To say that an issue is more than just a legal issue is to say that it is not enough to argue the rightness of an action on the basis of what the law allows. The move to amend the constitution a few months before the 1998 elections is one example. Opponents of charter change … Read more
When hear the word “squatter”, the images that come to mind are those that have been formed over the years by mindless movie and television scripts, ignorant government reports, and shallow social science. These accounts tell us of a strange migratory breed of people, who multiply like rabbits and lead dissolute lives, who have no … Read more
I had to go on a one-day return trip to Cebu last Friday to fulfill a commitment to the Sentro ng Wikang Filipino of the University of the Philippines (UP). I left my house in UP at 7 a.m. and made it to the domestic airport at 9. Not bad at all, I was told. … Read more
Before me is a copy of “Primed for Life: Writings on Midlife by 18 Men”, edited by Lorna Kalaw-Tirol and published by Anvil. I think one has to be of a certain disposition to appreciate the courage that went into the writing of each one of these fascinating contributions. At midlife, the best of one’s … Read more
In a globalized world, what will happen to national identity? Will it continue to have moral and political relevance in the lives of people? Globalization compresses time and space. It creates a reality far too elusive for any single nation-state to manage. In such a setting, the national identity that the sovereign state zealously promotes … Read more