Category: Politics

Next step after Bangsamoro peace deal: Philippines to pay up – drop Sabah claim

March 27, 2014 benign0 38 Comments

So what happens to the Philippines’ claim on the Malaysian state of Sabah following the signing of the Bangsamoro “peace deal” between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)? It seems this is now conveniently in the backburner as Filipinos, on cue, dance to the tune of Malacanang’s “celebration of peace”. But…

Civics, Government, Politics, Religion, The South

Repeat after me: I am the Philippines and I am home to a dysfunctional society

March 26, 2014March 26, 2014 benign0 37 Comments

I realised the whole problem with the prevailing discourse within the social media space I inhabit: there is too much discussion about politics and not enough about the underlying issue with Philippine society that I have long highlighted is the real deal here — Filipino culture. Fact is, the Philippines is beset by a really…

Crime, Culture, Development, Government, Media, Politics, Society

The country we’ve made for ourselves: why we need an outsider’s perspective

March 25, 2014November 22, 2017 benign0 2 Comments

The following is a copy of the Foreword I wrote for my friend Ben Kritz’s new book Same Planet, Different World: An Outsider’s Inside View of the Philippines. You can download the book from Amazon here onto Kindle or any of a variety of apps also supported by Amazon. We in our clique of the…

Civics, Development, Economy, Government, Money Talks, Politics, Society

Much of Philippine history was motivated by Filipinos’ kneejerk butthurt reactions

March 24, 2014March 24, 2014 benign0 24 Comments

I’ve come to realise that much of Philippine history was really all about a monumental effort to counter centuries of butthurt. The Philippine “revolution” of 1898 was an epic reaction to 400 years of butthurt in the hands of Spain. The arbitrary re-defining of the 4th of July, 1946 from “Philippine Independence Day” to “Philippine-American…

Culture, Development, Politics, Society

#TwitterIsBlockedInTurkey: Turkish PM Erdogan mirrors PNoy style

March 21, 2014 benign0 2 Comments

Hours following an announcement by its prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has blocked its citizens’ access to Twitter last night. At his campaign rally in Bursa on the 20th of March, Erdoğan announced “We now have a court order. We’ll eradicate Twitter. I don’t care what the international community says. Everyone will witness the…

Civics, Government, Media, Politics, Tech Talk

President Noynoy Aquino’s mouth is his own worst enemy

March 21, 2014September 30, 2018 FallenAngel 26 Comments

Despite how president Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino keeps telling the public about how he is going to ignore his critics, or how “he prays for their enlightenment”, how he wishes to suppress dissenting views, or even just basically wishes for them to vanish, it looks like he is actually giving them more reason to exist….

Civics, Government, Media, Politics

Senator Sergio Osmena is right: PNoy is an awful manager (But we all already knew that)

March 19, 2014 benign0 40 Comments

As the term of Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III nears its end, and as electioneering fever starts to grip the national “debate” as the public’s anticipation of that end ramps up, the truth we have long known about the Second Aquino Administration begins to emerge — even from his staunchest supporters and biggest…

Government, Politics

Hey GI, ten dollah, love ya long time…

March 17, 2014 Kate Natividad 37 Comments

I read with interest benign0’s recent piece Is the sex trade all Filipinos have to offer to visiting US troops?. It was quite an eye-opener for me. I realize now why this country is screwed. We not only have an inept government, we also have idiots leading the “activist” movements that are supposed to be…

Culture, Politics, Religion