We beg to differ.
Filipino ‘illegal’ immigrant Jose Antonio Vargas seems to have started something big. Vargas, who lives in the United States, is a journalist of Filipino ancestry who was born in the Philippines but was sent to live with his grandparents (both naturalised Americans) when he was 12. At 16, he experienced a rude awakening to the…
Read More “Jose Antonio Vargas – modern day migrants’ hero and Filipino exemplar?” »
So-called “cause-oriented groups” (COGs) at present seem to have a monopoly over the label “nationalist” or “patriot”. They claim to be the only true nationalists simply by virtue of their willingness to invoke chaos on our streets and to express themselves in a form of Tagalog that makes generous use of six-syllable words that most…
Mediocre political leadership. These are the words Malaysian former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad used to describe a key possible pitfall of “unbridled democracy”. This he said in a speech he delivered on the occasion of his being conferred an Honorary Professor Title by the University of Santo Tomas. Mahathir also added that free-wheeling democracy can…
The challenge of “moving on” needs to be substantiated. I keep hearing that challenge in the context of the recently-concluded trial and conviction of Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona. That circus took up no less than six months of the already meagre attention span of Philippine society and, as most circuses do, it…
The jeepney originally came into the public service for several clear reasons: (1) to address a post-war shortage of public mass transportation, (2) there was abundant raw material — surplus United States Army jeeps — for the product, and (3) Filipinos were not up to the task of rebuilding a systemised public transport infrastructure. Fast…
Read More “Jeepney Court: Why the Senate impeachment trial court is like the jeepney” »
Die Endlösung der Pinoy Dummheit. Is it just me, or does everything sound just that much more intimidating, menacing, or daunting in German? For those who don’t get the reference, the Nazis dubbed the plan of systematic execution of the Jews the final solution to the Jewish question – “die Endlösung der Judenfrage”. Right from…
How do Filipinos express their patriotism? The answer to that question varies from one Filipino to another. Some insist that speaking in pure Tagalog, the national language, gives them a sense of nationalism. Some rally behind an American Idol contestant because they say they feel a sense of pride when they see their own kind…
Read More “Scarborough standoff: a test of genuine Filipino patriotism” »
The Philippines is such a happening place lately. First, the 45th meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Governors was recently held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. It was interesting to note that the Aquino government’s preparation for the event was to cover up what they obviously considered an…
Read More “Anna Coren CNN interview: PNoy blames Arroyo but takes credit for her work again” »