We beg to differ.
Pope Francis has left the Philippines after his much welcome concern for the less fortunate citizens of our dear country. But while his presence and intervention on behalf of the victims of poverty and Typhoon Haiyan was something to be appreciated, a question hangs in the air: Where do we go from here? Yes, the…
Read More “Pinoys and Religion: Blind Faith Without Spirituality” »
Regard for sport mirrors society. And nowhere is this more evident than in the Philippines. Last night, Gilas Pilipinas was handily beaten by Puerto Rico in the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain after literally dropping the ball — losing an early lead it enjoyed over the first half of the game. The game was…
Metro Manila is a dump. And it is getting worse, not better. The city is being crushed under the weight of its own success as a magnet for domestic migrants looking for jobs the Philippines’ barren hinterlands cannot provide. But why is Metro Manila, the Philippines’ premiere economic and cultural centre, not improving? Not only…
The mounting desperation of the average Metro Manila commuter is becoming so palpable you can taste it in the air every morning when you come out the door of your home and face the hard slog to work. It is utterly depressing to face a day where the first thing you will be experiencing is…
Read More “Traffic has sentenced every Metro Manila resident to prison time befitting murderers” »
You know a country has really sunk to an unprecedented depth of wretchedness when its own citizens would prefer to remain in a war zone over taking their chances on a return to the “safety” of their homeland. Such is what describes the rather embarrassing situation in the Philippine government’s efforts to repatriate up to…
Read More “Filipinos see a better future in foreign war zones than in the Philippines” »
The death toll is mounting in West Africa as the Ebola virus, which causes an often fatal haemorrhagic fever in its victims, ravages West Africa. The disease is spread amongst humans through blood and other bodily fluids. The world is starting to batten down as fears of the disease spreading beyond the region grows. Governments…
Read More “Is the Philippines ready for an Ebola outbreak?” »
Literally. And this heat is attracting a lot of political heat as well. It is one of the biggest ‘concerns’ aired by the recent set of high-profile senatorial jailbirds about their new accomodations in Camp Crame. A lack of airconditioning to alleviate the oppressive heat there is finally getting a bit of air time (pardon…
The Philippines is a most massive outcome of lots of actions underpinned by very little thinking. So many initiatives, advocacies, “movements”, agendas, and vested interests driven by even more characters in a country of 100 million clueless people — it sounds like a chapter out of John Barrow’s book Impossibility. The Philippines is a case…
Read More “Achieving developmental focus: The Philippines’ Vital Few initiatives” »