We beg to differ.
After all, many Filipinos regret demanding — and gaining — independence from the United States back in 1946. Now they live with the reality that had eventuated from the prescience of the late Manuel L. Quezon, first President of the Philippine Commonwealth when he said: “I would rather have a Philippines run like hell by…
Read More “What’s wrong with being a “Province of China”?” »
According to Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo, she would be willing to lead and unite the Opposition against President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration. In most progressive countries, Robredo’s move would be considered bizarre. But this is the Philippines where the President and Vice President are voted separately, which means both positions could end up being…
Read More “Leni Robredo is too incompetent to unite the Opposition against Duterte” »
We can start to answer this question by first understanding what it would take to unite and strengthen the Opposition. At the moment, the Philippine Opposition is virtually non-existent. It lacks a leader, a vision, and an election-winning strategy. Without the latter, a vision is practically useless, because you need to be in power to…
Read More “Can Leni Robredo unite and deliver votes to the Philippine Opposition?” »
The facts are quite confronting. Filipinos who not just speak English but speak it well and with the right accent go places. This is the reason wealthy Filipinos spend a fortune on the best private schools to educate their kids — because those who gain mastery of this important language make the most connections with…
Since language is once again on the topic table, I’ll put out this piece that had been waiting for the right time. Filipino hostility towards English and foreign languages, as well as towards intellectualism, is not hard to see. People with such attitudes say it is a “patriotic duty” or more nationalistic action to be…
Read More “On Filipino Hatred of English, Languages and Intellectualism” »
What is the goal of the Philippines’ elite communicators and thought leaders? We are told many times by the Philippines’ so-called “social media experts” that there is a huge responsibility on our shoulders to produce and publish high-quality content that could help uplift the Philipines’ public discourse. The quality of this discourse is important because…
Read More “Should Filipino thought leaders communicate in ‘maka-masa’ style or in proper English?” »
It’s a God parody account. And it’s got 5.2 million followers. And it’s weighed in on the presidency of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The tweet issued by the presumptive god of Twitter was in reference to a statement issued by Duterte as reported by CNN Philippines in a story headlined “Duterte: If you can prove…
The recent disgusting and shameful yet shameless brawl that engulfed what was intended as a friendly match between two allies (Gilas Pilipinas and the Australian team) brings us to a point of deep reflection as a nation of civilized Homo sapiens. The grave level of pikon (butthurt) and crushing tambak defeat of the “Pinoy” shooters would not…
Read More “Basketball vs Filipinos: Can genetic underdogs win international respect?” »