We beg to differ.
The Philippines – it’s not just home to Fe-rich malunggay and kamote leaves, it’s also the birthplace of a similar breed of leaders: iron-class. How did it come to this – a time and place where “kamay na bakal” has now become fashionable (again)? Apparently, three decades of mis-encountering, mishandling, lousy and incompetent “bakla” politics…
These days, the woeful plight of refugees trying to get into Europe is international news. They are running away from ISIS who have been pillaging their world and the dark forces that have been erasing their civilization. They are seeking a world where hope could be alive and aspire to leave a world where hope…
Read More “Filipinos need a strong and unified resolve to get rid of their Squatter Mentality” »
First of all, why do people who favour the passing of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in its current unconstitutional form see themselves as “peace advocates”? Does that imply that war is a certainty if the current draft BBL is not passed? What does that say about the Moro Islamic Liberation Front — that terrorist…
I don’t like the idea of finding “parallels” between United States politics and that of the Philippines’. They are miles apart. But it is hard to ignore the one thing about a recent development that Filipinos can relate with — the presidential candidacy of Jeb Bush and how he faces the formidable challenge of pitching…
Read More “The parallel nation-fixing challenges of Jeb Bush and Bongbong Marcos” »
We have long held on to the notion that the Philippines is actually a nation in the modern sense. On the surface, it does seem that way. If one looks hard and deeply enough, however, one can see the Philippines for what it truly is: a patchwork, broken glass, glued together puzzle made up of…
The trouble with all notions of an autonomous Muslim state is that it implies that Muslims are “special” Filipinos deserving of special treatment. The Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and, now, the proposed Bangsamoro “state” by their very nature are both tainted by that ill-conceived specialness. Worse, both entities were created under threat of…
Read More “A Bangsamoro state is only possible in a fully-federalised Philippine republic” »
It is not surprising that pundits, political analysts/scientists, opinion writers as well as government officials and a whole heap of politicians are quick to make commentaries and “analyses” on the Mamasapano encounter soon after it was brought to public attention. Expectedly, policians’ and government officials viewed the unfortunate event based on their limited political interests…
Read More “Looking into the Bigger Picture behind the Mamasapano Incident and the BBL” »
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” »