Over supper a couple of weeks ago, our youngest daughter, Jika, announced that the next day was going to be her last exam day – not just for the current semester but for her entire life as a university student. “That means you would soon be graduating?” I asked, pretending not to know. “Yup,” she … Read more
We rejoice in the return to their families of the soldiers and policemen taken as captives by forces affiliated with the National Democratic Front (NDF). We salute the individuals who intervened at a most crucial moment to negotiate their release. We commend the NDF for agreeing to the release, just as we commend the government … Read more
The Manila Times is one of the few newspapers I buy. I genuinely appreciate the sobriety of its editorials and the reliability of its reports. I also have a tremendous respect for the young men and women who used to run it — professional journalists who try very hard to resist the tide of “envelopmental” … Read more
There was an unusual number of youths marching to their own Calvaries this Good Friday, hypnotically whipping themselves or perversely being beaten up by their companions — perhaps in payment for past sins, or in fulfillment of a vow, or to mark the start of a new life. Scanning their resigned faces, I tried to … Read more