“Few in the conclave that elected Pius VII could have anticipated the severity of the struggle that awaited the pope and the Church in the coming decades, for the new Vicar of Christ spent the next 15 years in battle with the dictator openly cursed as an Antichrist and an enemy of civilization: Napoleon Bonaparte.” – The Pope… Read More »
Happy New Year! This is the greeting that we give to our family and friends this time of year. We look forward to a bright future. But recently I utter this goodwill hopes with trepidation. Will it be a happy new year? The year 2015 left us a deal to worry and be scared about. There were the… Read More »
As we are writing this, the Commission on Elections, sitting en banc, had just deferred its decision on the disqualification case against presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe. The six poll commissioners, including Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista, were expected to deliberate again and make a decision the next day, Tuesday. We really can’t understand why the commissioners had… Read More »
Unlike other presidential candidates, with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, you either like him or you don’t. There is not much gray area. It’s black or white, day or night. He is either the strong leader in the mold of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew who will reform the country the tough way, or the dangerous dictator who could… Read More »
Politicians here are a smart breed. They can rationalize anything under the sun. Look at the people running for the two highest offices of the land in the national elections on May 2016. Under normal circumstances the pairings would be seen as either ludicrous, impossible or plain silly. Under normal circumstances, the players themselves wouldn’t team up… Read More »
Known as the City of Lights, Paris loves its nights. On Friday, tens of thousands of Parisians were out to enjoy the night – watching a friendly soccer game between Germany and France at the Stade de France, listening to an American band at the Bataclan concert hall, drinking their favorite cocktail at the La Belle Equipe Bar… Read More »
The Senate Electoral Tribunal here, stacked with more senators than justices, ruled that presidential candidate Grace Poe is a natural-born Filipino. A newspaper headline said Poe “jumped for joy” when she heard the news of the SET decision. When she lands back on earth, she should be scared, very scared. Several petitioners have questioned Poe’s citizenship status… Read More »
CHICAGO (JGL) – The Friday the 13th attacks in Paris that left 129 people dead were so shocking they overshadowed the Philippine Western Sea (South China Sea) issue in Manila’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)Summit in progress on the other side of the world. But if there was any message sent by the attackers, it was the possibility of reinstituting the… Read More »
Last Sunday, I attended a concert presented by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines-USA chapter to commemorate the sixth year of the Maguindanao massacre and to raise funds for the education of the orphans of the 32 media men who were among 58 people killed in that brutal tragedy in 2009. Exactly six years have passed… Read More »
Last Friday, I took time out to register as an overseas voter at the Philippine consulate general in Los Angeles. Now, I can look forward to actually making my choice count for president, vice president and the 12 senators who will run the country for the next six years. If you bring with you the completed application form… Read More »