Just when the Philippines was beginning to join Asia’s emerging economies and was well on its way to becoming one of the fastest growing economies in the region, the Duterte administration has opted to rock the boat and insist on amending the 1987 Constitution to pave the way for a federal form of government, the path to which… Read More »
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 »
On July 2, the Globe and Mail published an interview titled “Conservative status of women critic Rachael Harder challenges Liberal version of feminism,” and the 31-year-old Lethbridge MP pulled no punches in her conversation with parliamentary reporter Laura Stone. Harder, who was blocked by Liberal and NDP members of the House of Commons committee on the status of… Read More »
The likes of Impong Tasyo will always be a booming voice to reckon with anywhere, especially at a mall’s reconfigured square tables where seniors mill, with a small cup of coffee and a muffin to while away the hours. Always abuzz like a wasp about to sting, Impong Tasyo seizes every intervening second of silence to get himself… Read More »
President Duterte loves talking tough. Although he has rejected being called a “strongman” by Time Magazine, he talks and acts like a “strongman.” And he most certainly loves being seen as tough and strong. And so when he ordered a crackdown on “tambays” or street loiterers, nobody was surprised when he talked tough again, as he did when… Read More »
The big story coming out of the G7 summit seems to be that other world leaders who are there to represent their own nations’ interests are shocked and appalled that President Trump seems to think he’s there to represent America’s interests. Here’s a round-up of what’s going on there, which should give you an idea of why Trump… Read More »
Listen to what President Duterte had to say when he fired Government Corporate Counsel Rudolph Philip Jurado last week for allegedly granting a gambling franchise to the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport (Apeco): “May I call the government corporate counsel are you in this, andito ka (are you here)? Kasi kung andito ka lumabas ka p********. You… Read More »
As the nation marked the 120th anniversary of the declaration of Philippine independence, many Filipinos are beginning to question if the country can really call itself independent 120 years after General Emilio Aguinaldo declared the Philippines free from Spain and almost 72 years since the United States granted us our freedom. For one, Filipino fishermen are realizing that… 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 »
President Duterte probably thinks all Filipinos are simpletons. He oversimplifies his defense of his policy of appeasement with China and thinks Filipinos are so gullible they would accept it hook, line and sinker. He says he did not want to confront China on its transgressions on Philippine territory and sovereignty because he didn’t want to antagonize our powerful… Read More »