The Manila Times Opinion

05/08/2026

THE filing of a non-bailable plunder case against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta over P75 million in private campaign donations is not just another headline in our endless graft drama; it is a watershed in the weaponization of law in this country. By treating lawful campaign support from private individuals as “ill-gotten wealth” under the Plunder Law, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla have opened a legal Pandora’s box that can swallow any political opponent — and any citizen reckless enough to support one generously.

THE filing of a non-bailable plunder case against Sen. Rodante Marcoleta over P75 million in private campaign donations is not just another headline in our endless graft drama; it is a watershed in the weaponization of law in this country. By treating lawful campaign support from private individuals...

05/08/2026

THE sun may be the world’s most abundant source of energy, but the controversy surrounding Sen. Loren Legarda, her son Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, and former energy secretary Alfonso Cusi is casting a long shadow over the country’s renewable energy sector. The Office of the Ombudsman has begun a preliminary investigation into complaints alleging plunder, graft, conflict of interest, and other irregularities involving solar energy projects associated with Leviste’s companies.

THE sun may be the world’s most abundant source of energy, but the controversy surrounding Sen. Loren Legarda, her son Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, and former energy secretary Alfonso Cusi is casting a long shadow over the country’s renewable energy sector. The Office of the Ombudsman has begu...

05/08/2026

WHAT happens to a hero who survived a war, monsters, storms and the wrath of gods, only to find that the hardest part of his struggle is finding his way home?

05/08/2026

OUT of the total 6.352 trillion national budget, the World Bank estimated that 20 percent goes to corruption. However, based on anecdotal information that goes around the construction sector, corrupt kickbacks in the past years have gone as high as 25 percent to 50 percent. On the basis of 20 percent corruption, this means P1.2 trillion goes to line the pockets of corrupt politicians and their chosen contractors. If the 25 percent kickback is the prevailing cost of corruption in government, the plundered amount will go as high as P1.588 trillion. And on the basis of 50 percent corruption, the amount of plunder will be P3 trillion.

OUT of the total 6.352 trillion national budget, the World Bank estimated that 20 percent goes to corruption. However, based on anecdotal information that goes around the construction sector, corrupt kickbacks in the past years have gone as high as 25 percent to 50 percent. On the basis of 20 percen...

05/08/2026

First of two parts

05/08/2026

THE call by President Marcos in his State of the Nation Address last week to remove the system loss charge from consumer electricity bills is still a hot topic of conversation, but I am already looking past that. Having developed what I believe will be the solution (see my column from Sunday, Aug. 2) that the powers-that-be will settle on, eventually, if they even get around to actually passing the required legislation, which is by no means assured, I think some attention should be given to the “hidden” fees in our electricity bills.

THE call by President Marcos in his State of the Nation Address last week to remove the system loss charge from consumer electricity bills is still a hot topic of conversation, but I am already looking past that. Having developed what I believe will be the solution (see my column from Sunday, Aug. 2...

05/08/2026

THERE is a particular kind of silence that falls over a legislative chamber in the fifth year of a Philippine presidency. It is not the silence of anticipation that greets a first SONA, nor the polite patience extended to a second or third. By year 5, everyone in the room — allies, critics, and the president himself — knows the arithmetic. One year remains after this one. Whatever isn’t started now will not be finished. Whatever isn’t said now may never be said at all.

THERE is a particular kind of silence that falls over a legislative chamber in the fifth year of a Philippine presidency. It is not the silence of anticipation that greets a first SONA, nor the polite patience extended to a second or third. By year 5, everyone in the room — allies, critics, and th...

05/08/2026

ON the day President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivered what will likely be his penultimate State of the Nation Address, I was nowhere near the halls of Congress.

05/08/2026

First word

05/08/2026

PUBLIC debates fail not because people disagree, but because they often operate from entirely different realities. Some argue from evidence, while others argue from myth. Some raise legitimate policy concerns, while others circulate fabricated narratives. When these become entangled, public discourse collapses into propaganda and fear rather than informed deliberation.

PUBLIC debates fail not because people disagree, but because they often operate from entirely different realities. Some argue from evidence, while others argue from myth. Some raise legitimate policy concerns, while others circulate fabricated narratives. When these become entangled, public discours...