By Sonny Angara The Department of Health (DOH) declared measles outbreaks in various regions of the country, namely Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, and Eastern Visayas. In fact, more than 5,600 people have been infected since the beginning of this year. And sadly, around 70 — a third of whom were unvaccinated children …
OPINION
The radicality of Christian love
By Fr. Roy Cimagala If we truly identify ourselves with Christ, as we should, then we have to realize that we have to love God and everybody else all the way. And this can go even to the extent of offering our very life, since, as we have been reminded, “There is no greater love …
WHO urges clampdown on nicotine products aimed at kids
Sleek-looking disposable e-cigarettes and candy-flavored nicotine pouches are among a range of new products targeting young people and fueling a new wave of tobacco and nicotine addiction, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned. Speaking at the opening of a global conference on tobacco control, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus decried that surging numbers of children …
Bicol express (2)
By Ade S. Fajardo Flood control is the scandal that felled a Senate president. In May 2024, Chiz Escudero replaced Migz Zubiri as Senate head, one year before the national elections that saw administration candidates getting shellacked at the polls. Among his jubilant colleagues were Senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada, who now face the …
The lessons Queena left us
By Herman M. Lagon There are teachers who fill a schedule, and there are teachers who fill a life. Atenean Professor Queena Lee-Chua was the latter. News of her passing did not arrive like an announcement — it arrived like a pause. Former students sat quietly at their desks, scrolling through old lecture photos. Parents …
AI chatbots can influence voters: studies
A brief conversation with a partisan artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot can influence voters’ political views, studies published found, with evidence-backed arguments — true or not — proving particularly persuasive. Experiments with generative AI models, such as OpenAI’s GPT-4o and Chinese alternative DeepSeek, found they were able to shift supporters of Republican Donald Trump towards his …
Party-list reform is long overdue
By Herman M. Lagon There are political questions that skim the surface, and there are those that land heavily because they mirror what many of us have long felt. After a coffee break with former co-teachers, a fellow educator quietly asked why the party-list system now feels like a reunion of familiar surnames rather than …
Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight
By Fr. Roy Cimagala On this 2nd Sunday of Advent, we are reminded of these words of the Prophet Isaiah as recorded in the gospel of St. Matthew (3:3). These are words that should always be on our minds and, in fact, made as a guiding principle of our whole life. And the simple reason …
Beyond SALNs: Why lifestyle checks are the missing link in anti-corruption reform
By Ignacio Bunye The recent decision of Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla to restore public access to Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) is a welcome step toward transparency. For too long, restrictions on SALN disclosure have undermined public trust, shielding officials from scrutiny and weakening one of our most basic accountability tools. But …
How P500 became a punchline
By Herman M. Lagon There is something oddly familiar about the uproar over the proposed P500 Noche Buena budget. Not the warm kind of familiar — like your mother’s handwritten spaghetti recipe or the way your father slices ham too thick. It’s the other kind. The kind you feel when an official says something so …