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Unstoppable rise? The challenge for Duterte
Some are already celebrating, some are not. But one thing is clear: many people are baffled by the rise of Duterte. It is incredible that a mayor from Mindanao can make it to the national scene. To...
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The country's next leaders should focus on the youth
In 2014,the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), released the State of World Population report, The Power of 1.8 Billion: Adolescents, Youth and the Transformation of the Future, which discussed the...
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Trade-offs: Economic dev't vs heritage preservation in urban Southeast Asia
With the increasing demand for urban services and infrastructure, heritage sites and structures are often neglected.Southeast Asia’s so-called ‘ancient cities’ are quite unique in the sense that each...
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Why autocracies don’t work
A specter is hunting the democratic world – the specter of autocratic nostalgia.With interest groups and oligarchs coopting democratic institutions, average citizens are desperate for a secular savior,...
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[Dash of SAS] Bring back our girls
Two years ago, Islamist militant group Boko Haram tore through the Nigerian town of Chibok, torching buildings, killingvillagers and snatching almost 300 school girls from their dormitory beds. The...
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Marcos dictatorship, machismo, and human rights in elections
Are we so callous as to disregard the pervasive human rights violations of the Marcos dictatorship? Is it the aversion of Filipinos to remembering the pain of fellow Filipinos? Is it our way to make us...
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Increasing productivity key to revive growth in Asia-Pacific
The Asia-Pacific region’s successful achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development needs to be driven by broad-based productivity gains and rebalancing of economies towards domestic and...
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LOOK: Davao City’s rehab centers for drug addicts, youth offenders
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Rodrigo Duterte, the candidate I cover for elections, mentions this drug rehabilitation center so often in his speeches that I decided to take a look at it for myself.The...
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10 reasons why Grace Poe is my president
I write this with 10 days to go before Election Day. These are the 10 reasons why Grace Poe is my president and why you should choose her too.1. Grace Poe has a clear vision and solid platform of...
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Can the next president end contractualization?
For the first time in Philippine electoral history, labor contractualization is a pivotal campaign issue. Also for the first time, Presidential candidates are declaring their commitment to end...
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Philippine and US election demographics
This is the second piece of a 3-part collaborative series by the authors to explore the US and Philippine elections side-by-side. The first piece focused on the countries’ respective electoral systems....
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#AnimatED: Credible election as final arbiter
In the wake of bumblings by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) – the massive data leak and doubts on ballot replacement – public confidence in our poll body is sagging.The Comelec has assured us...
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Que Horror!
Film director Yam Laranas expects to be unFollowed over this. He expects to be trolled with more than the usual vitriol. UnFriended and cast out of the "Twitter-verse". Stabbed multiple times and...
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Once more, fanfare over Bar results
Once more we have a whole nation abnormally riveted on the results of the Bar examination. Actually we should be more excited when a Filipino earns a PhD in Physics, but there is a fascination with the...
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Dear Digong: Please don't fail your people
Dear Mayor Duterte,When you first gained popularity, I made an effort to understand your appeal. I interviewed lawyers, business owners, writers and employees on why you were their choice.I appreciated...
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Imperfect choices in a Philippine leader
Mar, Grace, Duterte, Jojo and Miriam.Filipinos will be choosing their next leader from this quintet. None are exciting. All of them are flawed. (READ: The Imagined President)You would think out of 100...
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The 3 leadership traits I want from a PH president
When I talk about leadership in my corporate talks or career articles on Rappler, I usually mean the qualities of CEOs and executives that allow them to propel a business from zero to hero. In these...
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Lemonade, battered woman syndrome, and Duterte apologists
These past few weeks, the temperature has gone through the roof in the Philippines and in social media, where conversations about politics have engaged everyone.Friends, family, and acquaintances are...
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#PHVote: Mindanao after May 9
Stakes are high in the upcoming May 9 elections in the Philippines.Amid the extreme poverty, severe drought, heavy militarization, a hanging Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), and the renewed vigor of the...
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Pumili ka: The Philippines beyond the 2016 elections
“Ganito ba talaga ang tadhana natin? Kalaban ang kalaban? Kalaban ang kakampi? Nakakapagod.” (Is this really our fate? Our enemy is our enemy? Our enemy is our friend? It is tiring.)When I started...
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