We beg to differ.
Exit permits for OFWs? You gotta be kidding. That plus anecdotal evidence of all sorts of red tape before one can depart for a job overseas? An outrage! It sounds like something reminiscent of the Cold War when East German citizens would risk life and limb to make a dash across the border for a…
Read More “OFW ‘exit permits’ make sense – because taxpayers’ funds are at stake” »
The Philippines is a nation of suckers. Filipinos routinely elevate rabble-rousers to “hero” status, pardon convicted plunderers, allow dictators’ family and offspring to continue living the good life, and tolerate a uniquely-Filipino brand of banal criminality that is embedded deep in the very fibres that weave the social fabric of Philippines society. This quaint aspect…
I finally found the time to get off my bum and jump into this new new thing called Google+ (pronounced “Google Plus” presumably). This is the Web behemoth’s new social networking platform that was rolled out on limited testing among a select set of users. I got roped in by a friend who was a…
Read More “Google Plus or ‘Google+’: jumping into the Borg” »
First it was President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and his Porsche, now it is Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos and the other “Mitsubishops,” proud owners of their Pajeros, considered to be luxury sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in a country with a measly 31 motor vehicles per 1000 people (compared to 273 per 1000 for…
Read More “Flashy cars and brand-new SUVs in car-crazy Philippines” »
One wonders now what really motivates Roman Catholic Bishops’ taking certain positions on various matters of the state. Take the issue of Reproductive Health (RH) — an issue where the Church takes a strong anti-modernity stand on. The ends to which the Church took the “debate” and the pitch to which it took its temper…
The power of the Net and its most recent technological spawn, “social media,” to bring disparate people together to interact closely (and often intimately) is now quite well-known. What is emerging only now is how this technology-enabled acceleration in the pace with which humans form social connections and apply these connections to their personal lives…
Read More “Social network predators: Psychopaths let loose on the Net” »
A car is usually the single biggest money pit in the average Filipino’s portfolio of assets. The value of a brand-new car depreciates by at least 20 percent as soon as they are driven out of the show room. It then proceeds to spend the rest of its useful life draining your bank account of…
Read More “Is it worth it? The Filipino’s guide to car ownership” »
Last weekend Governor Joey Salcedo of the Philippine province of Albay issued what on the surface looks to be a ludicrous proposal — that Filipinos “boycott” Chinese-made products. Salcedo made this call to Filipinos to “hurt [China] where it counts” in light of recent military and diplomatic tension between the Philippines and China over the…
Read More “Philippine-China conflict: How did we come to be so dependent on Chinese imports?” »