We beg to differ.
The media and the partisans who presume to constitute the Philippine National “Debate” may have succeeded at dividing the Philippines into Dutertards and Yellowtards and, they presume, maintain a lively chatter that, they say, is the heart of a vibrant “democracy”. But whilst this chatter is generating a lot of noise, none of that noise…
The tragic Mamasapano operation (mounted during the term of Philippine President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III) in which 44 Special Action Force officers were massacred by elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front was not a military operation. It was a police operation gone wrong. This fact, however, did not stop Opposition “activists” from making…
It might be time for “senator” Antonio Trillanes to seek political asylum in the United States. After all, he sees himself as “persecuted” and the subject of attempts to “silence” him. In the West, that indeed constitutes “political persecution” and is enough grounds to consider providing refuge to the “senator”. But will Trillanes’s case meet…
The regime of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte happened not because of a template for “dictatorship” cut by vintage 1970s “tyrant” Ferdinand Marcos. Duterte “happened” because he represented a voters’ swing to an alternative to the status quo overseen by the progeny governments of the 1986 “people power revolution”. That revolution promised Filipinos change. Instead it…
I don’t think so — which is disturbing considering that three of the top four universitites in the Philippines are run by Catholic priests. Catholic priests, it should be highlighted here, have taken a vow of obedience, and at the very top of this hierarchy of obedience sits, guess who, none but the Catholic Bishops…
Read More “Can Catholic schools and their products ever be truly non-partisan?” »
It is quite laughable the way Inquirer columnist Rina Jimenez-David in her opinion piece today trumpets the role of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in “leading” yet another political stunt (disguised as a religious “mourning” ritual) in the lead up to the Day of the Dead this November. She writes referring to…
Read More “This year’s CBCP Halloween stunt: ‘A Night of Horror during Duterte’s Time’” »
For all of Filipinos’ kayabangan (bluster), there does seem to be sufficient level of actual achievement to match. This observation is best encapsulated in the Tagalog phrase “Wala naman palang ibubuga.” Filipinos rely almost entirely on capital that trickles down from the First World into their gaping mouths — so much so that even the…
“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth a war, is much worse.” — John Stuart Mill President Duterte has been accused of using unnecessary violence, killings, and other atrocities to fight the war against drugs,…
Read More “Duterte, The Pacifist, and The Just War Tradition” »