Teka Teka

We pay all sorts of taxes, and at the end of the day, we don't even feel them working for us. The data says it's not just our imagination. Our fiscal space is tight, collection is designed to favor a few, and they're allocated in a way that there's barely room to fund development. In the first live Speak Easy event, presented by Philstar Life and PumaPodcast, and hosted by The Opal Bar in Poblacion, Makati, economist and former Finance undersecretary Cielo Magno explains this bundle of taxes, and offers solutions that we can all rally around together. 

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Electricity fuels everyday life. And with extreme heat, Filipinos are relying on it more than ever.

We unpack the twin burdens of rotational brownouts and “bill shock” that had households paying more for their consumption. We also examine the Energy Regulatory Commission’s temporary relief measures, petitions to remove mandatory charges, and the broader debate over renewable energy funding. 

Beyond the Philippines, we look at ASEAN’s collective push for energy security and highlight how solar power is already transforming lives in remote communities.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The ‘foreign agent’ label against journalists is an old playbook – especially in Asia. But in 2025, it found new reach, spreading across major social media platforms and going virtually unchallenged. 

In the final part of our series on media funding, foreign aid, and sustainability, independent journalist Nica Hanopol speaks with fellow reporters Azreen Madzlan from Malaysiakini, John Hurt Allauigan from PressOnePH, and Francis Allan Angelo from Daily Guardian about their investigation of an online smear campaign against USAID and the media and civil society organizations it funded. 

Read the cross-border investigation here.

Follow the companion reports here: 

DailyGuardian

Philstar 

Malaysiakini

PressOne.PH

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Not all stories make it to the news. But when it comes to the marginalized, community journalists make it their job to ensure that they are represented by the media. 

We celebrate World Press Freedom Day this month, and in this episode, highlight the realities faced by community journalists: red-tagging, harassment, imprisonment, and even violence. 

Avon Ang of Altermidya talks to us about the cases of RJ Ledesma and Frenchie Mae Cumpio, the dangers of immersion reporting, and community journalists’ role in defending the truth and the public’s right to know. 

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For decades, the United States was the world’s largest funder of independent media through USAID, supporting investigative journalism, information integrity initiatives, journalist safety programs, and efforts to strengthen the market viability of media operations.

Daniel Sabet, a visiting fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, joins independent journalist Nica Hanopol to break down what was actually lost when that funding disappeared almost overnight. He paints a sobering picture of a global press freedom infrastructure that collapsed faster than anyone could respond to - and of what must happen next.

Read the full research, “The Impact of Ending U.S. International Media Assistance,” published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, here: https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2026/04/united-states-international-media-assistance-ending-usaid-independent-journalism

This episode was produced by Tricia Aquino and engineered by Anthony Tobias. 

Listen to our episodes on Spotify or YouTube.

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A French woman infected in the deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship is critically ill and being treated with an artificial lung. There are now 11 total reported cases, nine of which have been confirmed. 

The World Health Organization says, however, that confirmed and suspected cases have only been reported among the cruise ship’s passengers or crew.

To read this story, visit The Associated Press website.

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We sit down with wildlife biologist Jay Fidelino to discuss the surprising rise of squirrel sightings in Metro Manila and nearby provinces. While these animals may look cute and harmless, Fidelino explains that the Finlayson’s squirrel—an introduced species—is actually an invasive alien species with serious consequences for local biodiversity, agriculture, and even infrastructure.

Fidelino highlights the importance of scientific research and government action to manage invasive populations, while also reminding the public not to keep these squirrels as pets. On a brighter note, he shares the Philippines’ native squirrel species which naturally coexist within local ecosystems without causing harm.

We also talk about encounters with monkeys in tourist destinations, and how humans can minimize harm.

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When USAID pulled the plug on media funding overnight, independent newsrooms across Asia and the Pacific were left scrambling. In this episode, independent journalist Nica Hanopol speaks with Nini Cabaero, a media business advisor, who shares what the funding freeze actually felt like from the inside—and what independent newsrooms across Asia and the Pacific are doing to survive it.

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Tens of millions of foreign workers have helped build the Gulf Arab states’ modern, oil-fueled economies—with many not fully sharing in their prosperity. Now they face an even sharper dilemma: Keep working in the Middle East, where wages are far higher, hoping that a shaky ceasefire endures; or, return to already poor countries where prices have soared because of the conflict.

To read this story, visit The Associated Press website.

We thank the Global News Gaps Project of the Google News Institute for providing us access to AP.

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