The Australian nun's story of state-led persecution at the hands of the president himself throws into sharp relief what it means to be a missionary and a Filipino.

Is the need to arrest a slide in the polls pushing Duterte back to negotiations with communist guerrillas?

President Duterte's order to close Boracay rides roughshod over local business and indigenous rights.

Proposed constitutional changes could pave the way for a return to dictatorship in the Philippines and remove provisions aimed at safeguarding the country's integrity

The Philippine president's support for LGBT rights waxes and wanes, but his opposition to other minority rights groups remains consistent.

Riding the MRT in Manila is becoming more expensive, difficult and dangerous, yet the government is set on repeating the public-private partnership arrangements that led to the problems in the first place.

Michael Beltran argues that Duterte wants to validate his drug war amidst the criticisms and casualties; it sees continued subservience to American interests as the answer.

Estrelieta “Ka Inday” Bagasbas has lived a storied life, but it is for her passionate activism in defense of the urban poor in San Roque, a community in the Quezon City area of Metro Manila, for which neighbors and fellow residents are truly thankful.

Filipinos are accustomed to chaotic periods in politics, but the killings of several young boys by police brought tens of thousands of protesters onto the streets. As tension between Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and the public escalates, the threat of martial law and a repeat of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos is all too real.

'The politics of identity suppose that minorities bear the brunt of social exclusion, which is true in many cases. But there is always an underlying class element.'

'This music, for all intents and purposes, can never be confined to itself. It, alongside the creators, needs to be projected outward and engaged in serving the oppressed.'

Soon the entire country could be in for the worst kind of throwback.

The war in the Philippines is far from over, explains Michael Beltran.

Never has the government and its shelter agencies faced such a confrontation with its poorest citizens.

It is less a question of modernity and more about profiting from the plight of millions under the disguise of 'progress.'

At the moment there have been no more statements. No sound from the employees or survivors. Not a peep on the workers unaccounted for. The latest from HTI is that the company is looking to hire more workers.

'Someone wanted them to happen, someone stands to profit, and hardly anybody is talking about it.'

Miss Universe is more than just a beauty pageant to many in the Philippines.