We beg to differ.
I could take the easy path and highlight the irony (which likely flies over most Filipinos’ pointed heads) in how Philippine President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III and his supporters are now taking a position similar to the one his predecessor, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was reviled for in the closing days of her administration…
Read More “Second term for President Noynoy Aquino? Anything’s possible!” »
As it is, discussions on the mechanics of how the pork barrel scam was perpetrated outlines the massive collusion between the executive branch of government, the legislative branch of government, members of the supposedly independent constitutional body that is supposed to keep corruption in check, and pork barrel “operators”. At this point, calling for a shift…
Read More “Pork Barrel Corruption and Calls for a Shift to a Parliamentary System of Government” »
While pseudo experts come up with the equivalent of a Rube Goldberg machine to solve simple problems, real experts often come up with simple yet effective solutions after finding the appropriate process to correctly identify the problem. You can find proof of this in various situations ranging from repairing cars to curbing criminality. One such…
Australia has a new old Prime Minister. Kevin Rudd has been sworn in as PM three years after being ousted as head of the Australian government by his then deputy Julia Gillard in a bitterly-fought jostle for leadership of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in June 2010. At the time Rudd had served for only…
This article is substantially based on an article I originally wrote in November, 2010 entitled “Applying the Right Fix: Charter Change and the Philippine Condition.” While the essential points made in the original article are still valid today, the Philippines is not exactly the same country it was two-and-a-half years ago, for better or worse;…
Read More “The Impractical Elitism of an Incorrect Perspective on Reform” »
[The following is a copy of an article written by the late great culture-is-culprit champion Teddy Benigno originally published on the excellent Philippine Broadsheet The Philippine Star on the 9th May 2003.] * * * Parliamentary system not for Philippines: The wherefores by Teodoro C. Benigno Philippine Star 09 May 2003 The raging debate in…
Read More “Parliament and the Philippines: A match made in hell?” »
In a pre-emptive strike on the whole discussion around ‘charter change’ that is likely to come up after the opening of the 16th Congress in July, President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III issued his two cents on the matter of foreign ownership of land in the Philippines. “I don’t think they are necessary detriment to…
Read More “President Noynoy Aquino may have a good reason for giving a no-go to charter change!” »
“Here we are again Kate… Ups and Downs.” — Dick Gordon, May 20, 2010 Days after garnering 500,000 votes in the 2010 Presidential Elections I cringe at the thought that after the second automated national and local elections to be held in the Philippines, a sizable portion of the country’s electorate is back to square one. For…