In this episode of Harapan, #FactsMatterPH discusses the enduring dominance of a few families and clans in Philippine politic. We're joined by Prof. Roland Simbulan, chair of the Center for People Empower in Governance (CenPEG), and Carmela Fonbuena, executive director of the Philippine Center for Investigate Journalism (PCIJ), which came out recently with a series of reports about these political dynasties.

Dec..10 is International Human Rights Day. To mark this day, #FactsMatterPH features three of the Philippines' most respected human rights advocates. Former CHR commissioner Karen Gomez Dumpit, Karapatan secretary-general Tinay Palabay and iDefend (In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement) national coordinator Rose Trajano discuss with us the state of human rights under the Marcos Jr. administration.

The Tulfos are shaking up Philippine politics, for good or bad.

In this episode of The Weekend, Caloy and Inday banter about the triumph and musicality of Sofronio Vasquez, the winner of The Voice USA. They also talk about Cien Anos de Soledad (One Hundred Years of Soledad), the Netflix series based on the masterpiece by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. (They offer a couple of tips on how best to watch the series.) They then segue into the state of human rights under President Marcos Jr. as the world marked #HumanRightsDay2024, starting with the case of TV journalist Atom Araullo who just won a civil case against his red-taggers.

In this episode, I talk about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Philippines with Dr. Louie Ocampo, UNAIDS Philippines country director. Key takeaways: The epidemic is still bad, with more infections among young Filipinos (15-24). Services to people with HIV,l such as treatment, are not maximized for a variety of reasons, among them poor enforcement of laws. Stigma and discrimination remains a major barrier. But in the face of all this, the response to the HIV/AIDS crisis should still be based pn human rights, Dr. Ocampo emphasizes.

Sa episode na ito,. tinalakay ko kung bakit ayaw ni Marcos Jr. ipa-impeach si Vice President Sara Duterte. Bakit nga ba? Dahil ba hindi na niya kailangang gawin dahil nakamit na niya ang gusto niyang mangyari -- na i-undermine si Sara politically?

Sa episode na to, tinalakay ko uli ang away ng mga Marcos at Duterte at kung ano sa tingin ko ang ugat nito. Mukhang nabudol ni BBM si Sara kaya nagwawala ngayon ang ale. Ginagamit nga ba ni Marcos ang kahinaan o vulnerabilities ng mga Duterte para iseguro na sila ang mananatili sa kapangyarihan? Pero sa kaibuturan nito ay away ng dalawang pamilyang korap at unli ang kalupitan.

In Episode 4 of TheWeekend, Inday and Caloy talk about the new crop of young, talented, and committed journalists in many parts of the world who are reporting stories that are close to their hearts. Also, they both agree that the Marcos government is wrong in using the anti-terror law against Vice President Sara Duterte because that law is seriously flawed and has been misused against activists and civil society groups.

In this audio podcast, I discuss:

In this conversation with Nuelle Duterte, the psychiatrist who happens to be the niece of former President Rodrigo Duterte and the first cousin of Vice President Sara Duterte, we dive deep into the Duterte family psyche and try to make sense of the theatrics by both father and daughter.