OPINION

FIRING LINE: Dynastic duo

adminDecember 18, 2025December 18, 202506 mins

FIRING LINE: Dynastic duo By Robert B. Roque, Jr. l December 18, 2025 It takes one to know one. And amid the degenerative state of Philippine governance, perhaps the most ironic — and therefore politically viable — first step is for two dynasty giants to draft a bill that claims to end clan monopoly over…

FIRING LINE: Co vanishes, Romualdez very much here

adminDecember 16, 2025December 16, 202506 mins

FIRING LINE: Co vanishes, Romualdez very much here By Robert B. Roque, Jr. l December 16, 2025 Since appearing in a damning video, implicating the highest names in government in what he claimed was a P100-billion web of budget insertions and ghost flood-control projects, it’s as if former congressman Zaldy Co has vanished into thin…

FIRING LINE: Never again

adminDecember 11, 2025December 11, 202505 mins

FIRING LINE: Never again By Robert B. Roque, Jr. l December 11, 2025 With corruption scandals tightening around this administration and whispers of destabilization refusing to die, President Bongbong Marcos is at least playing his cards right with the military. I’m talking about the well-timed announcement he made last week: a three-tranche salary increase for…

FIRING LINE: Big budget, little to show for

adminDecember 9, 2025December 9, 202506 mins

FIRING LINE: Big budget, little to show for By Robert B. Roque Jr. l December 9, 2025 The Senate’s approval on second reading of a P6.793-trillion spending plan for 2026 should usher in a moment of resolve. Now, more than ever, the government must prove it can wield enormous resources with competence and integrity. What…

FIRING LINE: DTI Chief’s P500 fantasy

adminDecember 2, 2025December 2, 202505 mins

FIRING LINE: DTI Chief’s P500 fantasy By Robert B. Roque Jr. l December 2, 2025 There are moments when government officials reveal exactly how out of touch they are — and this past week, Trade Secretary Cristina Roque gave the Filipino public a shining example as an advanced Christmas gift. Her now-infamous remark that ₱500…

FIRING LINE: Aim for the head

adminNovember 27, 2025November 26, 202507 mins

FIRING LINE: Aim for the head By Robert B. Roque, Jr. | November 27, 2025 For all the breathless speculation about the rumored arrest of Harry Roque in the Netherlands — a story still unconfirmed as of this writing — one thing is clear: the government is fully within its legal and constitutional authority to…

FIRING LINE: March for justice, not mob rule

adminNovember 25, 2025November 25, 202506 mins

FIRING LINE: March for justice, not mob rule By Robert B. Roque, Jr. | November 25, 2025 Coming off an edgy Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC)–led anti-corruption and transparency protest at the Quirino Grandstand, we now find ourselves five days away from the second Trillion Peso March. This time, as it is resoundingly called for by…

FIRING LINE: Family feud

adminNovember 20, 2025November 20, 202506 mins

FIRING LINE: Family feud By Robert B. Roque, Jr. | November 20, 2025 The Marcos family’s unraveling has gone from disgraced to scandalous with Senator Imee Marcos’s tearful admission that her brother, President Bongbong Marcos, has been fighting a lifelong drug addiction. Her emotional disclosure at Day 2 of the Iglesia ni Cristo rally in…

FIRING LINE: Same fight, starkly different causes

adminNovember 18, 2025November 18, 202507 mins

FIRING LINE: Same fight, starkly different causes By Robert B. Roque, Jr. l November 18, 2025 Zaldy Co could have taken the legitimate route: testify before the Senate or the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) probing the multibillion-peso flood-control scam. He could have done it in person or over Zoom. Those were the proper venues,…

FIRING LINE: Weren’t we forewarned?

adminNovember 13, 2025November 12, 202506 mins

FIRING LINE: Weren’t we forewarned? By Robert B. Roque, Jr. l November 13, 2025 She has long passed, but former Environment Secretary Gina Lopez and the convictions she stood for are reentering our consciousness as the nation reels from earthquakes, floods, and landslides that continue to test the limits of our resilience. It’s unfortunate that…

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FIRING LINE: Dynastic duo

FIRING LINE: Co vanishes, Romualdez very much here

FIRING LINE: Never again

FIRING LINE: Big budget, little to show for

FIRING LINE: DTI Chief’s P500 fantasy

FIRING LINE: Aim for the head

FIRING LINE: March for justice, not mob rule

FIRING LINE: Family feud

FIRING LINE: Same fight, starkly different causes

FIRING LINE: Weren’t we forewarned?