While we have stayed indoors, the coronavirus pandemic has been transforming the landscape of our shared spaces in ways we never expected. Nowhere is this more palpable than in our roads. Road traffic everywhere has its distinct pace, rhythm, and rules. No one knows this better than the tourist who must navigate the streets of … Read more
It is strange that the idea of a RevGov (revolutionary government) has resurfaced on the day set aside for the remembrance of the August 21st murder of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino 37 years ago. This uncanny coincidence brings back unpleasant memories of a period when our country seemed destined to become Asia’s banana republic—violent, unstable, the … Read more
This Monday, President Duterte is expected to announce adjustments in the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the absence of a unified and coherent official communication system, it has been difficult to comprehend the logic of this response. We are drowning in an alphabet soup of assorted abbreviations whose precise meanings remain unclear. The … Read more
On Feb. 17 this year, I taped an hour-long interview with Dr. Edsel Salvaña, director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of the UP National Institutes of Health in Manila. Dr. Salvaña was among the first Filipino infectious disease experts to closely follow developments surrounding the novel coronavirus outbreak first detected in Wuhan, … Read more
President Duterte said so himself: In the absence of a vaccine, it is futile to offer a roadmap to recovery from the massive damage wrought by COVID-19. In his State of the Nation Address last Monday, he went off-script to announce that he had made a plea to China’s leader Xi Jinping “that if they … Read more