MANILA In 1997, I came back home to the Philippines from the United States after 27 years. I sort of knew then that sooner or later, our country would be in trouble. And so it is. The writings on the wall were all there. Forebodings of economic and political collapse were there. Our leaders had been unable to… Read More »

MANILA Some people here are hoping for karma. Others are looking for an extrajudicial intervention. Some pray for intervention from an even higher authority. The Filipino people are experiencing trauma. Today’s generation hasn’t experienced anything like it before, even if you count in Ferdinand Marcos’ martial law. That’s because today’s younger generation wasn’t around when Marcos imposed his… Read More »

MANILA “China will not allow you to be taken down from office….and will not let your country go to the dogs.” There goes President Rodrigo Duterte again. Is that one of his yarns that he himself tells us he throws at us every now and then? I don’t know whether the President does it for his amusement or… Read More »

MANILA Only the dullest observer would still be thinking Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was being honest when he promised to solve the country’s drug and crime problems, annihilate the state’s ideological enemies, and ride a jetski to the Spratly Islands to spite China, all in three months, during the 2016 election. He said all of those just to… Read More »

MANILA Where does President Rodrigo Duterte’s penchant to pick a fight come from? One of these days his temper will get him in real trouble. Before leaving for China recentlu Mr. Duterte threw a temper tantrum at Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. The latter had asked why the solicitor general himself had filed a quo warranto petition at… Read More »

MANILA The quietude of this past Holy Week here made the mind wander, searching for something to think, muse and wonder about. It’s amazing how the mind can go places. A blank stare can produce images and remembrances of the many crossroads in one’s life, people who’ve crossed one’s path, here and in distant places. Remembered scenes are… Read More »

MANILA Who would have thought the B movie “The “Purge” could ever become a reality anywhere in the world? Actually, it’s what’s happening here in the Philippines. Life does imitate art. There was a movie (and a sequel) that depicts an annual night of cleansing society of “undesirables” by killing people in a span of one night. The… Read More »

  MANILA It was only a matter of time before President Rodrigo Duterte’s pugnacious ways and dictatorial bent would eventually make him a global pariah. And now word comes from Daniel Coats, head of US Intelligence, that Duterte is a “threat to democracy in Southeast Asia.” So, are Messrs. Trump and Duterte still friends? From the start of… Read More »

  MANILA Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte endears himself to our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) when he warns other countries, particularly Kuwait this time, to not abuse Filipinos working there. He deserve kudos for that. But it’s not enough. During another presidency, the then incumbent proudly declared that Filipino domestic staff should be trained to be “super maids” before… Read More »

  MANILA The Pope has spoken. Fake news is “satanic.” Fake news has taken the world by storm. It’s the rage among world leaders who crave to be tyrants. Fake news and blatant lying have become destructive weapons of cowardly leaders. They abuse their power by intimidating their own people through abominable language and macho posturing. Why do… Read More »