We beg to differ.
[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?” »
It’s not so much the concept of a parliamentary form of government, but the manner in which one group chooses to push for it that has gotten the larger online Filipino community linking arms against it. Tsk tsk. Weak arguments, kilometric tirades, and focus on personal attacks are signs of a creeping desperation in this…
Read More “Why A Parliamentary Shift Advocacy Has ‘Lost It’” »
There’s really not much you can say about the outcome of the 2013 elections other than to invoke those famous last words: Told ya so. The proverbial pig is a lot bigger than its proverbial lips. So you may put as much lipstick as you want on said lips, and the fact will still remain…
While I was reading news about Malaysia’s recently-concluded election, I could not help but shake my head; it was as if I was reading about the Philippines. Some of the things that were being said about the Malaysian government and its society could likewise be said about the Philippine government and its society too. It…
Read More “Malaysia and the Philippines: corruption and cheating are all part of ‘the game’” »
Certain advocates of “constitutional reform” make use of two cornerstone arguments to support their position that a change in form of government will necessarily translate to an improved probability that the Philippines will prosper as a society over a given period: (a) a correlation between systems of government and evidence of prosperity in today’s nations,…
Read More “Change in system of governance equals prosperity? Think again” »
It seems I started a bit of a firestorm with a recent article among the advocates of constitutional reform, whom I did not actually identify as the CoRRECT movement — because to be quite honest, I’m not at all certain they are necessarily the only reform advocates in the country — but who were quick…
Read More “Reflecting on the Constitutional Reform Movement” »
There isn’t much about living in Australia to complain about. This is, I think, the reason why I haven’t written much about Australia. I realise though that my long silence about life in Australia is a bit disturbing. Maybe it is just me getting a bit uncomfortable with being too comfortable. Indeed, when things simply…