Just like all mid-term elections, the coming May elections should be treated as a referendum on whether the people approve of the performance and policies of the present administration and whether they want the same policies to continue in the next three years. With the death of the two-party system and the emergence of patronage-based political coalitions since… Read More »
January’s polar vortex (whatever the rocket science is) invasion sent many Canadians and their southern neighbors chilling to the bones, as they sought refuge from the icy Artic blasts, heaping thicker bundles of clothing over their bodies if they can’t keep out of the elements. Hot and warm are cool and chill words that resound whenever this weather… Read More »
Finally, a different tone is emerging from the Department of Foreign Affairs on China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea. On Saturday, Foreign Secretary Teddy Boy Locsin said the Philippines must protest China’s establishment of a maritime rescue center on the contested Kagitingan Reef in the Spratly Islands. Locsin, just recently the country’s ambassador to the United… Read More »
I was hoping that with the coming of the Chinese Lunar Year of the Earth Pig on February 5, I would be kicking off this column with that figurative celebratory blast, through a pompous display of imaginary firecrackers. What else to start this column on a cheerful note? It’s the Day of Hearts and Love on February 14!… Read More »
It seems there is no limit to what the Duterte administration would do to show to its followers that it is serious in making good his promise to combat illegal drugs, crime, and corruption. After sending thousands of mostly young and poor Filipinos to their graves in its bloody and brutal drug war, the administration now wants to… Read More »
O It’s simply incomprehensible why a country that’s exporting workers in the millions would open its doors to foreign workers in jobs that Filipinos could easily fill. It’s like importing mangos when you are one of the world’s biggest producers of that fruit. So we ask: Why is the Philippines opening up its labor market to foreign workers,… Read More »
American writer Max Ehrmann’s famous prose-poem Desiderata (1927) states with finality: And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.… Read More »
Widower Impong Tasyo (IT for short) is very fascinated with his techno gizmo, the latest cellular phone-camera-recorder (CPCR) he got as a gift from his son during his 71st birth anniversary a few weeks ago. Quivering fingers that insisted on moving elsewhere after his mind has coaxed it to press either a green or red icon never deterred… Read More »
In an obviously knee-jerk reaction to another case involving the smuggling of billions of pesos worth of shabu through the Bureau of Customs, President Duterte ordered last week the placement of the corrupt agency under military control. Fuming mad over the recently discovered P11-billion shabu shipment that escaped the scrutiny of Customs personnel, Duterte also placed the entire… Read More »
In praying for the dead, the injured and the families of victims in last week’s Pittsburgh synagogue shooting that resulted in the death of eight men and three women and injuries to six other persons, Pope Francis denounced the “inhuman act of violence” and prayed for an end to the “flames of hatred” that fueled it. The… Read More »