As Dean of the Jose Maria College of Law, Davao City, I believe that the constitutional requirement of a two-thirds vote of all the Members of the Senate for conviction in an impeachment case must be strictly, faithfully, and solemnly observed. This is not a novel constitutional question, nor is the requirement peculiar to the…
Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero is pushing for the rapid, nationwide rollout of the government’s maritime digital passenger manifest system after the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) raised the possibility that the ill-fated MV June Aster may have been carrying more passengers than its official manifest recorded. According to Escudero, the recent sea tragedy in Coron, Palawan…
Photo courtesy: AP An impeachment trial should be about evidence—not about forcing the accused to become the prosecution’s missing witness. After weeks of hearings, hostile witnesses, heated exchanges and mountains of allegations, one might have expected the prosecution’s case to become increasingly compelling. Instead, the latest development raises a very different question. The prosecution has…
* Pushes more opportunities for deserving students Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go welcomed the Senate’s approval on third and final reading of Senate Bill No. 2410, or the proposed Presidential Merit Scholarship Program Act, which seeks to institutionalize a national scholarship program for academically outstanding Filipino students who need financial assistance to pursue higher education. Go…
Photo courtesy: Human Rights Watch By Ivy Tejano DAVAO CITY – Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have asked the court to allow the use of previously recorded testimony from the key witness in the case against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The Office of the Prosecutor filed the request under Rule 68(3), seeking…
There is something deeply troubling when a prosecution begins to look less like a search for truth and more like a prolonged exercise in political destruction. Let us be clear: accountability is indispensable to democracy. No public official—regardless of position, popularity, or political affiliation—should be above the law. If there are credible allegations of wrongdoing,…
photo courtesy: OVP By Ivy Tejano DAVAO CITY – The Office of the Vice President (OVP) is seeking P785.204 million for its 2027 budget to continue providing assistance and other services to beneficiaries nationwide. The proposed allocation, included in the 2027 National Expenditure Program and endorsed by the Department of Budget and Management, is 11.7…
By Ivy Tejano DAVAO CITY – Over 1 million tourists visited Davao City in the first six months of 2026, with arrivals rising 11.70 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO). The CTOO noted 1,045,854 tourist arrivals from January to June 2026, up from 936,474 in…
Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go honored government nurse Kelvin Rod Castro, 35, as a modern-day hero after he lost his life after returning from a measles-rubella supplemental immunization activity in Catbalogan City, Samar, extending his deepest condolences and assistance to the bereaved family. On Tuesday, September 1, Go spoke with Castro’s family through a video call,…
By Ivy Tejano DAVAO CITY – Over 80,000 people attended the inauguration and grand opening of the Kingdome at the Kingdom of Jesus Christ compound in Buhangin, Davao City, on September 1. Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte and members of the Davao City Council were among those in attendance at the KOJC’s Grand Opening of…
