In the end, four days of spirited debate on how the canvassing of the votes for the president and vice president should proceed netted almost nothing for the minority in Congress. Despite the rationality of their proposals, its members had no choice but to submit to the law of agreement enshrined in parliamentary practice. Outnumbered, … Read more
Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born Roman Catholic widow of India’s late prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated in 1991, worked for six years to revive the Congress Party. This was the party her husband’s grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, led when he emerged as the first prime minister of an independent India; the same party that made … Read more
If a stranger came to your house at the end of election day to do an exit poll, what are the chances that you would reveal to this person how you voted? The Social Weather Stations said that 8% of its exit poll respondents gave no answer when asked who their choice for president was. … Read more
Tomorrow, May 10, we vote for people who, we hope, will lead our nation to a better future. Many remain undecided because while their instincts incline them toward certain candidates, their conscience and/or intellect compel them to override their intuitions. There is nothing extraordinary in this. We often start with a basic attraction or dislike … Read more
The demand of responsible voters to know the platforms of the presidential candidates is quite tragic, if not amusing. Political platforms go hand in hand with political parties; they make no sense if there are no parties to carry them out. With the exception of a few party-list groups, political parties became totally irrelevant in … Read more
If the recent surveys are saying anything, it is that Filipino voters are rudely awakening to the pressing need for stability in our national life. This strong conservative impulse is born of a sense of uncertainty and uneasiness in a troubled world. It is driving voters to support the incumbent president, who, under different circumstances, … Read more
I’ve often been asked what I think of the candidacy of Brother Eddie Villanueva, the founding leader of the Jesus is Lord movement. My quick answer to this question is: Nothing in our Constitution prevents a person of God from running for public office or from being appointed to one. His fitness or suitability for … Read more
It is significant that Lent this year comes before a major election in our country. The current campaign gives us a chance to reflect on the roots of our most persistent problems, while the coming of a new government after May brings with it the expectation of release from these problems. The association between Christ’s … Read more
I am writing this column from a terrace facing the sea in Basco while waiting for the return flight to Manila. Behind me are wind-swept mountains rising majestically from the sea, rolling hills and verdant valleys dotted with grazing animals, and ribbons of roads without vehicles. A few days ago, I told my wife Karina, … Read more
The sad thing about the coming presidential elections is not that the leading candidates have refused to debate. The real tragedy is that concrete issues that should be debated are treated as non-negotiable and not part of the agenda of national discourse. A consensus of acquiescence appears to define every discussion of those very conditions … Read more