We beg to differ.
The clamor to have a document containing a list of members of Congress who allegedly had dealings with accused pork barrel scam ringleader Janet Lim-Napoles is growing louder, fueled by indignation mongering drummed up by both traditional and social media. Leading the charge is a certain “Scrap Pork Network” (or just #ScrapPork), a coalition of…
Self-proclaimed “Oprah Winfrey of the Philippines” and presidential sister Kris Aquino may be given a run for the money if reports that brilliant international human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin will take up the case of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA). Arroyo is currently detained on charges of plunder and has remained under hospital arrest…
Read More “Amal Alamuddin: brilliant lawyering and Hollywood star power may help Arroyo’s plight” »
Tingin ng mga bobong kapitbahay ko, puta daw ako. Nagpapagamit, binabayaran. Sabi nila, ako daw ang pinakamaganda at pinakasikat sa aming lugar noon. Di ko nga alam kung sumpa ito, dahil dito naletse ang kinabukasan ko. Tara, makinig ka muna sa kwento ko, yosi muna tayo. Alam mo, maraming lumapit sa akin. Nagkagusto at naakit….
So it’s “Labor Day” again this 1st of May in the Philippines. What do the usual suspects who champion the workers’ “fight” have to offer this time in terms of rhetoric? Considering that they’ve milked the easy ones dry — anti-Americanism, anti-imperialism, anti-incumbent-government, higher wages, more jobs, etc. — what else is there? There is…
Read More “Philippine Labor Day rhetoric: the same old bullshit” »
The idea of ‘charter change’ is nothing new to outsiders, but being able to observe and discuss the movement as a serious idea rather than cynically dismissing it as the same old limited-focus canard that gets floated every year is a refreshing change of pace. So what’s different about ‘charter change’ now, as opposed to…
Read More “Constitutional Reform: What it Looks Like from the Outside” »
Intelligent people can be the worst teachers. They tend to be impatient with their students. This is because they assume that the students will understand what they are trying to say on their first attempt at explaining something. Because it is easy for them to understand things, it can be hard for intelligent people to…
Read More “Filipinos should learn to question authority intelligently” »
If I lower my guard and take the comfy view that I am fundamentally defined by where I was schooled, I’d call myself an “Atenean”. When you are an Ateneo alumnus (and specially when you remain on as a faculty member), you usually come equipped with a lot of connections and the frame of mind…
Read More “Tulong Dunong, ACIL, ICTUS, and other memories from up the Hill” »
The Philippine Media, both old and new, whether traditional or trend-setting, is abuzz yet again with the usual discussions and “analyses” that tend to proliferate in value-crushing volumes. So I thought it’d be a good time to re-visit the fundamental process that underlies this hyped-up political exercise that is pitched to vacuous minds as some…
Read More “The underlying simplicity of Philippine Elections” »