ANC After The Fact

There’s an interesting piece of legislation that came out of the House of Representatives recently. Despite their very busy schedules, congressmen still found time to promote press freedom which, we probably all agree, is important in a democracy. So our good congressmen saw it fit to pass a bill declaring August 30 of each year as National Press Freedom Day.

It was a unanimous vote on third and final reading - but wait.  Just last year, July 10, 2020 to be exact a committee from this same chamber voted to “kill” the application for a new broadcast franchise by ABS-CBN, the largest media network here in the Philippines. That vote took ABS-CBN out of free TV and radio sending thousands of employees out of jobs especially in the middle of the pandemic.  

But more worrisome was chilling effect on journalists -- if the president could shut down ABS-CBN, imagine what this administration can do to others unless they toed the line.

Remember that despite congressmen’s insistence that they voted based on evidence and their conscience, president duterte himself had repeatedly vowed to shut down ABS-CBN. And this exactly what happened.

The network, to this day, has been trying to get by with whatever news platform still available to it. 

In this episode, Christian Esguerra sits down with NUJP's Jonathan de Santos and Rep. Alfredo Garbin who abstained from the ABS-CBN vote.

They talk about the state of press freedom here in the Philippines, and what difference this so-called “National Press Freedom Day” bill can actually make under the current political environment. 

At 76 years old and not exactly in the pink of health, President Rodrigo Duterte is being urged by his own political party to run for vice president next year. 

As we speak, there are signature campaigns across villages “urging” Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte to run.

A Duterte-Duterte tandem, of course, won’t be a surprise anymore. we saw it in Davao City, which the family has firmly controlled for over 20 years.

But to expand this political dynasty to the very top of Philippine politics is something else. 

In this episode, Christian Esguerra talks to Atty. Howard Calleja and Albay Representative Joey Salceda to  discuss this emerging daughter-and-father ticket for the 2022 elections, and how it will reflect of our electoral system  and democracy. 

Judge Raul Pangalangan has just completed his term at the International Criminal Court, an important body established as a court of last resort when states are unable or unwilling to genuinely prosecute individuals for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

But nearly 20 years since it was created under the Rome Statute, the ICC has had its share of successes as well as failures often criticized for allegedly being ineffective, inefficient, or even biased. much of these, of course, are largely because of the complex nature of cases brought before it and the lack of cooperation of member states. The Philippines, for instance, officially withdrew from the ICC in 2019 apparently in response to a preliminary inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity committed in President Duterte’s brutal drug war. 

In this episode, we try to better understand the ICC by going deep into its nature and processes for justice and accountability.

In this episode, Christian Esguerra talks to Dean Soledad Mawis and Fr. Ranhilio Aquino on psychological incapacity as a legal concept and its implications on cases seeking the declaration of the nullity of marriage. They also tackled the push to legalize divorce in the Philippines.

In this episode, Christian Esguerra talks to Metro Manila Mayors Isko Moreno and Toby Tiangco on the pressures and challenges of dealing with the pandemic at the frontlines of the government response. 

After five years, and close to the tail-end of the Duterte administration, the Philippine National Police finally agreed to open its case files on policemen involved in anti-drug operations  where suspects were killed for allegedly resisting arrest — the so-called “nanlaban” cases. But only the Department of Justice will be given access to these records which cover only 61 cases out of thousands of killings recorded since President Duterte launched his bloody crackdown on illegal drugs in 2016. The question is - why only now and why only 61 cases?

In this episode, Christian Esguerra sits down with Justice Undersecretary Adrian Sugay, Human Rights Commissioner Karen Dumpit, and Human Rights Watch's Carlos Conde.

Internet speed, not to mention, cost, has always been seen as a weakness in the Philippines, a problem made even more pronounced as more people had to shift online - for school, work, and many other vital functions during the pandemic.

Recently, the government’s plan to roll out free public Wi-Fi access came under scrutiny because of an alleged overpriced contract cornered by some companies.

In this episode, Christian Esguerra together with Eliseo Rio Jr., former Officer-in-Charge of the ICT Department and Winthrop Yu of the Internet Society of the Philippines dig deep into the issue and discuss why the Philippines is lagging behind its ASEAN neighbors in terms of internet speed even if internet access in the country is among the least affordable in the world.

In this episode, Christian Esguerra talks to Jaime Montoya Executive Director of the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development and Dr. Gene Nisperos, Board Member of the Community Medicine Development Foundation on why some Filipinos are reluctant to get vaccinated and the importance of clinical trials for 'mix-and-match' vaccines.

In this episode President Duterte's Chief Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo sought to justify Duterte’s questionable statements on the West Philippine sea, claiming there were no inconsistencies. Maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal warned China could use these remarks against the Philippines later on.

In this episode, Christian Esguerra talks to Usec. Severo Catura of the NTF-ELCAC and Bayan Muna Party-List Rep. Carlos Zarate on the government's crackdown on communism. For Catura, concerns raised over Maginhawa Community Pantry's Patricia Non raising a clenched fist in some photos provide a good opportunity for dialogue. For Zarate, government cannot simply red-tag any individual as it is not just simple labeling, it is very dangerous.