Described by the great President Abraham Lincoln as “a nation conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,” the United States of America is now being transformed by one man into a nation guided by bigotry and injustice. In just one week, the image crafted by the country’s fathers and strengthened by… Read More »
Filipinos in America are in a unique situation where in a span of six months, they are faced with having to contend with two of the most controversial and contentious national leaders to emerge in recent history, both in the homeland and in their adopted land. Having had to face uncertainty in their homeland with the vague domestic… Read More »
A feeling of uncertainty has deepened in the Philippines as coup rumors and martial law talk ushered in the New Year. Both talks about the possibility of destabilization moves and a coup attempt and speculations about the possible declaration of martial law were started by President Duterte himself and his allies. As early as two months ago, the… Read More »
I just came from a brief trip to the Philippines with my wife to be with her mother on the latter’s 89th birthday, and like most who have recently been to the homeland, the horrendous traffic marred an otherwise eventful visit. A trip from a western point in Manila and Quezon City to the Makati Financial District would… Read More »
They call themselves “Honorable” and want to be addressed your honor at the end of every statement. And yet for seven agonizing hours, the congressmen at the hearing of the Committee on Justice showed the nation why bloggers have called their place of work the “Bastusang Pambansa” because that’s what they did last Thursday – to embarrass the… Read More »
Seven years since 58 people, including 32 journalists, were slaughtered in what has been infamously called “Ampatuan Massacre” or “Maguindanao Massacre,” not one of the 197 accused have been found guilty. Four of the accused have since died, including the suspected mastermind, then Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. Of the 193 remaining accused, including 28 bearing the name… Read More »
The killing of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa was so brazen, and the excuse given by the police officers for the slaying so ridiculous, there is absolutely no reason for government authorities not to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation of the incident. Why was Espinosa suddenly so brave and reckless to shoot at lawmen when just a few… Read More »
Stripped of immunity and entitlements, former President Benigno S. Aquino III and former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad Jr. have finally been criminally charged for their roles in the notorious Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) which the Supreme Court had declared as unconstitutional and illegal in 2014. Ten militant groups charged Aquino and Abad with technical malversation of public funds,… Read More »
In the first few days of his presidency, President Duterte gained favorable response from the business community after his announcements that he would give emphasis to infrastructure development and making transactions easy for businessmen. With just a few hundreds killed in Duterte’s drug war, they were willing to look the other way. But as the death toll from… Read More »
I’m pretty sure Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. has been having some sleepless nights since he assumed office in July. He has the unenviable position of having to explain and clarify most of President Duterte’s remarks involving foreign policy, specifically those pertaining to the Philippines’ longtime ally United States. And they’re not few. Yasay had to rush to… Read More »