Today's Fresh Blogs...

• A suitable home

  Published: August 6, 2007, 11:46 am

  Tags: I Report Features, Pcij Investigative Reports, Indians, Indian Community, Philippines, Sikh, Sikhism

  BY most historical accounts, Indians arrived in the Philippines in the late 19th century. But little may be known about the fact that the first group actually came much earlier, when British forces, together with about 600 Indian sepoys (native troops), invaded Manila and defeated Spain in 1762. When the war ended in 1764, the [...]

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• Arroyo’s legacy may include more mothers put at risk

  Published: August 12, 2007, 5:40 am

  Tags: I Report Features, Pcij Investigative Reports, Catholic Church, Family Planning, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Philippines, Population Policy, Reproductive Health

  PAST presidents have given priority to population management, seeing it as a vital part of economic development. Under the administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo whose family planning policy consists of pushing only for natural methods, the responsibility of providing artificial contraceptives has however been tossed to local governments, many

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• Fund for contraceptives remains unspent while LGUs wait for guidelines

  Published: August 16, 2007, 6:07 am

  Tags: In The News, Pcij Investigative Reports, Contraceptives, Department Of Health, Family Planning, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Millennium Development Goals, Population Policy

  WHAT happens when a government agency has P180 million for family planning supplies but is barred from buying contraceptives? Simple. Eight months pass and the guidelines for the release of the money are still being hammered out. The only thing that is clear so far: P30 million or 16.6 percent of the money has been set [...]

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• Erap’s many mansions

  Published: September 7, 2007, 6:53 am

  Tags: Pcij Image Galleries, Governance, Pcij Investigative Reports, Erap, Joseph Estrada, Mansions, Pcij, Presidency

  THAT he has had numerous affairs has brought him either admiration, ambivalence or derision. But that he has built huge houses for them in posh subdivisions has made former president Joseph Estrada face questions about his wealth, adding fuel to the calls to have him impeached just two years after his landslide victory. In November 2000, [...]

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• Revisiting the Erap presidency

  Published: September 7, 2007, 5:06 am

  Tags: Governance, In The News, Pcij Investigative Reports, Erap, Joseph Estrada, Pcij, Presidency

  JOSEPH Erap' Estrada has always been an interesting character, but once he was voted into the vice presidency, he became a source of fascination for us at the PCIJ. After all, he was not just the vice president; President Fidel Ramos had also named him as head of the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission (PACC), where his [...]

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• The company he kept

  Published: September 8, 2007, 7:37 am

  Tags: Governance, Pcij Investigative Reports, Erap, Joseph Estrada, Jueteng, Midnight Cabinet, Pcij, Presidency

  JOSEPH Estrada is not known as Erap' for nothing. The quintessential good ole boy, he is never without pals, who know Pareng Erap will take care of them. In fact, just a few months into his presidency, he appointed at least 60 of them as presidential advisers, assistants, and consultants, regardless of whether they were [...]

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• The unexplained wealth

  Published: September 9, 2007, 1:29 am

  Tags: Governance, Pcij Investigative Reports, Erap, Estrada Families, Joseph Estrada, Pcij, Presidency

  HE usually played a poor man in his movies, but Joseph Estrada was born to a well-to-do family. He also had a lucrative film career that spanned decades. When he became president, therefore, Estrada was already quite wealthy. Many, however, were still curious how he could afford the lavish lifestyles of his wives, who on [...]

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• Mansion mania

  Published: September 9, 2007, 10:21 pm

  Tags: Governance, Pcij Investigative Reports, Erap, Joseph Estrada, Mansions, Pcij, Presidency

  IMELDA Marcos was known for having an edifice complex, a reference for her fondness for major building projects like the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Folk Arts Theater, the Manila Film Center, and the Coconut Palace. In comparison, Joseph Estrada's construction obsession hit closer to home: he loved lavishly appointed abodes, and

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• Palasyo, kanino?

  Published: September 10, 2007, 4:59 am

  Tags: Pcij Videocasts, Pcij Investigative Reports, Boracay Mansion, Erap, Joseph Estrada, Laarni Enriquez, Mansions, Pcij, Presidency

  THIS video started the series on the presidential mansions, featuring the “Boracay” mansion in New Manila, and the houses at the pricey Wack Wack Subdivision in Mandaluyong, including the palatial one being constructed at 796-800 Harvard Street for Laarni Enriquez. View “Palasyo, Kanino?“: Length:

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• Pabahay ni Erap

  Published: September 10, 2007, 4:15 am

  Tags: Pcij Videocasts, Pcij Investigative Reports, Erap, Jelp Real Estate Development, Joseph Estrada, Presidency

  also posting videos that the PCIJ produced in partnership with The Probe Team (at the time with GMA-7) and The Correspondents (ABS-CBN) on the houses that were being constructed and properties being acquired for the former president’s mistresses and families. This first featured video

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• Estrada and his corporations, six years after

  Published: September 11, 2007, 9:20 pm

  Tags: Governance, Pcij Investigative Reports, Erap, Joseph Estrada, Pcij, Presidency, Statement Of Assets Liabilities Net Worth

  THE trial of the century ends today. In the next hour, the fate of ousted President Joseph Estrada will be determined by three Sandiganbayan justices. If held guilty, Estrada will be the first president in the country's history to face life imprisonment. Estrada faces charges for the crime of plunder and perjury. Plunder for allegedly amassing

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• What does Erap stand to lose?

  Published: November 13, 2007, 5:29 am

  Tags: Governance, In The News, Pcij Investigative Reports, Erap, Joseph Estrada, Pardon, Pcij, Plunder, Presidency, Sandiganbayan, Statement Of Assets Liabilities And Net Worth

  THE Sandiganbayan is set to freeze four of former president Joseph Estrada’s bank accounts after the lapse of a five-day deadline for him to return some P745 million in ill-gotten wealth to the government. Though granted executive clemency by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last October 25 which restored his civil and political rights,

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• Too many buses, too many agencies clog Edsa

  Published: December 26, 2007, 11:49 am

  Tags: Pcij Investigative Reports, Edsa, Metro Manila, Philippines, Public Utility Buses

  THE combined Yuletide and New Year holidays turn Edsa into a nightmare for commuters, as even those who live outside the metropolis drive to the city to do their shopping. But even on normal, uneventful days, motorists think twice before venturing into the national capital region’s major highway, which goes through six cities. For [...]

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• Price-control-board debate may delay cheap drugs law

  Published: January 20, 2008, 11:07 am

  Tags: Health Issues, Congress Watch, Pcij Investigative Reports, Doha Declaration, Drugs, Drug Price Regulation, Intellectual Property Rights, Medicines, Patents, Pharmaceutcial Industry, Philippines, Trips Agreement

  AFTER almost a decade, a bill that may spell the difference between health and death is on the verge of finally being enacted into law. Seeking to ensure access to affordable, quality medicines by majority of poor Filipinos, the measure will no doubt be among the priorities in the legislative order of business when sessions [...]

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• 7 in 10 ODA projects fail to deliver touted benefits

  Published: February 12, 2008, 11:54 am

  Tags: Governance, In The News, Pcij Investigative Reports, Arroyo Administration, Corruption, National Broadband Network, Official Development Assistance

  PCIJ’s three-part series which started Monday capped a six-month review of project and official documents covering 71 official development assistance (ODA) projects funded by the Philippines biggest ODA lenders. The first part looked at how the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and its project evaluation process have

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