We beg to differ.
Manila residents, reeling from a recent panning of their beloved city by bestselling The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown in his latest book Inferno, have found solace in the words of another bestselling author Paulo Coelho. Coelho came to the defense of Filipinos’ capital city tweeted… Dear filipinos, your souls lead to the gates…
This article is substantially based on an article I originally wrote in November, 2010 entitled “Applying the Right Fix: Charter Change and the Philippine Condition.” While the essential points made in the original article are still valid today, the Philippines is not exactly the same country it was two-and-a-half years ago, for better or worse;…
Read More “The Impractical Elitism of an Incorrect Perspective on Reform” »
Since the conclusion of this year’s Fiesta Election, a palpable void has been left. What now? What is the Next Big Issue to pump our fists in the air for? One realises in hindsight how little substance there was in much of the noise and colour that erupted during the campaign leading up to the…
Read More “Why Dan Brown and his description of Manila in ‘Inferno’ is relevant to Filipinos” »
[The following is a copy of an article written by the late great culture-is-culprit champion Teddy Benigno originally published on the excellent Philippine Broadsheet The Philippine Star on the 9th May 2003.] * * * Parliamentary system not for Philippines: The wherefores by Teodoro C. Benigno Philippine Star 09 May 2003 The raging debate in…
Read More “Parliament and the Philippines: A match made in hell?” »
May 13 2013. I want you all to forever remember that date whenever you get the temptation to beat your chest like King Kong over whatever superficiality captures your nationalistic imagination until the end of time. One reason why 2013 may be an improvement over 2012 is a year ago the nation was “captivated ”…
Read More “Pinoy Pride Is Never There Where It Really Counts Elections 2013” »
Somehow, it does seem that the vaunted Sense of Entitlement may be one of the core causes of Filipino problems. Sense of entitlement can be defined as the belief that Filipinos should have what they want, even if there is no proof that they deserve it. Or as columnist Cito Beltran describes in his article,…
Read More “Sense of Entitlement: A core cause of Filipino Dysfunction?” »
I beg to differ to some of the hysterics I’m seeing and hearing. I think the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) did a great job within the scope of its ability to influence outcomes. That last phrase is key. You can’t really worry about things that are clearly beyond the scope of your control once you’ve…
Read More “Kudos to the COMELEC for a job well done in the 2013 Philippine midterm elections!” »
Elections come and go every three (3) years in the Philippines. In fact, the mid-term elections have just concluded, where the Filipinos vote for twelve senators and local government officials. Philippine national elections just happen to be the biggest fiesta nationwide, and this recent one was no exception. As of this writing, with more than…
Read More “Four appalling bits of election ‘wisdom’ that really need to go away” »