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EXPLAINER: How to make your vote count in the 2025 midterm elections

EXPLAINER: How to make your vote count in the 2025 midterm elections

Voting is one of the democratic rights you have as a Filipino. But for first-time voters, the process can be overwhelming. What time should you go? What if your name isn’t on the list? How can you make sure your vote counts? This guide will answer all these questions and help you step into the polling station with confidence, knowing your vote matters.

Church, environmental groups and other sectors join fight for small fishers’ rights

Church, environmental groups and other sectors join fight for small fishers’ rights

Fisherfolk groups, coalitions, and institutions held the National Assembly of Fisherfolk at the University of the Philippines College of Social Work and Community Development (UP-CSWCD), February 4, to echo the call to uphold small-scale fishers’ preferential rights within municipal waters.

Balik-Tanaw | Called, transformed, sent

Balik-Tanaw | Called, transformed, sent

In the First Reading from Isaiah (6:1-8), the prophet Isaiah has a powerful vision of God’s holiness. He sees the Lord in all His glory and is overwhelmed by His presence. Isaiah realizes his own unworthiness and sins, but instead of being turned away, God purifies him and calls him to be His messenger. Isaiah’s response is simple yet profound: “Here am I, send me.”

Palawan residents condemn government’s claims of ‘no harassment’

Palawan residents condemn government’s claims of ‘no harassment’

“What happened on Nov. 20 and Dec. 4? Women were almost stripped naked. And just this January 31, 2025, SMC staff and the Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative of Balabac, along with NCIP staff, stormed in,” Angelica Nasiron, a Molbog resident, said.“What happened on Nov. 20 and Dec. 4? Women were almost stripped naked. And just this January 31, 2025, SMC staff and the Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative of Balabac, along with NCIP staff, stormed in,” Angelica Nasiron, a Molbog resident, said.

Balik-Tanaw | Good news

Balik-Tanaw | Good news

I was walking with a colleague to the Surigao house we share and came to talk about her first foray into the city. A development worker, she had come from Iligan and had just been onboarded into a response team here in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Odette in 2021. Her work then must have been challenging, made even more difficult by the prevailing Covid. Being new here myself and getting a lot of help settling in, I was immediately reminded that I arrived at a better time.

Balik-Tanaw | Tubig ng buhay sa uhaw na mundo: Water to wine: A call to justice and transformation

Balik-Tanaw | Tubig ng buhay sa uhaw na mundo: Water to wine: A call to justice and transformation

In Jesus’ time, while water is essential, it is often unsafe to drink due to high possibility of contamination. Waterborne diseases were very common and were a major cause of death especially to the poor. Historically, wine being fermented, was a safer and more practical option, frequently diluted with water to purify it and extend its use. In our scripture reading, at Cana, there were six stone jars filled with water for purification, these were meant for ritual purposes, yet as we look beyond the narrative and fill the gaps of the story, these tapayans, or clay jars were not just religious objects but practical necessities. These are symbols of survival in a world of scarcity. If there’s no clean water and no wine, what else could there be?

Two bits of good news lighten up the start of 2025

Two bits of good news lighten up the start of 2025

Surely, the increasing number of self-declared poor among our people is a cause for national concern. The government’s poverty-reduction program definitely needs serious evaluation, what with the contributory negative causes such as calamities, both natural and man-made, that come aplenty every year. This negative trend notwithstanding, two positive developments at the beginning of the new year provide us reasons to cheer up.

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