From crisis to crisis

Since June 6, when Press Secretary and concurrent Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye first bared the existence of the “Garci tapes,” the President has had many occasions to say something about these tapes. Speaking through Sec. Bunye, she said she would “not dignify” them because their source is patently illegal. A few days later, she told … Read more

Interpreting conversations

People have wondered why the public is not reacting with outrage to the scandal of the “Garci tapes”. Is there “people power fatigue”? Maybe.  But, how many people have listened to these tapes?  How many have tried to understand them?  And why should we expect the simple recognition of the voice of the President in … Read more

“Hello Garci? Hello Ma’am”

This is how the conversation between the principal and her agent typically begins.  She speaks in a low and measured tone, usually to bring up a problem, or to suggest a course of action.  Most of the time, he, in an exquisitely fawning way, assures her that the problem is being attended and that he … Read more

The work of learning

I was happy to receive recently the assessment report on a new General Education (G.E.) course that I helped design.  The course, “Sociology 10: On Being Filipino, A Sociological Exploration,” has become one of the most popular courses in the G.E. social science cluster in the University of the Philippines Diliman campus.  Students consistently rated … Read more