We beg to differ.
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…
Read More “A crisis of existentialism in a time of COVID-19 pandemic” »
For a political and social scientist, Professor Antonio Contreras surely is naive. But he can also be pragmatic when it comes to his own self-promotion. Borderline personality disorder? Maybe. In his Manila Times piece he rails against the “dirty politics” of these times… Popular culture has reinforced the image of politics as devoid of virtue….
Read More “Lack of a strong national identity makes for dog-eat-dog Philippine politics” »
Sinophobia and tobacco. Mareng Winnie throws everything at China. In her Inquirer column today “A victory for tobacco, a defeat for our children”, Monsod writes… Wasn’t China the source of the virus in the first place? Not only that, didn’t China try to cover up its virus situation in the second place? The virus, indeed,…
Read More “China is the “bad guy” whether it is about tobacco or the virus” »
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is the political equivalent of Dolphy whose comedic timing was impeccable — so unlike comedians of today who rely on their gender and insults to get laughs. The idea of Duterte as Vice President was first floated by Bong Go. It didn’t resonate with voters. Even the so-called “Duterte Die-hard Supporter”…
Read More “Inday Sara – Digong “Daughterte-Duterte” tandem puts 2022 in the bag for admin camp” »
So now journalists have to get their stories from Facebook posts. In her Inquirer report “Control of West PH Sea oil seen in takeover of Malampaya project”, Frances Mangosing uses a statement from a certain “security expert” named Jay Batongbacal as reference to highlight how a takeover of the Malampaya gas project by Dennis Uy’s…
Dean dela Paz in his Daily Tribune piece “Tugade’s transport triumphs” recalls the state of transport infrastructure under the administration of former President Noynoy Aquino and the fiascos that punctuated his term… We need not list a litany of the successive failures as they are deeply etched in the consciousness of the public, like festering…
The tangled web of the Philippine police and military which links the latter to criminal gangs and other lawless elements has long been whispered about specially in the provinces where it’s mostly an open secret. Friends who have close friends whose relatives are officers in the police and military establishments have informally confirmed these links….
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck the Philippines, “bayanihan” has been a mainstay of Filipino culture, especially in the provinces. As someone who spent my youth in the province, I am not surprised whenever the friendly neighbors come over to our place to offer some of their food during the fiesta or Noche Buena or…