Multi-sectoral groups wave their banners in protest I haven't joined a rally since Edsa II. I was in college then, and I've since come to realize that there are more productive ways to expend time and energy if you really want to contribute to positive social change. Which is not to say that I don't see the value in protest actions, because I do. It's just that in the Philippines...

In 1986, twenty three years ago, a new republic was born from the womb of Edsa, fathered by the spirit of People Power. A new generation of Filipinos sprang that she hoped would lead the nation out of the morass of corruption and poverty bred during the dictatorial reign of Ferdinand Marcos. Finally, the people were free once again. Edsa became the symbol of a nation that...

Every incident of the abduction and trafficking of children which is rampant in South East Asia and in particular, the Philippines cause me to feel angry and more determined to do all I can together with the courageous Filipinos I work with. We can only eliminate the evil by writing, campaigning, and building awareness that will change public opinion and hopefully ignite national...

Fr. Joaquin Bernas, Former DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman, Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto "TG" Guingona III June 4, 2009 at the Ateneo de Manila University The Constitution has not been violated -- yet. According to Fr. Joaquin Bernas, Dean Emeritus of the Ateneo de Manila Law School and renowned constitutional expert, HR 1109 expresses the intent to "gang rape" the Constitution, but...

ANC viewers watching the interview of Metropolitan Trial Court Judge Jorge Emmanuel Lorredo by Willard Cheng aired live on the lunchtime news "Dateline" Wednesday last week were puzzled why it was abruptly cut. It was the part when Lorredo was warning about the return of martial law. Lorredo, by the way, is the judge that stirred public attention with his unusual May 4 order...

Andrew was a frail, malnourished 12 year-old kid when Willy, a 21 year-old pimp, told him last May 8 that "Doctor Daddy" was "in" and waiting for him. Andrew knew what he had to do. He went with Willy by bus to a pick-up point and then walked to a parked Silver Mazda with heavily tinted windows and got in. A short drive later, they were parked in the Amorsolo basement (translated...

The most important act of the President of the United States is the appointment of Supreme Court justices. And the reason is that once appointed to the High Court, a justice, like the President, can only be removed by impeachment by the House of Representative and conviction by the Senate. However, the big difference is that the President serves no more than two four-year terms...

"Meritocracy" is one of those much bandied terms of the 90s. Pretty much the way "servant leadership" is today's buzzword, a favorite among cliche-loving speechsters. I didn't understand meritocracy much then, and it took Malcolm Gladwell's latest book for me to wrap my head around it. Ironically, the book illustrates it by underplaying it. Gladwell asserts that merit alone...

Mario. Vargas. Llosa. For some strange reason that name conjured a vision of an extremely serious writer typing somber, tedious sagas spanning generations, replete with tumultuous political events and heartbreaking drama. How wrong I was. Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter is anything but serious. I should have been more observant and let the whimsical cover clue me in. Nothing...

Politicians (alongside development agencies and businesses) love their targets -and rightly so: How else do we measure sales, effectiveness, value for money or relevance to need? Targets work best in the area of aid, economics and commerce. But they also have a place in the military - at least, when measuring tangible things like hardware. During World War II for example,...

Ibig sabihin ng AWOL ay Absence without leave. Nag-absent ka sa trabaho na walang paalam. Sa military malaking kasalanan yan at iyon ay paglabag ng Articles of War 58 at 59. Oo nga naman. Biruin mo kung may giyera at biglang umalis ka ng walang paalam. Di maiwan ang mga kasama mo doon na makipaglaban sa kaaway.Court martial ang bagsak ng isang miyembro ng military na nag-AWOL....

This week, the hardest days in the life of Max, Kaloy and Buboy was poured out on the floor of the Preda center through a moving theatre drama entitled "Kahon", meaning "The Box". They were the lead players in a stunning performance before an astonished group of Swiss and Swedish students and researchers at Preda. They had come to study the amazing transformation in the lives...

In his paper on The 2010 Presidential Elections: Assessments and Analysis, A Year Ahead, political analyst Antonio Gatmaitan presented a traditional and uncontroversial overview of the political scene. Namely, that the contenders will be Joseph Estrada, Noli de Castro, Chiz Escudero, Loren Legarda, Kiko Pangilinan, Mar Roxas, Manny Villar, Jejomar Binay, Bayani Fernando,...

With President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's approval ratings plummeting like balls of fire into the Pacific Ocean, presidential wannabes are sprinting to the starting line of the 2010 presidential derby. Assuming that Gloria is not going to declare martial law -- which a lot of people say she might -- it's going to be rough and tumble politics in a crowded field. Election cheating...

Although I personally do not like boxing as a sport and could not gather enough enthusiasm to watch the Pacquiao-Hatton fight - or any other boxing event, for that matter, since the heavyweight title match between Floyd Patterson and Archie Moore in Chicago in 1957 (?) - I join the national euphoria over Pacquiao's victory and do congratulate him for a job well done. We are...