Editor's Pick

Sara Duterte impeachment trial, Week 7: Acosta testimony puts Duterte at center of P125M cash transfer

Impeachment

|

By Tita C. Valderama

|

Aug 21, 2026

Acosta’s testimony thus left the court with two competing questions: Duterte’s alleged authority to order the release of the money, and whether the person who received and supposedly implemented the confidential activities had the authority to handle the funds.

KEEP READING

A revitalized Philippine military: a threat to China’s ambitions

Commentary

|

By Jose Antonio Custodio

|

Aug 18, 2026

Despite the persistent defeatist propaganda being regurgitated by the treacherous talking heads and influencers of the Duterte camp, the Philippines is slowly emerging as a significant Southeast Asian military power. The only thing for the Philippines to do is for Filipinos to realize that we are not anymore the weak man of Asia.

KEEP READING

Governance at Sea: Is this the right time for a Department of Maritime and Ocean Affairs?

Drug War Truth Commission opens first hearing with slain teenager case

Report

|

By Janna Millenas

|

Aug 14, 2026

At the hearing at the Pius Center in Paco, Manila, Luzviminda Siapo testified about the killing of her 19-year-old son, Raymart Siapo, who had a clubfoot.

KEEP READING

Sara Duterte impeachment trial, Week 6: Audit trail, courtroom tensions

Impeachment

|

By Tita C. Valderama

|

Aug 13, 2026

For two days, Aug. 11 and 12, Commission on Audit supervising auditor Xylene Mae del Campo returned to a deceptively simple point: Acknowledgment receipts may show that someone received money, but they do not, by themselves, establish why the money was paid, whether the expense was authorized or whether a claimed confidential operation actually succeeded.

KEEP READING

FACT CHECK Online Posts

FACT CHECK: OLD report PASSED OFF as Duterte’s return to Davao City this August

Netizens have resurfaced a 2022 news report about former president Rodrigo Duterte's return to Davao City falsely claiming that he had been released by the International Criminal Court.

Bullit's Eye Report

How do you bring P125 M cold cash out of the bank?

Gina Acosta, former special disbursing officer at the Office of the Vice President, took the witness stand at the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Aug. 17.

Commentary

Kristine Ferrer, Duterte and Mighty cigarettes connection

In October 2017, Duterte’s Malacañang announced a P40B tax compromise settlement with Mighty Corporation. Who headed the compromise team with Mighty? It was the tax lawyer Kristine R. Ferrer, now of the Sara Duterte impeachment trial.