Category: Society

The Philippines is too big a country for Filipinos to govern on their own

February 26, 2015 benign0 22 Comments

It’s no wonder the government fatally screwed up to the tune of 44 dead Special Action Force police officers last January — and even more baffling that Filipinos are actually shocked that such a monumental foul up could actually occur in the Philippines of all places. The operation involved lots of coordination, up-to-the-minute planning, and…

Development, Society

Why democracy does not work in the Philippines

February 26, 2015February 26, 2015 Ilda 118 Comments

The 1986 EDSA “People Power” revolution has been credited with bringing democracy back to the Philippines. However, three decades after the historic event, it seems majority of Filipinos still do not understand what democracy is about. The system of government is there in principle but Filipinos do not know how to use it properly. Worse,…

Crime, Development, Government, Politics, Society

The sad 29th anniversary of the 1986 EDSA people power ‘revolution’

February 26, 2015 benign0 9 Comments

Another EDSA “people power” anniversary, another traffic jam. These commemorations of that now-debatable “revolution” have become bigger and bigger national cringes with each passing year. But this year’s “celebration” was particularly noteworthy as it features a government that is now on the run from its own “bosses”. Police in anti-riot armour were out in full…

Civics, Development, Government, Politics, Society

Patriotism in the Philippines and What It Faces

February 25, 2015 Grimwald 14 Comments

“In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.” ~Mark Twain So what is a patriot in this day and age and what does it mean to be one?…

Culture, Lifestyle, Media, Society

How EDSA ‘people power’ ‘revolutions’ have become the Philippines’ biggest national embarrassment!

February 25, 2015February 21, 2022 benign0 4 Comments

The following is an article I wrote way back in 2001 following the ouster of former President Joseph ‘Erap’ Estrada via a multi-million-strong street revolution that would go on to be known as “EDSA 2” (or EDSA Dos). The ouster of Estrada paved the way for the ascent to power of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who would…

Civics, Culture, Development, Politics, Society

Why Filipinos’ obssession with Marian Rivera mirrors Philippine politics

February 25, 2015 Kate Natividad 12 Comments

Contrary to popular belief, I don’t believe Marian Rivera fantards are “doing anything wrong”. They’re just being themselves. And we have to respect that. They’re sort of like scorpions. They sting because that is what scorpions do. There’s really nothing wrong with stinging if you have the brain of a scorpion. Fantardism is an interesting…

Culture, Glitz and Glamour, Media, Politics, Society

The Girl In The Gutter

February 25, 2015 Grimwald 21 Comments

She was a small creature, no taller than a grown woman’s waist and with her limbs as thin and frail as bread sticks and her body almost nothing more than skin stretched over bone. Dressed in a grimy and filthy potato sack that’s supposed to pass for clothes, she walked on the hot pavement of the…

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Crime, Culture, Education, Lifestyle, Media, Society

The Philippine ‘Opposition’: A movement in search of a credible cause

February 24, 2015 benign0 3 Comments

There used to be an old 1970s-1980s term often used to describe the “politically passionate”. Cause-oriented groups or COGs as they were once called was the collective term used for activists and rabble-rousers alike. They had real “causes” at the time — many of which were focused on achieving “freedom”, because Filipinos were supposedly not…

Crime, Development, Politics, Society