We beg to differ.
I went through the liberation theology subject during my last college year at Ateneo (1996-97). We got immersed in an Aeta reservation in Bataan for a few days. It’s an attempt to make us “privileged” students aware of the plight of poorer people in remote areas, with the part-expectation that we would return and try…
Read More “On Liberation Theology and Ivory Tower Mentality” »
The reaction of opponents against the decision then of President Duterte to move tambays (derived from “stand-bys” or loitering freeloaders) off the streets included attempts to de-stigmatize tambays. They say things like “not all tambays are crooks” or “being tambay is not wrong.” But these are not really true because increased number of tambays has…
Read More “The problem with De-stigmatizing and Forced Acceptance Efforts” »
The wokes tend to see certain social problems as “special problems.” It’s based on the idea that certain problems deserve more attention than others. For example, poverty in a slum town in a South American country, or hunger in a certain part of Africa. Or, as some woke Filipinos desire, many people in this country…
This is the very mistake that dragged the “opposition” down. When they see people voicing support for the Marcoses, Duterte, Trump or other perceived “dictator,” they would attack, insult and besmirch such people, accusing them of being “trolls.” They think by insulting or libeling “dictator’s supporters,” they are doing something good. The opposite is true….
Read More “Besmirching “Dictators’ Supporters” has Backfired” »
Nowadays you’d be hearing a lot of chi chi Western European and North American concepts being bandied around by “thought leaders” of the Opposition. Granted, 1980s relics like “human rights”, “press freedom”, and “people power” had been worn to tatters by the Yellow mob as a result of their habitual use of low-ball approaches to…
What is truly shocking about the bottom ranking of the Philippines in the recently-published Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report is that Filipinos are shocked to begin with. It is hardly surprising that Filipinos scored dismally in key areas of basic education given that Philippine society has long been known as one that does…
Read More “Shocking PISA bottom ranking a wake up call for Filipinos to uplift education” »
Manila is the capital of the Philippines and, as such, “imperial” by its very nature. Through no fault of its own, it was seen as the seat of “evil” emperors by generations of Filipinos living in its hinterlands. By no means, however did Manila — the city and the country’s melting pot and, therefore, its…
Read More “Manila is the Philippines and the Philippines is Manila” »
The recent success of the opening ceremonies of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and, for that matter, the overall multi-million dollar investment in hosting the Games proves a point. Filipinos, and people in general — rich or poor — love to see and experience nice things. This is the reason the half-witted argument of choice…