No child should die in school
THE DEADLY shooting inside a public high school in Tacloban City should serve as a wake-up call for every school, local government unit, parent,...
Will the FOI ordinance deliver on its promise?
THE APPROVAL on third and final reading in the Iloilo City Council of a Freedom of Information (FOI) Ordinance has been rightly celebrated as...
Schools as safe havens — or disaster traps?
SCHOOLS are not merely places for learning; they are supposed to be sanctuaries where young minds can grow without fear. But what happens when...
The right to know is a right worth protecting
THE APPROVAL on third and final reading by the Iloilo City Council of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Ordinance is a reaffirmation of a...
Fighting corruption through information access
WHILE the country continues to await a comprehensive national Freedom of Information (FOI) law, Iloilo City has taken a proactive step toward ensuring that...
Testing gov’t before the real test comes
THE TRUE value of an emergency drill is not measured by how smoothly it unfolds. Its value lies in the mistakes it uncovers.
That is...
Inter-agency cooperation: The missing ingredient in many crises
ONE OF the most striking lessons from Iloilo’s ongoing Inter-Agency Territorial Defense Operations Exercise (Pag-ugyon 2026) is also one of the simplest: no single...
Territorial defense not just the military’s job
FOR DECADES, Ilonggos have become accustomed to preparing for typhoons, floods, earthquakes, droughts, and other natural hazards. Disaster preparedness has become part of local...
Invest in parents to save the children
WHEN discussions about child labor arise, the focus naturally falls on the children. After all, they are the ones found working in farms, construction...
A region’s progress should not be measured by economics alone
WESTERN Visayas has much to be proud of.
In recent years, the region has been repeatedly cited for its economic growth, expanding investments, rising...