We beg to differ.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s proclamation of Martial Law over the entire Mindanao region following the military operation in Marawi City that resulted in protracted battle with the Maute terrorists has given members of the Liberal Party and anti-Martial Law advocates reason to make more noise. When before they were simply nit-picking on his tirades, now…
Yellowtards have become a confused lot. The root cause of this confusion is their long-obsolete Laban (“fight”) rhetoric which remains the primary pillar of their ideology. To Yellowtards, everything is a “fight” against the Establishment. Even when they are in power, most recently under former President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III, they still see themselves…
Read More “The Yellowtards’ OBSOLETE fear and loathing of the Philippine military” »
Following the occupation of Marawi City by the Islamic State’s affiliate group called the Maute Group, it should be clear to all now that the world has entered the early stages of the next Great War. The occupation of Marawi along with previous and subsequent attacks in Europe proves the Islamic State’s capabilities to launch…
Insurgency, rebellion, and separatist movements (Note: I will use these three terms interchangeably.) have always been part and parcel of Philippine history. In this regard, it is no different from other countries and their histories. Successive Philippine governments have had to deal with several of these movements. In the spotlight are the Communist Party of…
Read More “Lessons from history about insurgency in the Philippines” »
If there is anything that can be gleaned from the way Filipinos have so far responded to the crisis in Marawi, it is that Filipinos remain their own worst enemy. Rather than see the terrorists linked to the Islamic State overrunning Marawi City as the bigger enemy, many have, instead, lashed out at the more…
Read More “Imperial Manila ‘experts’ see Martial Law as a bigger enemy than Islamic terrorism” »
Physically, what separates Luzon and Mindanao, are the Philippine Sea, and the Visayas island group. Modern transportation has enabled this physical distance to be bridged: what was once a several-day sea journey, can also be traversed by a 1-2 hour airplane flight (if you have the money for it, of course). In terms of sentiment,…
Read More “Bridging the divide between Manila and Mindanao” »
I think it is unfortunate that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte cannot help himself and the people who support him win over his critics. In fact, he seems to be intentionally needling or provoking his detractors to react with more outrage. In a speech in front of the soldiers of the 2nd Mechanized Infantry (Magbalantay) Brigade…
Read More “Duterte should stop making ‘rape jokes’ for the sake of the Filipino people” »
Chalk it up to good old fashioned stubbornness on Philippine media’s part, maybe. However, one does not really have to be trained in the military to know what operations security (OPSEC) entails. Though an official definition is rather wordy, the spirit of it is that sensitive, or potentially compromising, information is very carefully handled, so…
