The mass media devoted considerable attention to the recent filing by obscure individuals of their certificates of candidacy for the presidency. The news accounts mocked their improbable claims and outlandish statements and provided the public all the reasons to label them nuisance candidates. Though the form used was one of dismissive derision, such reportage is … Read more
Considering how almost every major event in our nation’s political life since 1972 has led to more problems, we may wonder why we hope that another presidential election might produce anything different. The answer lies, I think, in our people’s inexhaustible faith in new beginnings. It is our most important source of strength. We may … Read more
It must have been one of the many spokespersons of the President. Someone from Malacanang recently made a point of saying that Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is president in “the real world.” The remark was clearly meant to draw a sharp contrast between GMA, a “real” president, and FPJ, an aspirant from the imaginary world of … Read more
She used to say she was Bubbles, the gentlest of the Power Puff girls. Before that she was Po, the sweetest of the Teletubbies. These days she is Piglet, the smallest and wisest of Winnie the Pooh’s friends. To Kara, her mother, she is no one else but Julia. But to me, she will always … Read more
Considering that almost all the past presidents of this country have been chosen by, and have served, mainly the elites and the middle classes, a yearning by the poor to change the rules of the game would not be unreasonable or farfetched. Those of us who do not suffer from material deprivation should be thankful … Read more
Considering that almost all the past presidents of this country have been chosen by, and have served, mainly the elites and the middle classes, a yearning by the poor to change the rules of the game would not be unreasonable or farfetched. Those of us who do not suffer from material deprivation should be thankful … Read more
Britain is part of Europe but it is not European. It is closer to America, not alone in language, but in the partnership it has forged with its former colony in a world that is increasingly anti-American. George W. Bush Jr. was in London this week not just to visit the Queen, but also to … Read more
On Ayala Avenue this week, the nation was treated to a dress rehearsal for Edsa IV. Thousands of Metro Manila’s urban poor descended upon the city’s most affluent section demanding the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and of Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. Many brought their children and cooking utensils with them, … Read more
Early in her presidency, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo called the Philippines “a deeply divided society.” It is a forceful statement, and I agree with it. But I am not sure how the president precisely meant it, and what policy direction, if any, it was intended to signify. She could have been referring to the major fault … Read more
The old man had dared to stand up to the bosses of political gangland. Now he is being taught a lesson by the young heirs of those who have always imagined themselves to be the real lords of this little corner of the world. The “elected” representatives of the people will not brook any display … Read more