Tag: democracy

Filipinos fully behind Duterte after his first year as Philippine president

July 24, 2017July 24, 2017 benign0 8 Comments

The overwhelming thumbs-up given by Philippine Congress to the extension of Martial Law demonstrates the immense political capital enjoyed by the administration of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. And, once again, the ineptness applied by the Opposition in its efforts to counteract the trajectory Duterte has thus far put the country in was glaringly evident. In…

Government, Politics

Leni Robredo made out to be a ‘victim’ by Inquirer columnist Rina Jimenez-David

July 7, 2017 benign0 3 Comments

Fact Number 1: There are allegations of electoral fraud committed during the 2016 presidential elections. Fact Number 2: As a result of these allegations, a dispute on the results of the vice presidential vote count is being raised with the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET). Fact Number 3: The top two presidential candidates at the time…

Media, Politics

The plight of Manny Pacquiao proves that Philippine political chatter lacks integrity

July 3, 2017 benign0 2 Comments

Philippine political discourse is too noisy. This seems to be the reason why confusion and lack of perspective reigns amongst the Philippines’ chattering classes. Hardly anything gets clarified, no problems get framed properly and, as a result, all the wrong arguments win. There is a concept in communications engineering called signal-to-noise ratio. In the age…

Culture, Politics, Society

Trillanes TV meltdown a fatal blow to the credibility of the Philippine Opposition

June 23, 2017 benign0 14 Comments

Following the “burning” of Philippine “senator” Antonio Trillanes IV on live TV in the BBC talk show HARDtalk, attention now turns to a beleaguered Opposition faced with the hard question: What now? Trillanes, after all, had been one of if not the most aggressive of the Philippine Opposition’s attack dogs. Now reduced to a national…

Media, Politics

Trillanes exposed as fake democracy advocate by BBC journalist Stephen Sackur

June 23, 2017 Ilda 13 Comments

Philippine Senator Antonio Trillanes cemented his infamy after his disastrous interview with Stephen Sackur on his BBC program HARDtalk. He became the laughingstock among Netizens for failing to give rational answers to simple questions. It was very obvious that Sackur did his homework in digging up information about Trillanes’s past criminal activities particularly his two…

Crime, Government, Media

Philippine society cannot change unless Filipinos change the way they think

June 6, 2017 benign0 8 Comments

Recent events have once again proven how important information is. Now an overused cliché, it is still worth reminding, in this age of the Internet and social media, how fast information can spread. While the human mind is wired to respond quickly to stories, it is not particularly well-equipped to evaluate data outside of an…

Culture, Development, Media, Politics

Here is why ‘human rights’ is a weak argument against Martial Law…

May 26, 2017 benign0 14 Comments

The better question would be: Is “human rights” still relevant in the Philippines? It is, if you are a Martial Law Crybaby who is throwing a tantrum over the recent declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao. For “activists” who shriek “Bloody Murder!” at the mere mention of Martial Law, “human rights” is the be-all-end-all argument…

Government, Society, The South

Dutertard vs Yellowtard: Cult of personality is a hard Filipino habit to break

April 3, 2017April 3, 2017 benign0 12 Comments

Filipino activists have it all wrong. The scope of their advocacies is defined by people, and not by principle, issues, and ideas. When one defines her interests or advocacies around a person, she necessarily locks herself into a non-negotiable loyalty to that person’s own advocacies. It is a lazy sort of advocacy — picking based…

Culture, Politics, Society