Rhoanne De Guzman
(She/Her)
Philippines
As seen in:
Rappler,
verafiles.org
Covers:
Disinformation, Office of the Vice President, Education, National Defense, DILG & PNP, Peace Process, Foreign Affairs, South China Sea, Environment
views are mine. she/her 🏳️🌈 • ✍️ for @verafiles • 👩🏽🎓from @Official_UPD
Articles by Rhoanne De Guzman
The joy of watching Alex Eala
It’s not a wonder why Alex Eala is popular. For a tennis player of her caliber –the first Filipina to win a main-draw singles match at a Grand Slam (US Open) in 2025- she is humble and sobrang bait. Three years earlier, in 2022, when she was 17 years old, she became the first Filipino to win a Junior Grand Slam singles title (US Open). In Melbourne last week, where she competed at the Australian Open, she surprised organizers by drawing a record crowd never seen in that tournament.
SONA 2024 PROMISE TRACKER: Agriculture
Three years after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vowed to enhance the country’s food security by revitalizing the agriculture industry, eight of his 17 agriculture-related promises are still in progress, six have been fulfilled and three priority legislations were stuck in limbo. In his 2024 State of the Nation Address, he highlighted the challenges faced by Filipinos amid the rising food prices and vowed to prioritize enhancing local production.
FACT SHEET: Who should take credit for the free college tuition law?
With Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV poised to make a Senate comeback based on his unexpected high ranking in the May 12 midterm elections, VERA Files Fact Check noticed a barrage of posts online questioning the role he played in the enactment of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. The posts —which started spreading when initial unofficial vote tallies showed Aquino placing second to reelectionist Sen.
FACT SHEET: Who are the voters in May 2025?
More than 68.4 million Filipinos are registered to vote in 438,500 local precincts nationwide in the May 12, 2025 elections. This is a 3.9% increase from the number of registered voters in 2022. Almost half of those who signed up for the coming polls are from four regions in Luzon and one in Visayas. The 10 provinces with the biggest number of voters are still Cebu, Cavite, Bulacan, Pangasinan, Laguna, Negros Occidental, Batangas, Pampanga, Rizal and Iloilo.
Duterte's flip-flops in 2024 bare changing 'opposition' colors
Two years after leaving office in 2022, former president Rodrigo Duterte teetered between having no qualms about supporting his successor President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and opposing the administration. Tensions between the previous and present presidents on certain policies marked 2024. Marcos is cracking down on Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) that his predecessor legalized.
FACT SHEET: What you need to know about the 2 newly inked PH maritime laws
Amid rising tensions with China in the West Philippine Sea, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed on Nov. 8 the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act. The twin laws assert the country’s maritime entitlements over the disputed areas in the South China Sea. See First ever trilateral maritime exercise How crucial is the passage of these two landmark laws? Here are four things you need to know: 1.
Samal-Davao Bridge: Peligro sa paraiso o tulay sa pag-asenso?
Matagal nang pangarap na magkaroon ng tulay na magdudugtong sa Davao City at Samal Island, na kilala rin na Island Garden City of Samal o IGaCoS. Sikat na tourist destination ang Samal Island sa Davao del Norte. Habang wala pang tulay, ferry barge ang gamit sa pagtawid ng tao at sasakyan doon. Kaya lang, madalas ay inaabot ng mula isa hanggang dalawang oras ang paghihintay dahil sa mahabang pila o hanggang mapuno ang barge bago makatawid sa Pakiputan Strait.
Sa tulay ng pagbabago, ano ang nakataya at sino ang talo?
Isa ang Panay-Guimaras-Negros Islands interlink Bridge sa tatlong malalaking proyekto na sakop ng kasunduan na pinirmahan ng Pilipinas at South Korea noong Oct. 7. Matagal nang pangarap ng mga taga-Western Visayas na magkaroon ng tulay para sa mas mabilis na byahe at mas maunlad na ekonomiya sa rehiyon. Pero sa ilalim ng “one-of-its-kind” bridge project na ito, nanganganib na maubos ang critically endangered na Irrawaddy dolphins. Paano mababalanse ang pangangailangan sa kaunlaran at kapaligiran?
Visayas bridge construction still hangs 5 years after China’s withdrawal
Second of two parts The pathway that will lead Western Visayas to greater economic heights. That’s how the government envisions the 32.47-kilometer Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island (PGN) Bridge project.
P187-B Visayas mega-bridge threatens endangered Irrawaddy dolphins
First of two parts Rex Magbanua was 7 years old when he first joined his father to fish in the waters of Bago City in Negros Occidental. Like most kids, he was amazed to see a handful of fishes caught using their long nylon ropes. Another scene he vividly remembers was the sight of dolphins swimming with them every time they went out to the sea. Those were different from the pictures of typical dolphins in grade school textbooks. What Rex saw had rounded foreheads and did not have snouts.
Rising hospital costs cancel out expanded PhilHealth benefits
Despite the efforts of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to expand its health insurance coverage for Filipinos, any reduction in out-of-pocket expenses may not be felt by members as hospital costs increase almost simultaneously. “PhilHealth is trying to expand its packages to increase [support value] at mapababa ‘yung out of pocket.
FACT SHEET: What do you need to know about mpox?
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a global public health emergency on Aug. 14 following an upsurge of cases in Congo and African countries. It warned against the potential spread of the disease outside the continent and called for a coordinated international response to stop the outbreak. While the Department of Health (DOH) has acknowledged the urgency of WHO’s declaration, it assured the public that mpox differs from the COVID-19 pandemic and advised them to remain alert.
SONA 2023 PROMISE TRACKER: AGRICULTURE
Amid soaring food prices and a looming dry spell that strongly affected fisherfolks and some 175,063 farmers in 163,694 hectares of land, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stepped down as Agriculture secretary in November 2023. In his 17 months at the helm of the Department of Agriculture (DA), the president insisted on staying to quickly carry out sectoral reforms.
Malacanang lifts moratorium on Recto Bank oil and gas exploration
Malacañang has finally lifted the moratorium on oil and natural gas exploration in the Recto (Reed) bank, allowing Forum Energy Ltd. to contract the ship that will survey and start drilling in the area, a highly reliable source disclosed to VERA Files. “I don’t know if they (Forum) actually signed [a contract] already, but I know it has been unofficially lifted so they could act,” the source said. Forum Energy, a subsidiary of PXP Energy Corp.
Carpio renews call to ‘pile up’ more arbitral awards against China over ‘baseless’ claim of WPS
Retired associate justice Antonio Carpio renewed his call for the Philippines to “pile up more arbitral awards” against China to negate its “baseless and expansive” claim of almost the entire South China Sea. “The legal approaches in countering China’s aggression are the countermeasures most dreaded by China. Why?
De Lima slams Duterte for threats, dead set on filing charges
Former senator Leila De Lima said on Wednesday that threats from former president Rodrigo Duterte will not dissuade her from filing charges against him and the people behind her incarceration for almost seven years. “I’m not trying to pick a fight. I’m just doing what I can all within my right as his victim,” De Lima said in the July 3 episode of Tres from Tress podcast with VERA Files’ senior editor Tress Martelino-Reyes. “Hindi ito dahil gusto ko lang gumanti.
VP Sara won’t quit Cabinet yet, to ‘squeeze’ DepEd perks for 2028 plans
Vice President Sara Duterte is not heeding calls for her to leave the Marcos Cabinet as Education secretary because she can still take advantage of the position for her political plans, according to former senator Antonio Trillanes IV.
FACT SHEET: Degrading marine environment sa South China Sea, paano na?
Nasa “degraded state” na ang corals at cays sa Pag-asa Island na bahagi ng South China Sea. ‘Yan ang ibinahagi ni Dr. Jonathan Anticamara ng UP Institute of Biology sa Saturday News Forum noong May 4. Sa ginawa nilang survey doon, naobserbahan nila ang malaking kabawasan sa iba’t ibang uri ng corals at isda rito. Gaano kahalaga ang coral reefs sa South China Sea at ano ang mga dahilan ng pagkasira nito?
FACT SHEET: Why is the senior high school program discontinued in local, state universities and colleges?
On Jan. 8, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) held a press conference to clarify issues on the discontinuation of the Senior High School (SHS) program in local and state universities and colleges (LUCs and SUCs). “[The] K-12 program is not abolished. It is not within the power of the commission to abolish [the] K-12 program. It is a law enacted by the Congress. K-12 will continue pursuant to the Republic Act that created it,” CHED Chairperson Prospero “Popoy” De Vera said.
SONA 2022 PROMISE TRACKER: LABOR
In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. highlighted the role of the newly formed Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) in improving the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). The DMW didn’t disappoint Marcos.
SONA 2022 PROMISE TRACKER: AGRICULTURE
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s first year as Agriculture secretary has been mired in controversies of illegal sugar imports, shortages and rising prices of agricultural products. Despite these, the president has been persistent in helming the Agriculture department, explaining that he is in a better position to quickly carry out reforms since people in the sector “cannot say no” to the chief executive.
VERA Files Answers the 7 Most Asked Questions about Fact-Checking
Tapos na ang araw ng lokohan (literally); dito naman tayo sa katotohanan! Ngayong ika-pitong taon ng paggunita sa International Fact-Checking Day, sasagutin ng VERA Files reporters at editors ang pito sa mga karaniwang tanong tungkol sa fact checking. Panoorin ang video: Sources Music from Bensound, License code: QTMTZ2Y8BVY98G17
VERA FILES FACT CHECK YEARENDER: Biggest flip-flops of Marcos and his Cabinet in 2022
After Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. assumed the presidency on June 30, inconsistencies in the statements of top government officials have prevailed and confused the public. VERA Files Fact Check tracked some of the notable conflicting statements by Marcos and members of his Cabinet following the May 2022 elections on a wide range of subjects – from foreign affairs to policies involving education and government assistance to the resignation of an executive secretary.
Study recommends engaging community to combat disinformation
Filipino scholars proposed a community engagement plan as the most suitable strategy to thwart disinformation that has taken on creative forms and given rise to influence operations in the country.
‘Catch Me If You Can’ Season 2 podcast dives deeper into the shadowy world of trolls 
As the country continues to battle against disinformation, scholar Jonathan Ong and journalist Kat Ventura took a deep dive into the world of trolls through a podcast exposing the shadowy digital operations of influencers and disinformation actors in the country.
UN calls for end to use of national security laws to silence dissent
In countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, India and other parts of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic and the campaign against terrorism are being used to curtail political dissent and violate human rights, a practice that must stop, according to United Nations Special Rapporteur on peaceful assembly and association Clement Voule.
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