Despite her acquittals her two other drug charges, De Lima will remain behind bars because of her pending case. She will also remain detained while the trial of her remaining charge continues.

In this episode of Rappler Talk, Rappler reporter Jairo Bolledo to Dino de Leon, one of De Lima’s lawyers, to talk about the former senator’s next moves after the bail denial.

Bookmark this page to watch the interview on Thursday, June 8, at 5:30 pm. – Rappler.com

Filipinos are among those who have survived the trafficking. Survivors of this trafficking scheme, when asked to testify in public, tell similar stories. They speak of finding a job posting on social media, promising work as call center agents or technical support.

Through coordination with a recruiter, they eventually end up in so-called scam hubs in Cambodia, Myanmar, or even the Philippines. They are told to befriend Caucasian men and con them to invest in cryptocurrency. Failure to scam people means salary cuts or physical abuse.

The survivors have spoken about encountering multiple nationalities of workers. During the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Indonesia from May 10 to 11, it was reported that more than 1,000 victims were rescued in a matter of days.

Southeast Asian leaders vowed to crack down on online scams operated by human traffickers to prey on vulnerable job seekers, particularly in the poorest countries of the region.

Rappler multimedia reporter Michelle Abad speaks to Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division, to understand the regional trafficking issue and what it says about the human rights situation in Southeast Asia.

Catch the interview on Rappler when it airs on Thursday, May 18, at 10 am. – Rappler.com

Marcos has characterized Philippine-US relations under his administration as on the “upside” – but what does this mean for the Philippines’ foreign affairs and defense strategy?

Rappler Malacañang Reporter Bea Cupin speak to political scientist and international relations expert Alma Salvador about this, and how this bilateral relationship figures, relative to the rest of the world.

Catch the interview on Rappler when it airs on Tuesday, May 9, at 4:30pm. – Rappler.com

Following the Senate hearings into the assassination of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo, the issue of violence in Negros Island is once again in the national spotlight. 

Alongside murder cases involving politicians and other prominent personalities in Negros are killings of environmental rights defenders, labor activists, farmers, and even church leaders. 

Alminaza talks to Rappler’s Head of Regions Inday Espina-Varona about the reasons why violence persists in the Philippines’ 4th largest island and what he believes is the path to peace.

Bookmark this page to watch the episode on Friday, April 21, at 4 pm. – Rappler.com

In this episode of Rappler Talk, we speak to Pulse Asia president and political scientist Ronald Holmes on the latest Ulat ng Bayan (Report of the Nation) survey, in which an overwhelming majority of Filipinos said they trusted and approved of the performance of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte.

Yet, in the same survey, respondents said they did not approve of how the Marcos administration has been addressing inflation. How do we make sense of this?

Holmes walks us through the implications of the survey, explains what it means for opposing political forces in the Philippines, and more importantly, how the average Filipino should understand surveys like Ulat ng Bayan.

Bookmark this page to catch the interview on Thursday, April 20. – Rappler.com

The plan is not new. Past administrations have tried, in vain, to overhaul the pension system of the country’s armed forces. The two biggest sticking points? Removing automatic indexation or increases in pension as salaries of those in service go up, and making contributions mandatory for those already in or about to enter the service. 

Diokno said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is “willing to spend his political capital” to push this reform because if the system goes on unchanged, a “fiscal collapse” would be in the horizon. 

Can Marcos – a president with high trust and performance ratings and a supermajority in Congress – make a successful push for this measure? 

In this episode of Rappler Talk, we talk to former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, a former soldier who, as a legislator, also proposed similar reforms to the pension system.  

Bookmark this page to catch the interview when it goes live on April 19, at 3 in the afternoon. – Rappler.com 

Supreme Court Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, the 2022 Bar chair, announced that 3,992 out of 9,183 examinees passed the examinations, making for a passing rate of 43.47%.

Czar Matthew Gerard Dayday of the University of the Philippines topped the 2022 Bar Exams with a rating of 88.8083%. UP also garnered the most spots in the topnotcher’s list of 30.

Rappler reporter Jairo Bolledo speaks with Dayday to learn more about what motivated him to pursue law, how he prepared for the exams, and what the future holds after being No. 1.

Bookmark this page to watch the live interview on Saturday, April 15, at 11 am. – Rappler.com

Seventeen others were hurt, mostly beneficiaries of the government’s cash aid program for the country’s poorest.

The assassination thrusts Degamo’s widow, Pamplona Mayor Janice into the spotlight. She leads the call to justice for her husband and the others who were killed.

Mayor Janice is also calling for an investigation into other  killings in Negros Oriental, a long-running problem in their area.

She joins us to discuss the death of her husband and her quest for justice for other victims of killings in Negros Oriental. Watch this episode of Rappler Talk at 4:00 pm, Wednesday, March 29. – Rappler.com

The sunken tanker spilled oil that has already spread to shores along multiple towns in Oriental Mindoro, even reaching Caluya in Antique.

Aside from its impact on coastal communities and marine-dependent livelihoods, the maritime incident also threatens Philippine and global biodiversity.

Experts from the UP Marine Science Institute estimate that 20,000 hectares of coral reef, 9,900 hectares of mangroves, and 6,000 hectares of seagrass in 21 cities and municipalities may be affected by the oil slick, which could reach as far as Palawan. (LIVE UPDATES: Authorities race to contain Oriental Mindoro oil spill)

Rappler environment editor Jee Geronimo talks to Oceana legal and policy director Liza Osorio about the oil spill’s damaging effects to the environment, what our environmental laws say about dealing with oil pollution in our oceans, and why national protection is needed for the country’s natural resources.

Bookmark this page to watch the interview on Sunday, March 5, at 2 pm. – Rappler.com

The mission, which took place from Wednesday, February 22, to Friday, February 24, saw European Union lawmakers hold meetings with their counterparts in Congress, as well as Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual.

The delegation also visited detained former senator Leila de Lima, who marked her sixth year in jail on Friday.

The European Parliament is among the institutions that has expressed concern over killings and abuses in the Philippines under former president Rodrigo Duterte, as well as De Lima’s continued detention. It has also passed several resolutions expressing concern over threats to press freedom in the Philippines.

What did members of Europe’s parliament learn from their visit and how do they assess the new Marcos government’s approach to human rights?

Rappler sits down with European lawmaker Hannah Neumann to discuss the state of human rights in the Philippines and other issues.

Tune in to the interview on Friday, February 24, at 12:30 pm. – Rappler.com

Countries urge Marcos gov’t to fix human rights crisis left by Duterte