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Is Manny Pacquiao implying that Filipino-Americans are ‘not real’ Americans?

November 27, 2011 benign0 7 Comments

Apparently, Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao does not think too highly of immigrants. In an interview he implied that naturalised citizens cannot claim to be considered to be a true national of their adopted country… In a press conference after his return to General Santos City, Pacquiao fired back when the press asked him about…

Glitz and Glamour

Focus on retribution by the Aquino Government had undermined both the economy and institutional governance

November 26, 2011 benign0 15 Comments

Why the focus and circus around retribution while more pressing and forward-looking initiatives like growing the economy, for one, languish at the bottom of media hyping priorities? It could be because Filipinos are culturally predisposed to being retrospective rather than prospective in the way we think. Back in 2009 just as the campaign of then…

Crime, Culture, Economy, Government

In the dark: Why we Filipinos love religion

November 25, 2011November 25, 2011 linewave 16 Comments

When you think of the Philippines, what’s the first thing that comes into your mind? Have you ever given it much thought? Do you imagine white beaches, tranquil waters, and unique wildlife? Congratulations, you’re a tourist. Do you imagine chaos, poverty and corruption? If you did, you’re a realist. But if all you think about…

Culture, Education, Lifestyle, Society

President Noynoy Aquino and the instability he created is really bad for the economy

November 24, 2011July 27, 2013 Ilda 42 Comments

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again. Philippine President Noynoy Aquino (PNoy) is bad for the economy. The incumbent president is not at all focused on building a solid financial system for the country despite predictions that the economic instability in Europe and the struggling economy of the United States of America could…

Development, Economy, Government, Politics

Do we ditch the scholar in favor of the politician?

November 24, 2011December 2, 2011 Ms. Mike Portes 89 Comments

The news feed was just too hard to ignore, it headlined: “EDSA to be renamed Cory Aquino Avenue?” and it opens with “The House of Representatives is now tackling on first reading a bill seeking to rename Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) to Cory Aquino Avenue.” and ends with “”It would be but a fitting…

Education, Government, Politics, Society

The only sensible Filipino take on the International Day to End Impunity

November 23, 2011November 23, 2016 benign0 25 Comments

So today is supposed to be some kind of “International Day to End Impunity”. I hear some folks are making the little factoid that this “event” coincides with the Maguindanao Massacre (no, that is not the title of a 1980’s Filipino movie) something to add credence to the Filipino’s place of honour in commemorating such…

Crime, Media, Society

Arroyo mugshots – visual opiates for a politics-crazed society

November 22, 2011 benign0 20 Comments

In my book, I recounted the words of University of the Philippines sociology professor and occasional Inquirer.net columnist Michael Tan who was cited in Diana Mendoza’s article “Between Sensationalism and Censure” published on the Philippine Journalism Review (April 2002). The article was a commentary on the bizarreness of Filipinos’ regard for sexuality as it is…

Civics, Crime, Culture, Government, Politics

Palawan’s Underground River: Winner by Hive-Mind

November 21, 2011 MidwayHaven 10 Comments

When I heard that the Puerto Princesa Underground River was included in the provisional listing of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, the first thing that came into my mind was the Borg. In the Star Trek science fiction series primarily made for television, the Borg were a villainous cybernetic race with one mind and…

Environment, Media, Society