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Dissecting coalitions: UNA and Team PNoy

The battle between the two rival coalitions, the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) and Team PNoy, heats up as Election Day draws near. Results of a recently conducted Pulse Asia survey presented the top 16 candidates who have a high probability of winning the election. With 11 Team PNoy candidates and five UNA bets making the…

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SWS-BW Magic 12 profiles: Trillanes, Poe and Angara

On Monday, May 13, the Philippines will hold its 31st senatorial elections to decide the new set of senators who will serve the country for the next three to six years. From 82 aspirants who filed for candidacy last year, only 33 passed the Commission on Election’s (Comelec) benchmark and were deemed eligible to compete…

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Senatoriable denominations and voters’ choices

A range of factors influence the electoral choices of the voters. More often, the matter of competency falls subject to the candidates’ popularity. Through issues, personal appeal and political parties, the candidates forge an image influential to the voters. While campaign tactics provoke the general public to some extent, arriving at their personal picks may…

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SWS-BW Magic 12 profiles: Jack Enrile and Gringo Honasan

On Monday, May 13, the Philippines will hold its 31st senatorial elections to decide the new set of senators who will serve the country for the next three to six years.   From 82 aspirants who filed for candidacy last year, only 33 passed the Commission on Election’s (Comelec) benchmark and were deemed eligible to…

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Righting 10,000 Wrongs: The new Marcos compensation law

Commemorating the 27th EDSA anniversary, President Benigno Aquino III signed a law that will compensate victims of human rights violations committed by late dictator and former President Ferdinand Marcos’ security forces during his reign. Known as Republic Act (RA) 10368 or the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013, the law will distribute…

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Looking forward: The nation in 2013

As 2012 came to a close, many Filipinos faced the new year with much optimism and high hopes. In a survey conducted by Pulse Asia last December, 92% of respondents expressed hope for 2013 despite present circumstances. Along with that optimism, however, the nation faces many challenges and prospects for the coming year, at least…

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Casiguran natives’ 370-kilometer march against APECO

“Ibalik, ibalik! 12,923 ektaryang APECO, ibalik, ibalik!” cried 125 native Casiguran fisherfolk and farmers, who marched from Aurora to Manila, demanding back their ancestral lands and indigenous rights. Overcoming heat and exhaustion, marchers against the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (APECO) took a 20-day, 370-kilometer journey flagged as “Lakad Katarungan, Lakad Matuwid na…

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On the RH Bill and the 2013 electorate

On August 6, the House of Representatives voted to bring the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill into a period of amendment, ending house debates and bringing the bill one step closer to being passed. First proposed in 1998 with the goal of bringing the Philippine’s reproductive health system ‘up to par’, the bill has since been…

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The country’s susceptibility to viral outbreaks

Last July, Asia was once again threatened by a pandemic that has been present since the 1980s. The Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is a variant form of the Hand, Food and Mouth Disorder. Currently, the disease has claimed the lives of approximately 65 children, below the age of seven years old in a neighboring country of…

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Strengthening the country’s defense

In reaction to the assertive behavior of China in recent months, the Philippines is building up its defense through an effort to acquire relatively new military hardware. Last April, Philippine naval warship BRP Gregorio del Pilar intercepted eight Chinese sea vessels within the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal. In response, China deployed its own surveillance ships…