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Continue reading →: Trump’s Tariff Tantrum and Marcos’ Meek Surrender: A Trade Deal That’s More Shakedown Than ShowdownBy Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — July 23, 2025 WITH great regret we announce the passing of Free-Trade Logic, age 78, after a brief but violent encounter with a Truth Social post on July 23. It is survived by a 19 % tariff on Philippine exports and an orphaned nation…
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Continue reading →: Silence as a Weapon: How the House’s Defiance Threatens Philippine DemocracyBy Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — July 23, 2025 THE House of Representatives’ refusal to answer three critical Supreme Court queries on Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment is a brazen assault on constitutional integrity. By hiding behind the separation of powers, the House isn’t safeguarding its autonomy—it’s orchestrating a political…
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Continue reading →: Peso Plunder Palooza: How Philippine Politicians Turn Calamities into Cash CowsBy Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — July 23, 2025 “Nothing unites Philippine politicians like a good disaster—not to save lives, but to plunder the public purse.” ON July 22, 2025, as the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat) turned Quezon City and Manila into urban swamps, mayors declared states of calamity with all…
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Continue reading →: Pasig’s Promise vs. Manila’s Misstep: Sotto’s Savings Defy Recto’s TaxesBy Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — July 22, 2025 IN Pasig City, Mayor Vico Sotto has pulled off a fiscal miracle: saving ₱1 billion a year not by taxing the weary but by slaying the beast of corruption. His gleaming new city hall stands as a testament to governance that…
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Continue reading →: Dynasty or Democracy? Pangilinan’s Bill Tests Whether the Philippines is a Republic or a Family BusinessBy Louis ‘Barok’ C Biraogo — July 22, 2025 SENATOR Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan’s Anti-Political Dynasty Bill, filed on July 9, 2025, is a fiery assault on the dynastic stranglehold choking Philippine democracy. Rooted in the 1987 Constitution’s mandate to ban political dynasties (Art. II, Sec. 26), it confronts a grim…
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Continue reading →: PhilHealth’s Poorhouse Ploy: Cry Broke, Cash In, and Leave the Sick to SufferEdwin Mercado’s private-sector groveling won’t stitch up PhilHealth’s wounds—it’s just tossing bandages to his hospital pals while the poor bleed out. By Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — July 21, 2025 Vignette: Aling Maria’s Rice-Cake Rx In a Quezon City slum, Aling Maria, a diabetic grandmother, hawks suman to scrape together…
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Continue reading →: Marcos’ Market Mirage: CMEPA’s Promise of Riches for the Rice-LessBy Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — July 21, 2025 BREAKING: Local journalist shocked—SHOCKED—to discover that legislation called the ‘Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA)’ might actually promote capital markets efficiently. In other news, water remains wet, politicians remain disappointing, and your columnist remains perpetually surprised by predictable outcomes. But stick…
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Continue reading →: Carpio’s Line in the Sand: Why the SC Might Let Sara SkateBy Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — July 20, 2025 A Judicial Jolt or a Constitutional Collapse? The Supreme Court teeters on a razor’s edge, its gavel a lightning rod that could either electrify the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte or short-circuit the fragile balance of separation of powers.…
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Continue reading →: Davao’s AI Gamble: A Safer City or a Surveillance Nightmare?By Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — July 20, 2025 DAVAO City, a pulsing metropolis in the Philippines’ volatile Mindanao region, stands on the cusp of a technological revolution. Councilor Bonz Andre Militar has unveiled an audacious plan: modernizing the city’s emergency response with AI and GPS while deploying facial recognition…
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Continue reading →: Pills or Bread? The Brutal Choice Haunting FilipinosBy Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — July 19, 2925 IN Manila’s Tondo slum, Maria, a 38-year-old mother of three, faces a heart-wrenching choice. To afford her son’s asthma inhaler, she skips meals, her hunger a quiet sacrifice for his breath. “Rice costs more every month,” she whispers, her voice heavy…






