Opinion, analysis and editorials from TSR.
Latest in CommentaryA war thousands of kilometers away is beginning to ripple through something as basic as the Filipino dining table. The conflict involving Iran has pushed oil prices higher, disrupted key shipping routes, and strained global supply chains—especially for fertilizer, a critical input for food…
With the 2028 presidential race now less than two years away, former senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV has drawn fresh lines inside the so-called opposition—this time targeting Sen. Bam Aquino in a way that inevitably puts former vice president and now Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo in the same…
When did we become a country so quick to suspend classes at the faintest hint of inconvenience? Local officials today seem to wield the power to cancel school like a social media stunt, a button pressed for applause, hearts, and fleeting praise from students who will forget about it by the next…
The ₱879,000-per-unit body-worn camera procurement of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) has drawn public outrage, after Senator Raffy Tulfo flagged it “immoral” and “scandalous.” His demand was blunt: fire the members of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) and the Technical Working Group (TWG)…
Former Senate President Franklin Drilon’s description of Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson’s resignation as a “King’s Gambit” lays bare a Senate entangled in its own power plays, where survival demands sacrifice. In chess, the King’s Gambit is a risky opening: the player sacrifices a pawn to protect…
The 20th Congress has turned into one of the most turbulent in years, with the Senate shaken by corruption allegations, sudden leadership changes, and widening political divides that former Senate President Franklin Drilon describes as “the most unstable” he has witnessed in decades. Barely a…
Every collapsed structure points back to the choices made long before the ground began to shake. When the magnitude 6.9 earthquake shook in Northern Cebu on September 30, communities watched as schools and churches crumbled, roads split apart, and sinkholes opened like traps waiting for the right…
You notice it now, don’t you? A certain awkwardness when someone posts a designer bag online or shares a photo from a long-saved-for trip abroad. Suddenly, a thought pops up: “Baka galing sa flood control ‘yan.” And just like that, what should’ve been a celebration of hard work is treated like a…
It only takes one subway ride abroad for the jokes to start: “Ano na, Pilipinas?” Every time I travel abroad with fellow Filipinos, this familiar chorus comes up: “Philippines can never.” Soon enough, the group’s running commentary is set: “Ibang iba talaga dito, no? Why can’t we have this in our…
Much like the floodwaters, public anger is overflowing over the Philippines’ failed flood control projects. Every downpour brings not just clogged roads but renewed outrage over flood control projects that have swallowed billions yet delivered little. Singapore, however, shows what long-term…
It is beyond the reach of my knowledge or comprehension as to why President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has been reluctant in identifying the owners of construction firms that have cornered ₱100 billion worth of flood control projects in the country since 2022. A report from the Department of…
Former Finance Secretary Gary Teves on Thursday, August 14, urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to convene the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) before congressional committee hearings on the proposed 2026 national budget begin, and to meet at least monthly thereafter. In…
When China invades Taiwan, it is expected to neutralize perceived adversarial forces in Korea, Japan, the Philippines, and possibly as far as Guam and Hawaii through cyberattacks before going kinetic. It can’t be clearer than that. Time is short to get ready. The President himself has sounded the…
In a country where health is constitutionally recognized as a human right, the Philippine healthcare system remains chronically underfunded, inequitable, and inaccessible—especially for the poor. The evidence is overwhelming: healthcare is not a national priority, and our healthcare workers are…
As leptospirosis cases surge—over 3,037 nationwide, with hundreds of lives lost—we must speak not only with data, but with deep empathy. Behind every statistic is a grieving family, a breadwinner lost, a child orphaned. And behind every flooded street is a system that failed them. This is not just…
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