MANILA The so-called war on drugs here is finally showing everyone its futility and wrongness from the start. Society is finally being scandalized by the drug war’s brutality and ruthlessness. Citizens are finally realizing that it’s an unwinnable war with deplorable consequences. Giving the police carte blanche in pursuing the so-called war emboldened them so much, they don’t… Read More »
Good friend Ricky unilaterally declared the advent of Autumn, as soon as Labour Day (September 4) passed. I unilaterally approved his declaration. Early September, I have begun to feel lower joint pains when the mercury fell below seasonal. With several more days before summer officially ends (September 21) and before my wife even thinks of imposing marital law… Read More »
MANILA Positive survey findings in favor of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte continue to baffle observers. Who can blame those who can’t believe the news of Duterte getting high marks from people surveyed? With all the controversies swirling around him, the common observer can only scratch his head in confusion. I’ve written before that there’s a possible explanation for… Read More »
Only five years after the highly divisive impeachment trial of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona, the nation is again faced with the possibility of not just one, but three high-level government officials being impeached for alleged culpable violations of the Constitution. And this is not even counting the impeachment complaints against President Rodrigo Duterte that was dropped… Read More »
A day after Bulacan policemen killed 32 drug suspects in a single day, President Duterte commended them and told policemen all over the country to kill 32 more a day to reduce the country’s drug problem. “Yung namatay daw sa Bulacan, 32 in a massive raid. Maganda yun,” the President said. “Pumatay tayo another 32 everyday, maybe we can reduce… Read More »
“I’ll see you in September, when summer is gone …” So goes the first two lines of a song written by Sonny Curtis and made popular in the mid-60s by Gary Lewis and The Playboys. “See you in September. See you when the summer’s through …” Thus opens a similar set of words in a song written by… Read More »
Midsummer is here. When the mercury spikes up to levels that remind one that there is a sun, a midsummer night’s dream is likely of being where it is cooler. Never worry. In a few more weeks, some dreams will come true. ***** This reminds me of a friend’s granddaughter. She did not mind the summer heat and… Read More »
MANILA The notion of a Philippine independent foreign policy sounds like a good idea. But the problem with President Rodrigo Duterte’s idea is that the policy jumps from one giant ally-protector (the United States) to one or two new benefactors (China and Russia). Is that an independent foreign policy? Mr. Duterte seems to have an industrial-strength allergy toward… Read More »
What ever happened to “Never again to martial law”? A phrase opt-repeated in many rallies long after the Filipino people ousted the dictatorship of the late Ferdinand Marcos in what is now known as “People Power,” it seems “never again” has lost its luster in the face of the emergence of another strongman that doesn’t hesitate to say… Read More »
With the Supreme Court basically showing reluctance to review President Duterte’s martial law declaration and ceding its power to the President to determine the territorial scope of martial law, it now seems that the country’s slide to tyranny is coming to near certainty. Congress has earlier given up its power to review the bases for the martial law… Read More »