Category: Development

RH Bill debate: PacMAN not KO’d by LagMAN but beaten on points

May 19, 2011May 19, 2011 benign0 11 Comments

Unfortunately, the much-promoted “debate” between boxing champ Manny Pacquiao and House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman — billed “PacMAN vs LagMAN” — aired on ABS-CBN’s Harapan (literally “face-off”) was inaccessible from Australia. But it does not really take a genius to imagine how such a spectacle might have transpired. Blogger Joe America in a recent comment…

Culture, Development, Education, Media, Religion

Philippine-style religion equals Philippine-style poverty

May 18, 2011May 18, 2011 benign0 13 Comments

Over at ProPinoy.net, blogger Doy Santos presents a comprehensive statistical picture of religious fervor in the Philippines. According to Santos’s figures the Philippines counts itself among the Top Ten countries with populations that have the highest rated “confidence in their church”. This Top Ten is predominantly Islamic. Tanzania is reckoned to be 50-50 Christian/Islamic and,…

Culture, Development, Religion, Society

Manny Pacquiao violates God’s Laws while preaching against Philippine Reproductive Health

May 17, 2011May 17, 2011 benign0 29 Comments

A short time ago, I recall how the sport of boxing was described by no less than Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez of Marbel, South Cotabato in the Philippines as “un-Christian” and that when one boxes with a person he may as well be “boxing the Holy Spirit.” Bizarre as this analogy may be, that is a…

Development, Religion

Will Filipino voters reward politicians who support the Reproductive Health Bill?

May 16, 2011 benign0 5 Comments

We are seeing interesting times today as it seems like roles have been reversed for the first time in the last several decades. The Philippine Roman Catholic Church descended into a very public tantrum following hints from President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III that calls for a boycott on paying taxes made by some Church officials…

Culture, Development, Politics, Religion

Philippine Reproductive Health: a circus turning into a soap opera

May 15, 2011May 16, 2011 benign0 12 Comments

Everyone loves a drama and everyone loves the martyr in said drama. That is if by “everyone” we mean Filipinos — a people renowned for their addiction to the telenovelas and teleserye that proliferate in mainstream media. As such it is not surprising that our “noble” men-in-robes now play the victim card in the on-going…

Development, Religion

The Church’s flaccid ‘all-out war’ against Philippine Reproductive Health

May 12, 2011May 12, 2011 benign0 5 Comments

The Church of nowadays is doing what it does best, pointing a finger at the “Infidel” and launching a crusade against it. In this case the Infidel is President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and his MalacaÃ±ang and the “crusade” is a step up of its “all-out war” against the Reproductive Health Bill currently being pushed…

Culture, Development, Religion, Society

Overpopulated Philippines: reduced to panhandling for foreign investment

May 11, 2011May 11, 2011 benign0 33 Comments

Everytime I hear this and that initiative to “attract” foreign investment to the country and then see these touted as “solutions” aimed at uplifting Filipinos from the clutches of poverty and the setting of our economy on a “firm” path to prosperity, I find my eyes rolling up to the high heavens as if to…

Culture, Development, Economy, Education

In development terms Philippines is no Manny Pacquiao

May 10, 2011 benign0 9 Comments

In his latest article “Divergent paths“, Inquirer.net columnist Cielito Habito shared some interesting statistics that provide breathtaking insight into the divergence of the fortunes of what were once the “virtual identical twins” that the Philippines and Thailand were back in 1970, that made the two countries the “estranged twins” that they are today. The divergence…

Development, Economy, Money Talks

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