Here is a cynical view of the country’s political system: Electoral fraud is an integral part of Filipino politics. Every politician knows that cheating occurs in every election and is factored in the overall calculation of a candidate’s chances. Paying homage to the law is an obligatory ritual in our political culture, but it is … Read more
No word perhaps has been more maligned in the vocabulary of politics than “pragmatism.” It connotes lack of scruples, ruthlessness, and even immorality. Pragmatic persons are thought of as those who will use any means available, no matter how dishonest, to achieve an end. In its philosophical sense, however, pragmatism simply refers to a way … Read more
The “great debate” on charter change has hardly begun, yet the country is riveted once again on the sordid affair of the “Garci Tapes.” For two weeks following Ms Arroyo’s State of the Nation Address, the media stopped talking about the Garcillano conversations. Public discourse shifted to the parliamentary and federal forms of government and … Read more
We tend to think of change as something to achieve rather than as something to recognize. We talk of effecting changes in our value system or in the structure of our society – little suspecting that the seeds of such changes have already been sown. It is my contention here that the continuing crisis in … Read more