Co-authored with Joy Reyes. In a span of 3 weeks, 5 typhoons entered and ravaged the Philippines, leaving hundreds of thousands displaced, hundreds dead, and even more affected because of the floods and inundation, power outages, and water shortages, among others. There is a connection among all these typhoons and their effects on the country, …
Tag Archives: Tony La Viña
Religion can unite us
In the last chapter of the encyclical letter Fratelli Tutti, the Holy Father Pope Francis extols the virtues of the different religions as contributors to building fraternity and defending justice in society. He believes that as believers, we are convinced that, without an openness to the Father of all, there will be no solid and …
Policies and Measures to Combat Climate Change
The following is Part 2 in a two-part series. You can read Part 1 here. In June 2019, Philip Alston, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, issued an important report on how the climate emergency exacerbates economic inequity and social injustice. The report concluded that addressing climate change effectively required a fundamental …
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Justice Leonen and the Marcos-Robredo Case
Citing Associate Justice Marvic Leonen’s alleged well-documented bias against him and his family, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is asking the Supreme Court, sitting as Presidential Electoral Tribunal, to re-raffle his electoral protest case and for Leonen, to whom the case is assigned, to inhibit from the case. The rules for voluntary inhibition of judge or …
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In the Front Lines of the Climate Emergency
The following is Part 1 in a two-part series. You can read Part 2 here. There is no doubt about what Luzon has been experiencing in the last few weeks – the full fury of the global climate emergency. One after another, Quinta, Rolly, Siony, Tonyo, and Ulysses devastated parts of Luzon, the biggest island …
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Dialogue, Friendship, and Kindness
In Chapter Six of Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis extols the virtues of dialogue, friendship, and kindness. For him, dialogue means approaching, speaking, listening, looking at, coming to know and understand one another and to find common ground. If we want to encounter and help one another, we have to dialogue. Unlike disagreement and conflict, persistent …
An Exciting Time for Social Entrepreneurs
In my previous article, I talked about Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, a global organization that has built the first and largest network of social entrepreneurs and innovators tackling complex problems and changing broken systems. Through its Fellowship, it has recognized and supported close to 4,000 of these social entrepreneurs and innovators in over 90 …
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Gross Violations of Due Process in Anti-Terror Law Rules
Co-authored with Joy Reyes. The following is Part 2 of a two-part series. You can read Part 1 here. Proscription, differentiated from designation, is the process by which the Court of Appeals declares a group of persons, organization, or association as a terrorist upon the verified application of the DOJ with recommendation from the NICA and …
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No Assurance from the Anti-Terror Law’s Rules
Co-authored with Joy Reyes. The following is Part 1 of a two-part series. You can read Part 2 here. Released by the Department of Justice and the Anti-Terrorism Council, the 48-page IRR lays down the guidelines and procedures of the law, and have several salient provisions, including those on warrantless arrests and delisting. Naturally, many critics, …
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Welcoming the new Ashoka Fellows
Co-authored with Jose Luis Pablo. The following is Part 2 of a two-part series. You can read Part 1 here. In Part 1 of this article, we introduced the Ashoka Fellowship and the 9 previously inducted Fellows in the Philippines who are transforming systems in society to solve complex problems. But what does it take to …