Philippines’ City of Illusions: Time for an Economic ‘EDSA Revolution’

Richard Javad Heydarian

Earlier this year, I was astonished by a commercial, which features no less than Leonardo Di Caprio, Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese, who playfully endorse a luxurious and lavish new casino and integrated resort in the Philippines, City of Dreams Manila. By all means, both the glossy commercial as well as the casino itself is impressive, if not obscenely ostentatious. One could witness the City of Dreams‘ captivating exterior after passing by a nearby competitor, the Solaire Resort and Casino, which stands as a worthy rival to the new kid in town.

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#Eleksyon2016: The pits

Katrina S.S.

Last week’s absence seemed like a timely break to take from this column, if only because with less than a month to elections one can get overwhelmed by the mudslinging, and get carried away with the kind of shallow discourse that is on social and mainstream media, which apparently forms “public opinion” alongside surveys based on highly questionable practices – a free phone after the elections to respondents of a mobile survey, ano ba naman ‘yon!

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‘A-class’ con artists dupe condo buyers

Federico Pascual Jr.

IT IS NOT just low to middle income-earners who are robbed of their dream homes by scheming real estate sellers. The well-to-do also fall victim to con artists of high-end reputable developers as this case shows.

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Apparent Excessive Force Used at Kidapawan Protest

Human Rights Watch

(Kidapawan City) – The Philippine police may have used unnecessary lethal force in breaking up a demonstration by farmers in Kidapawan City on April 1, 2016, Human Rights Watch said today. The police used batons and guns against the protesters, including women and children, some of whom threw rocks at the police.

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