For this special episode of Howie Severino Presents, the team travels to the northernmost province of the archipelago to look for the last traditional stone houses, a distinctive feature of Batanes that is rapidly disappearing.

Some of these houses have been standing for more than a hundred years, a symbol of Batanes’ rugged ingenuity. But recent restrictions on harvesting local wood and other native materials have hampered their repair. Home owners are shifting to cement and more common shelter designs, erasing a unique cultural treasure.

Racing against time, a collaborative effort by university-based engineers and architects, the DOST, and indigenous builders has created a prototype of a reinforced traditional house.

Is this the solution to a vanishing heritage? Severino and his team journey to a sea-swept corner of Batanes to find out.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Has your feed been invaded — by China, America, or any other foreign power? How can you tell?

Open-source intelligence analyst Giano Libot explains how foreigners shape and influence public opinion in the Philippines. He discusses how a recent statement by AFP Chief Romeo Brawner was taken out of context and went viral, showing how narratives can be twisted and amplified online.

This is the third and final episode in Howie Severino’s special series on Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI).

Libot and Severino unpack how local influencers and bot networks can spread propaganda that originates from foreign state media. Together, they explore how this kind of online meddling undermines trust, distorts public debate, and threatens our democracy.

Don’t miss the full conversation—and stay tuned for a special upcoming episode on heritage conservation!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In China's influence operations in the world, the Philippines ranked 7th in 2022, according to the study the China Index. In 2024, the Philippines went down the ranking to number 29.

Analyst Janina Santos from Doublethink Lab, a think tank that studies Foreign Information Manipulation Interference or FIMI, unpacks China's online influence in the world and how this has pervaded our everyday lives affecting media, the academe, and domestic politics.

What does China's influence operations threaten? She explains to Howie Severino in this second installment to a special 3-part series on foreign actors and disinformation.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.