More than a year since super typhoon Yolanda brought death, destruction and deprivation to Leyte and other provinces in Eastern Visayas, nobody still knows for sure how many died, the destruction remains very visible, and the victims continue to be deprived of food, shelter and jobs. And all because more than a year since the world’s strongest recorded… Read More »
The death last Saturday – the day millions of people in some countries remember their dead — of Brittany Maynard, who chose to end her life at the young age of 29 rather than suffer while waiting for the inevitable, reignited the dormant debate over the right to die with dignity. “Goodbye to all my dear friends and… Read More »
I have just finished sharing the Remembrance Day Celebration in Ottawa via television. It was a very emotional celebration—–warm, poignant and solemn. The prime minister and his wife were there, the governor general and his wife, Princess Royal Anne, the lady who was chosen to represent all Canadian mothers, the top heads of the different branches of the… Read More »
Frankly, it’s surprising how ineffective the camp of Vice President Jojo Binay has been in handling the corruption crisis that’s smothering him. It’s so evident that the bombshell exploded by former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado took the Binay camp by surprise. Mercado was already all over the place before Binay’s fire brigade came to the scene. If… Read More »
With the damning allegations hurled against Vice President Jejomar Binay in the past few weeks, one would think, as one columnist said, the former human rights lawyer and Makati mayor “can kiss his presidential bid goodbye.” I wish it were that simple because the country badly needs a president who is beyond reproach, but recent history tells us… Read More »
CHICAGO (JGL) – If Filipinos would like to force the hands of Presidents Barack Obama and Noynoy Aquino to change the terms of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) as a result of the alleged murder of a Filipino Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude in the hands of a United States Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, they have to… Read More »
The problem of trafficking of Filipinos in the United States came to the fore again last week when 25 teachers who were victimized by unscrupulous recruiters went to the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. to again air their grievance and seek the help of Ambassador Jose Cuisia Jr. for a resolution of their case. The ambassador assured them… Read More »
CHICAGO (JGL) – It was an unseasonably warm morning of February 4, 1985 when Tim M. Olivarez, correspondent of Tempo, a sister publication of Manila Bulletin, accompanied me in covering a murder case in Bulacan. On our way back to the Bulletin, Tim told me that he was going to see a smuggling lord, Jose “Don Pepe” Oyson,… Read More »
Good news appeared to have emerged from the Bali Democratic Forum in Indonesia where President Aquino was reported to have abandoned any possibility of staying beyond his six-year term that ends in 2016. “Aquino abandons term extension bid,” said the banner story of Manila Bulletin last week. I read into the news but nowhere did I find a… Read More »
Once again an American soldier is in the eye of a stormy controversy for allegedly killing a Filipino in Olongapo City. We Filipinos are rightfully outraged. The killer must pay for the crime. The main speculation is that Jennifer Laude, a transgender, was murdered when her killer found out her real gender and, apparently feeling duped, killed her… Read More »