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Raissa Robles
Raissa Robles has written for the SCMP since 1996. A freelance journalist specialising in politics, international relations, business and Muslim rebellion, she has contributed to Reuters, the Economist Intelligence Unit, Daily Mail, Times of London, Radio Netherlands and Asiaweek. She runs the award-winning investigative and opinion blog, raissarobles.com. Her book, Marcos Martial Law: Never Again, a brief history of the dictatorship won the 2017 National Book Awards for Non-Fiction. Her Twitter handle is @raissawriter.
Raissa Robles has written for the SCMP since 1996. A freelance journalist specialising in politics, international relations, business and Muslim rebellion, she has contributed to Reuters, the Economist Intelligence Unit, Daily Mail, Times of London, Radio Netherlands and Asiaweek. She runs the award-winning investigative and opinion blog, raissarobles.com. Her book, Marcos Martial Law: Never Again, a brief history of the dictatorship won the 2017 National Book Awards for Non-Fiction. Her Twitter handle is @raissawriter.
While the country has gun-control laws, most Filipinos simply ignore them and arm themselves without much difficulty, experts say.
Observers say Beijing could be using its ‘old playbook’ of deploying scientific activities to boost military presence in the South China Sea.
Analysts warned that repeated breaches of high-profile state websites could erode trust even if no sensitive data was stolen.
Analysts say Beijing may be trying to ‘kill the chicken to warn the monkeys’, as Manila faces calls for a tit-for-tat response.
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In earlier messages seen on the hacked website, which has been restored, a group demanded accountability and slammed ‘corrupt networks’.
Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jnr says the military will stay out of politics despite some unease within the ranks.
The arrest has left rival blocs short of the numbers needed to act ahead of the vice-president’s impeachment trial.
Two pollsters say the vice-president is vulnerable in the key regions of Metro Manila and the group of provinces known as ‘Balance Luzon’.
The navy based its assessment partly on regional partners admiring its newer ships that were deployed in recent joint exercises.
The vice-president’s impeachment trial starts amid chaos in the Senate from leadership battles and the fallout from her father’s ICC case.
‘Call me a coward’, ICC fugitive Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa told the cameras, as he holed up in the Senate in a bid to escape justice.
The leadership change could prove critical as the Senate leader presides over the trial of an impeached vice-president.
Defence chief Gilberto Teodoro says the Diaoyu Islands are now considered a ‘serious concern’ and the Balikatan drills will also be expanded.
Duterte-Carpio’s camp has accused administration allies of pressuring legislators to support the impeachment or risk withdrawal of funds.
The vice-president’s husband has also filed a complaint against senior officials and lawmakers for ‘leaking’ the couple’s bank information.
Japan’s participation in the Balikatan drill and its new weapon export rules are set to further defence ties between the two countries.
Duterte’s lawyers argue that the crimes against humanity case targeting him should not proceed as the Philippines is not an ICC member.
Given the rivalry between Washington and Beijing, joining the annual military exercise may risk being seen as picking the US, analysts say.
Manila said tests found cyanide in bottles seized near the Second Thomas Shoal, rejecting Beijing’s claim that the evidence was manufactured.
Judges are set to decide by late April whether to send Duterte’s case to trial, with any proceedings expected to move at a ‘glacial pace’.
Critics oppose the return of Japanese troops over Tokyo’s lack of a formal apology for the wartime abuse of Filipino ‘comfort women’.
The return marks an upgrade from the region’s previous ‘hub and spoke’ strategy to one of overlapping minilaterals, experts say.
A record 83 per cent of women in the Philippines now say they find domestic life as fulfilling as a career, a 30-year high.
The Philippine military claims the 56-year insurgency is near the finish line. But veteran rebels say the roots of rebellion remain.
A failed Senate conviction could ultimately strengthen Duterte-Carpio ahead of the presidential 2028 race, observers warn.
Social media posts claim US bases in the Philippines are like ‘bullseyes on Filipino soil’, prompting the military to debunk the disinformation.
Analysts say Marcos is doubling down on the country’s ‘transparency initiative’ while engaging Beijing diplomatically behind closed doors.
The government-backed drive is the latest in a series of creative campaigns aiming to shape public narrative around the maritime dispute.
