Death’s practicalities

I think we all knew he would go anytime.  But when Renato Constantino — husband, father, grandfather, loved one – did go on September 15, his departure still came as a jolt.  Through the night he battled against a relentless heart attack, whose ferocity was neatly detailed by the indifferent machines monitoring his body.  At … Read more

The UP law deanship issue

I would usually hesitate to write a column on an issue in which I am a direct protagonist.  But I am setting aside such reluctance in order to counter disinformation being peddled on the recent appointment of Prof. Raul Pangalangan as dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law. This decision, in which … Read more

Things numinous

When my friend Pierre told me he was coming to visit but mainly to birdwatch, I thought he had flipped.  In the literal sense, he had.  His previous visits had been thoroughly political: to let us know what European solidarity groups were doing to support the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship.  He was active in … Read more