We beg to differ.
At the coffee shop where I routinely get my morning fix, customers mill around the counter in a way that often makes it difficult to distinguish those who are (a) in the process of ordering and paying, or (2) waiting for a concluded order to be served. So it is a normal and routine courtesy…
Read More “Filipinos desperately need a shared sense of belonging” »
A photo of what looks like several Ateneans posing beside former First Lady Imelda Marcos has been making the rounds. The photo clearly shows the seal of the Ateneo in the background and students assuming various provocative poses while flashing the “V” (‘victory’) hand gesture. That hand gesture came to be associated with loyalty to…
Read More “Ateneo students in provocative ‘selfie’ poses with former First Lady Imelda Marcos” »
For old times’ sake, let us revisit how the Inquirer back in 2010 crowned President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III “our Filipino of the Year” after just six months in power. This honour was bestowed on the incumbent Philippine president supposedly for being “the living Filipino who made the most positive impact in 2010”. And,…
Read More “Recall: President BS Aquino was crowned ‘Filipino of the Year’ by the Inquirer in 2010” »
The Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) is a fund created by the administration of Philippine President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III that serves as a vehicle for transferring unused appropriations from one project to another. It has since been deemed unconstitutional by the Philippine Supreme Court because it was ruled that the President does not have…
Read More “4 memes that illustrate all the wrong arguments about the #DAP” »
According to Philippine Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr., President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino won’t apologize for the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program or DAP after it was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. He insists that “the executive branch ‘exercised good faith and due diligence’ in accordance with existing laws and relevant auditing…
How can the Philippines continue to function over the remaining two years until President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III steps down after the completion of his term in 2016? In the last two years, Congress has limped along under the weight of overwhelming public distrust. And now that a presidential slush fund that is the…
Read More “In these challenging times, it really helps that the Philippines is like a cockroach” »
So now that the Supreme Court of the Philippines has declared the administration’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) unconstitutional, many sectors are calling for President Noynoy Aquino’s (PNoy) impeachment and criminal prosecution. The argument goes that the DAP authorized by PNoy qualifies as a criminal act of (technical) malversation of public funds and thus constitutes betrayal…
Read More “PNoy Can Only Be Fined But Not Impeached for the DAP Fiasco” »
I felt like celebrating yesterday afternoon when I found out that the Supreme Court had ruled that the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) was UNCONSTITUTIONAL. It’s like the knock out punch in a one-two combination, the first punch being the Supreme Court decision declaring the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel fund unconstitutional. Let’s…
Read More “And Now It Begins… Philippine Politics Without DAP and PDAF” »
