Digital spaces should be used for democratic participation, creativity, inclusion and equality, not for surveillance, exploitation and exclusion, a digital rights group said in its annual report. In its digital rights report for 2025, the Foundation for Media Alternatives’ (FMA) said digital systems meant to promote inclusion “easily deepen inequality, silence dissent and expose communities …
OPINION
When the tongue speaks
By Dr. Joseph D. Lim The human tongue is one of the body’s most overlooked diagnostic tools. Beyond enabling speech and taste, this muscular organ can serve as an early warning system for a range of underlying health issues. From subtle color changes to painful sores, tongue problems often signal more than just irritation — …
The counselor gap
By Herman M. Lagon A few months ago, a DepEd teacher friend quietly told me about a student who had suddenly stopped participating in class. The grades slipped. The absences piled up. The classmates noticed but did not know what to do. The teacher wanted to help but was already juggling lesson plans, reports, remedial …
Giving back and paying back
By Fr. Roy Cimagala The gospel reminds us of our duty to give back and pay back what God has given us. We should do our best to at least be more aware of this duty and try to fulfill it in any way we can, although we know that we really cannot fully give …
The political economy theory of Karl Marx
By Dennis Gorecho LONDON, United Kingdom — While travelling around London, I saw some posters promoting a Karl Marx walking tour as part of “A Journey Through London’s Revolutionary History.” Karl Marx (May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883) was a German philosopher, social and political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He developed the …
Welcome to the wheelchair club
By Herman M. Lagon I knew exactly where the conversation was heading the moment I saw the headline. Not because I am a medical doctor. Certainly not because I know anything about knee replacement surgery beyond what friends and relatives have gone through. I knew because I am Pinoy. Like many Filipinos, I have seen …
More Filipinos aware of climate change, but only a few take action
If there’s any place in the world that can clearly illustrate just how much impact climate change has had in recent years, look no further. In just a little less than seven decades, the Philippines has, unfortunately, seen various changes in terms of rising temperatures, intensity of extreme weather events and sea level rise. According …
A new dawn for Marawi City
By Sonny Angara This October 23 marks the ninth year since Marawi City was freed from the lawless elements who sought to turn the locality into a wilayat or an “administrative division” of the ISIS caliphate. On that day, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana declared the city’s liberation marking the end of armed hostilities and violence …
The duty to transform the world
By Fr. Roy Cimagala That gospel parable about the sower and the seed (cfr. Matthew 13:1-9) somehow reminds us that we have to be the good ground that would readily receive the seed of God and make it grow to its fullness. Only then can we aspire to transform the world the way God wants …
Hypertension is the silent threat fueling heart disease among Filipinos
Ischemic heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the Philippines, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. But behind many of these fatal heart conditions lies a far more common and often overlooked health problem — hypertension or high blood pressure. Often called a “silent killer,” hypertension develops gradually and usually without …