35 years of democracy has not freed Filipinos from entrenched oligarchic feudal rule

Posted on By Ramon Ortoll 3 Comments on 35 years of democracy has not freed Filipinos from entrenched oligarchic feudal rule

Richard Javad Heydarian has a fondness for historical context in relation to present-day situations. In his Inquirer piece “Why do we love dictators?” he laments how, “across the postcolonial world, where the pandemic has been most devastating, it seems many people can’t still shake off their collective fascination with despots, even the most tragically disastrous…

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History, Society

Digitization of Ph’s nightmarish bureaucracy should be made a major election issue

Posted on By Ramon Ortoll 1 Comment on Digitization of Ph’s nightmarish bureaucracy should be made a major election issue

As the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte comes to an end, one of its unfulfilled campaign promises coming to light is the improvement in the delivery of government services to the citizenry. At the onset, the support base of Duterte rallied behind him because of this promise translated into action during the first months of…

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Business, Economy, Tech Talk

Warning: Manny Pacquiao COULD beat Inday Sara Duterte in 2022!

Posted on By benign0 5 Comments on Warning: Manny Pacquiao COULD beat Inday Sara Duterte in 2022!

With boxing-champ-turned-Senator Manny Pacquiao now getting more aggressive in his bid for the Philippine Government’s top job in 2022, the political landscape gets more fluid. The administration camp of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and its bid for continuity beyond 2022 in fielding Inday Sara “Daughterte” is at stake despite Pacquiao being a member — and…

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Politics

United or divided, the Opposition will lose in 2022 — unless they get back to basics and learn how to WIN an election

Posted on By Ramon Ortoll 2 Comments on United or divided, the Opposition will lose in 2022 — unless they get back to basics and learn how to WIN an election

I hate Mondays. This what beloved 1980s comic strip character Garfield declared. The first half of 2021 is about to end. It will be June by Wednesday and the last half of the year begins. 2021 is our first full year in the pandemic environment. It’s also an election year. The jockeying should’ve begun in…

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Politics

Doubtfully Legal Takeover of Dampa sa Greenhills

Posted on By P. Farol 3 Comments on Doubtfully Legal Takeover of Dampa sa Greenhills

Over the course of the past two years, I’ve become somewhat of a regular customer of Dampa sa Greenhills, an Ilonggo restaurant and bar just across the corner of Col. Bonny Serrano and Jose Abad Stantos Street in San Juan City, Metro Manila. It’s an airy, sunlit place where the food is good and the…

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Business, Politics

Cory Aquino and the dumbing down of Philippine Media the root cause of decline in quality of Filipino legislators

Posted on By Ramon Ortoll 1 Comment on Cory Aquino and the dumbing down of Philippine Media the root cause of decline in quality of Filipino legislators

Harry Roque’s law partner Joel Ruiz Butuyan complains about the quality of Senators but doesn’t put the finer on who should be blamed. Butuyan writes in his Inquirer column “Comparing past and present senators” today of “the faces of senators of the past renowned for their brilliance, juxtaposed with pictures of senators of the present…

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History, Media, Politics

News of a meeting between Inday Sara Duterte and Bongbong Marcos has chilling effect on Opposition

Posted on By benign0 No Comments on News of a meeting between Inday Sara Duterte and Bongbong Marcos has chilling effect on Opposition

Talk of a “meeting” between Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte and former Senator and 2016 vice presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos is raging across social media. This follows a tweet issued by a media organisation known as SMNI News Channel. According to SMNI News as indicated in the above tweet, the meeting occurred Sunday, the…

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Media, Politics

A crisis of existentialism in a time of COVID-19 pandemic

Posted on By Ramon Ortoll No Comments on A crisis of existentialism in a time of COVID-19 pandemic

It’s June already next week. The first half of the year went by like a snap of the fingers. The last half will be a race to December and before you know it, 2021 is over and marks out first full year in the pandemic. Meanwhile, an eminent sociologist appears to be having an existential…

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Lifestyle, Religion, Society