We beg to differ.
In its most recent rah-rah story about how the government of President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III has so far been the heroic beacon of progress as was “promised” during the campaign, “social news network” site Rappler.com has quoted Ruchir Sharma, head of Emerging Market Equities and Global Macro at Morgan Stanley Investment Management who,…
Read More “Understanding the BS in being a ‘breakout nation’” »
It seems Filipino public servants are incapable of thinking outside the square when it comes to addressing the problems that plague the nation. Most of them rely on prayer to solve issues rather than apply science and technology — an approach that could actually yield permanent solutions. Take the case of the Chairman for Metro…
Read More “MMDA is living on a prayer instead of thinking about solving EDSA’s traffic problems” »
President Benigno Simeon “BS†Aquino III will be giving his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) soon. Like his first and second SONA, his speech will most likely be full of motherhood statements similar to all the previous speeches he had delivered since he announced his plans to run for the Presidency in 2009….
Read More “President Benigno Simeon Aquino’s 3rd State of the Nation Address (SONA 2012)” »
The symbol for the Filipino everyman is called Juan de la Cruz. In that essence, it is similar to the way Americans use John Doe to refer to people whose identity is unknown. Juan de la Cruz is also particularly used in the sense that it a very common name here in the Philippines. He…
Read More “An alternative personification of the Pinoy: the spoiled brat” »
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…