VERA Files
Our special coverage of the 2013 polls in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, where contending political clans have been notorious for warlike tactics, fraud and election violence. VERA Files has partnered with MindaNews and iWatch.
Photojournalist Luis Liwanag captures Marawi City today, on the 30th day of the crisis.
By FERDINANDH B. CABRERA, MindaNews SULTAN KUDARAT, Maguindanao — Voters here say the next elections in this town should have police officers instead of teachers as members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) as the special elections Saturday in Barangay Katuli started and ended with no untoward incident. “Voting went on smoothly without delay and […]
By CAROLYN O. ARGUILLAS, MindaNews DAVAO City – The chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has congratulated presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte for his “historic victory” during the May 9 Presidential election and vowed to “partner with you and your administration.” Addressing the letter dated May 10 to “His Excellency… President-elect Duterte,” MILF chair […]
By FREDERIC LORENZO UPI, Maguindanao – Sixty-year-old Herminio Lacave will walk two kilometers to cast his vote tomorrow. Born with a smaller left leg, Lacave calls on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to make it easy for persons with disabilities (PWDs) to vote. “Bilang isang PWD, nanawagan ako sa Comelec na bigyan kami ng isang […]
By YANG AMING Podcast By BABYLYN KANO-OMAR BONGAO, Tawi-Tawi — Ten of the 11 island municipalities here appear set for the presidential elections Monday, save for Mapun, where vote-counting machines (VCMs) are yet to be tested. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday tested 81 machines in the capital Bongao, and found only one did not print […]
By JAKE SORIANO FOR a time during the presidency of Benigno Simeon Aquino III, it seemed peace in Mindanao was finally within grasp. On Oct. 5, 2012, the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB). A crucial guiding document in the peace […]
By JAKE SORIANO A visiting United Nations envoy has urged Philippine lawmakers to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) “as urgently as possible,” saying failure to do so would lead to further violence in the region where “displacement has become the pattern of life” for many. “A viable, inclusive and comprehensive peace process is essential […]
Text, photo and video by JAKE SORIANO A civil society leader and peace advocate warned of a rise in cases of human trafficking among evacuees in Maguindanao, with the continuing conflict in the province. Amina Rasul, president of the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy (PCID), made the comment during the launch of Friends of […]
By JAKE SORIANO UPI, Maguindanao–The local police here warned residents against accepting job offers to work as housekeepers in Marawi City due to reported cases of exploitation there. The Upi Police Station Women and Children Protection Desk (WCPD) said illegal recruiters and traffickers have been preying on poor women minors from the barrios. With the […]
by TOTO LOZANO, MindaNews CAMP DARAPANAN, Sultan Kudarat (MindaNews / 28 March) — The mood was festive as thousands of Moro men and women gathered at the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF) Camp Darapanan to celebrate the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front Thursday […]