AS PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte nears the end of his term, the administration grapples to fulfill its ambitious infrastructure projects amid a pandemic. The Build Build Build (BBB) program remains a clear top priority, with infrastructure disbursements of Php 869.5 billion in 2020 alone.

Infrastructure continues to be a primary agenda for strongmen in politics. However, there is often no sustainability behind it, University of the Philippines (UP) Economics Teaching Fellow Jan Carlo “JC” Punongbayan

Student political organizations find themselves struggling to survive not only the menace of COVID-19 but the government’s attacks on freedom as well.

THE COUNTRY finds itself besieged on two fronts: Facing the COVID-19 pandemic and a government imputed to cripple democracy. Attempting to rescue this ailing democracy, student political organizations (SPOs) seized the frontlines of dissent amid threats from the government. The passage of the Anti-Terrorism Law (ATL) and the abrogation of the Uni

DESPITE MASS immunization initiatives beginning around the world, vaccine distribution in the Philippines remains muddled with seemingly misaligned initiatives. The strategic allocation of vaccine doses to specific sectors continues to draw immense public attention amid the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Contrary to projections of procuring a vaccine by December 2020, only Pfizer-BioNTech, Bharat Biotech, and AstraZeneca have applied for emergency use authorization in the Philippines as of January 2

THE THREAT of communism continues to be accentuated by various government officials. Relentless anti-left clamor has taken hold of government statements, mass media, and social dialogue—allowing officials and ordinary citizens alike to hurl accusations of ties to communist groups. This sets a dangerous tone for critics of the administration as they become more vulnerable to red-tagging.

While outspoken supporters of the administration invoke their right to free speech when questioned about red-

“We shall be relentless to get to the bottom of all these to ensure the protection of our students. Rest assured that issues on sexual harassment are taken seriously by the administration with due regard to due process and the privacy of the parties involved,” they said.