I started riding a motorcycle in the mid-1960s after my maternal grandfather gave me a second-hand Ducati 160cc Junior Monza as a graduation gift. He said he couldn’t afford the VW Beetle that I had wished for, so would I settle for a motorcycle? I knew nothing about motorcycles, much less about the venerable name … Read more
My mother would have turned 85 last week. Instead of visiting her grave at Himlayang Pilipino, where she lies buried beside my father’s bones, I chose to go home to Betis, where she cared and cooked for a husband and thirteen children. When she died in 2000, we restored our house as a tribute to … Read more
The recent expose of the distribution of cash bundles in the presidential palace at the end of a day-long meeting with legislators and local government executives casts new light on the evolving nature of Philippine politics. In the early years of the nation’s politics, the top officials of the land commanded enough awe and respect … Read more
What has drawn sustained public attention to the recent distribution of cash gifts to congressmen and local executives is not so much that unaccounted money was given to politicians, but that it was done on such a scandalous scale and right in the presidential palace itself. No one believes this can happen without the knowledge … Read more
The basic task of social analysis is to interpret what is happening to a society, not to agree or disagree with the actions taken by people. Only if we keep this distinction in mind is it possible to observe ourselves as a people, and to see the various ways by which we judge events. Let … Read more