THE case of Barangay Commonwealth, with its sizable population and diverse electorate, serves as a critical example for examining and documenting the strategies employed by certain candidates and groups to sway voters — before and during campaign periods, and unto...
Barangay Commonwealth’s story: All-hands-on-deck on all issues
Barangay Commonwealth stands out as a model of community engagement, with a rich diversity of active, organized associations and groups that span various sectors, including homeowners associations, tricycle operators and drivers associations, fraternities, youth...
THE 2023 BSK ELECTIONS: post-MORTEM, STATE OF PLAY, POLS, INFLUENCERS ON PROWL
More than a year after the May 2022 National and Local Elections, Filipino voters once more headed to the polling precincts to elect a new set of barangay officials. The October 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) saw a voter turnout of 71.20...
THE BIG PICTURE: BARANGAYs as core pillar of politics & governance
THE barangays are the smallest political units in the Philippines but the responsibility and influence they wield in politics and society are far from negligible. In the National Capital Region (NCR), some barangays cover larger land areas and receive higher internal...
Crazy, dicey? Why? How?: Contractors snare billions for laptops, PPEs, elections
Flaws in the procurement law and gaps in the procurement process have allowed the imponderable to happen: Contractors gunning for, and winning, billion-peso contracts to sell laptops, personal protective equipment (PPEs), and now, automated election systems. It’s big...
Procurement law and the Miru JV: More to verify, validate, ascertain
To acquire goods and services using public funds, all government agencies must abide by Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act and its Implementing Rules and Regulations. Competitive bidding is the default mode in state procurement. This means...
St. Timothy’s checkered record: Many projects, negative slippages
St. Timothy Construction Corporation submitted to the COMELEC dozens – actually up to 150 in all – projects that it said were its “ongoing” and awarded contracts from 2018 to January 2024. That list bolstered what St. Timothy had claimed to be its net financial...
The Miru JV Partners: No money woes for PhP18-B poll contract?
Did COMELEC put too much confidence in St. Timothy and the Miru Joint Venture? Based on documents reviewed and interviews conducted by the R2KRN Coalition, St. Timothy or STCC seems to be an old hand in government infrastructure projects. But it may not be in a...
The Beneficial Owners & Officers of the Miru JV: Strange bedfellows
For over a decade, the Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition has cultivated a freedom of information (FOI) practice to test, make use of and strengthen FOI mechanisms in the country as an essential component to claiming the people’s right to know. For 2022-2025, the...
Abuse of State Resources: the monster we must slay
During elections, incumbents and dominant political parties tend to abuse, misuse, or deny their rivals state monies, equipment, supplies, and personnel. This is unfair political competition, and not free, inclusive, and honest elections. Today, let's understand the...