapulisan.

Sa mga may kapamilyang nagtutulak o nagbebenta ng iligal na droga, kung batid ninyo na kasangkot ang kaanak ninyo sa kriminal na gawain at wala kayong ginagawa, kayo ay nagkakasala sa Diyos, lalo na kung kayo'y nakikinabang sa kanilang pagbebenta. Napakalaki ng pananagutan ninyo kung hindi kayo gumawa ng anumang paraan para itigil nila ang kanilang kriminal na gawain, o ang mahikayat man lang sila na sumuko sa mga alagad ng batas.

Higit sa lahat, kung ibig nating magkaroon ng panlabas na pagbabago sa ating lipunan, kailangan din nating maging bukas sa isang panloob na pagbabago. Wika nga ng Kasulatan, "Walang sinuman ang nabubuhay para sa sarili lamang; walang sinuman ang namamatay para sa sarili lamang." (Rom 14:17)

Paano tayo bubuo ng isang matibay, maayos, at payapang bansa kung hindi natin malampasan ang pagkamakasarili? Kung hindi natin maisapuso ang pananagutan sa isa't isa? Kung hindi natin maisaloob ang pag-ibig sa bayan at malasakit sa bawat kababayan, lalo na sa mga kapuspalad? Hindi tayo uunlad kung hindi natin tutugunan nang sama-sama ang problema ng karukhaan at korapsyon na pinag-uugatan ng problema ng iligal na droga at kriminalidad. Palakasin natin ang pamilya at mga pamayanan sa antas ng barangay bilang batayang institusyon ng ating bansa.

Nawa'y ang mahal nating Inang si Maria, ang Reyna ng Awa, ang umantig sa ating mga puso upang makita natin sa mukha ng bawat kapwa ang mukha ni Hesukristo, ang Anak ng Diyos na umako sa ating kaparusahan upang tayo ay mapawalang-sala. Amen.– Rappler.com

When Aheda Zanetti was designing the burkini, she took a prototype out for a swim at the public pool.  

Zanetti was relieved that her design passed the test – the headband stayed in place – but she also reveled in her newfound feeling of freedom and empowerment. It was the first time for the Lebanese-born Australian designer to swim in public.

“I felt like I owned the pool. I walked to the end of that pool with my shoulders back,” Zanetti writes in The Guardian.

Nobody could tell that under her burkini, Zanetti was wearing a bikini. “I’ve got the best of both worlds,” she writes.

The best of both worlds

That’s all Zanetti ever wanted, for Muslim women to enjoy every day activities like playing sports and going to the beach and still have the choice to be modest.

(She designed the burkini for her teenage niece after seeing that it was physically uncomfortable and unfeasible for her to play netball in their hometown in Australia.)

It must be the same feeling many Muslim women felt when they bought the burkini and wore it to the beach. They could enjoy the sun and sea while still being true to her personal beliefs.

A number of French towns tried to take away that right by banning the burkini. Pictures of armed police officers forcing a woman at a beach in Nice to remove some of her clothing made the rounds in social media sparking outrage in some netizens – and support in others.

French courts ruled that authorities in Villeneuve-Loubet, in the French Riveria, do not have the right to ban the burkini, setting a legal precedent for other 26 towns where there is a burkini ban.

But even so, some local authorities in Nice, Frejus and the Corsican village of Sisco have reportedly said they will continue to enforce the ban.

Women's Equality Day

The ruling comes on the heels of Women’s Equality Day which commemorated the passage of the 19^th Amendment which granted American women the right to vote.

At a day and age when women can check off civil liberties like the right to vote, to education, to work, people are still trying to tell women what they can and cannot wear.

And nowhere is this more obvious and most ridiculous than at the beach where, well, just about anything goes and you can expect to find people in various states of dress and undress.

You have sun worshippers, who slicked in sunscreen, will choose to be topless to avoid annoying tan lines. You have those who want to be in the sun but not under it and will choose stay under a big umbrella and a floppy hat. If you live in a colder part of the world, you will understand why jeans and sweaters are perfectly acceptable to wear on a beach picnic.

And then, of course, for those who prefer to go au naturel, you have the nude beaches.

In the Philippines, we should not forget that 5 girls from the St Theresa’s College in Cebu were banned from marching at their graduation because they posted pictures of themselves at the beach wearing bikinis. (READ: Catholic school punishes student for 'bikini' pic on Facebook)

The school’s computer teacher downloaded the photos from the students' Facebook page and showed them to school officials who labeled the pictures as “lewd, obscene, and immoral.” The girls were at the beach. It’s not as if the girls showed up in class in a two-piece.

And most recently, Senator Leila de Lima was splashed on the front page of a newspaper wearing her own version of swimwear.

Fight for equality

The conversation on social media was polarized. Some called the newspaper out for its lack of journalism ethics, but many others called de Lima out for “not being ashamed of her body.”

Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, women are celebrated for being proud of their bodies, whatever state it is in.

Some suggested wearing a rashguard and board shorts next time, some said that the paper was right to run the photo because it proved she was immoral, and by correlation, made the allegations about an illicit affair true.

If the same accusations were hurled at a male public servant then we should have seen half of our male legislators (including our beloved President) splattered on the front page in all their shirtless glory.

At any age, women continue to be policed and told what she can and cannot wear.

It is 2016. Women can vote, women can work, women can even be heads of state, but the fight for equality still includes having to fight for their right to wear what they want at the beach. – Rappler.com

Ana P. Santos, Rappler's sex and gender columnist, attended the Women Deliver 2016 conference in Copenhagen, Denmark as a media scholar. Women Deliver is the largest gathering of health experts and advocates working to advance the sexual reproductive health rights of women and girls.

Something is happening to our democratic fabric. Malicious, hostile and offensive people are ripping it apart, tearing at it. 

In public places like the social media and comments sections of news websites such as Rappler, these people insult, call those they disagree with names, and, the crudest of them all, threaten them with violence! In the young history of social media in the country, this is definitely a frustratingly low point.

What gives these people the license to go on a rampage? Anonymity. They hide in the darkness created by false names and thrive in the shadows of anonymity.

They, too, enter these public spaces locking reason out of the internet. But with their aggression, they hijack conversations and intimidate others who wish to contribute to a healthy exchange of ideas.

To reclaim what was once a robust space for conversation, Rappler has decided to heavily moderate its comments section. You will find the rules here in English, Filipino, Bisaya, and Ilokano.

When we look at the bigger picture, at society as a whole, it appears that many are taking the cue from the President who has not hidden his penchant for profane language and routinely dishes out kill warnings. He has shown little tolerance for criticism and answers back with threats.

In doing so, he has set the tone for our national conversation. Anger and violence in our discourse have edged out civility.

Can members of the Duterte Cabinet, advisers he trusts, weigh in? But if the President can’t take the heat from fellow government officials like Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno and Senator Leila de Lima, will he tolerate opposing views from his appointees? 

No wonder Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, who comes from the academe, justified the killings that come with the government’s centerpiece war on drugs. They’re a “necessary evil,” Pernia declared.

We have always believed that governments can only get better if free exchange of ideas prevails, and where leaders encourage honest discussions. 

It would be a disservice to the nation if Duterte opts to stay inside an echo chamber. – Rappler.com