Facts Matter Philippines

Sa podcast episode na ito, ikinwento ni Caloy Conde ang nangyari sa loob ng Pre-Trial Chamber I ng International Criminal Court kahapon. Tinalakay din nya ang napakagaling na talumpati ni Atty. Joel Butuyan, ang isa sa mga abogado ng mga biktima ng “drug war.” Tinuligsa nya ang pamamaraan ng mga DDS para i-harass ang mga kritiko ni Duterte, pati na ang mga abugado. At inilahad din niya ang pagka-d...

In this episode of #OpenTalk with Caloy Conde, we go inside the work of two investigative journalists from Rappler — Dwight de Leon and Lian Buan — who helped uncover massive corruption scandals involving the DPWH, congressmen, and powerful political families. They reveal the painstaking process behind their exposés on Rep. Zaldy Co, the DPWH flood control scandal, and political contractors across...

In this episode of #OpenTalk with Caloy Conde, climate advocate John Leo Algo, national coordinator of Aksyon Klima Pilipinas, reveals shocking details about how the Philippine government’s spends its climate budget over the years and how the Department of Public Works and Highways, which gets the biggest slice of the piece, is not even attending climate consultations. JL discusses how over 80% of...

Why do Ilocanos remain deeply loyal to the Marcos family — even decades after Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s dictatorship? Why do people love Rodrigo Duterte even after all the human rights abuses? In this episode of Open Talk with Caloy Conde, sociologist Ash Presto explains her important fieldwork on political polarization, loyalist mentality, and emotional politics in the Philippines. Ash, currently pu...

When the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) awarded former President Rodrigo Duterte the “Golden Pillar of the Law Award,” the backlash was immediate and intense. Critics say the move is tone-deaf, given Duterte’s record of human rights violations and the bloody war on drugs. In this episode of #OpenTalk with Caloy Conde, Atty. Ted Te — former Supreme Court spokesperson and FLAG (Free Legal A...

They unpack the Philippine Senate resolution urging the ICC to grant house arrest for former President Rodrigo Duterte, and why this has no legal bearing under the Rome Statute. Key issues discussed include: -- Why house arrest does not exist in ICC rules -- The fairness principle in ICC detention facilities -- Disinformation about Duterte’s health and detention conditions -- How the Senate resolu...

Mass protests and unrest in Indonesia are once again shaking Southeast Asia’s largest democracy. Rooted in economic inequality, misgovernance, and official indifference, today’s turmoil echoes the country’s turbulent history going back to 1965. In this episode, Human Rights Watch senior researcher Andreas Harsono explains how severe economic hardships — including the “disappearance” of 10 million...

In this episode of #OpenTalk, journalist Carlos Conde interviews Ken Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch and author of the new book "Righting Wrongs." They dive into the urgent state of human rights advocacy, the challenges facing the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the global fight for accountability. Ken Roth stresses the importance of the Assembly of States Parties in...

Walden Bello, the esteemed Filipino progressive and public intellectual, has written a memoir about the political battles he has waged over the years and how love fits in all of those struggles. In this OpenTalk episode, Walden talks about the demons that he tried to vanquish – from inequality in the Philippines (as a communist cadre) to US interventionism and imperialism – and the loves he pursue...

In this OpenTalk episode, Carlos Conde and journalist Regine Cabato delve deep into the world of what Regine calls the Duterte “disinformation cyborgs,” who runs them, why they keep churning disinformation, and who benefits from all that. A former Washington Post reporter who is now on a Chevening scholarship in the UK where she studies politics and the disinformation ecosystem, Regine provides va...

This episode stemmed from the current brouhaha over public works corruption in the Philippines as revealed recently, particularly involving certain big-ticket contractors, the Department of Public Works and Highway, and members of the legislature. KEY PODCAST POINTS * The DPWH flood-control project and the Discaya controversies * The many reasons why corruption is hard to vanquish in the Philippin...