One of the things that have baffled me about the rise to the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte — apart from the phenomenal way he broke into the national stage of Philippine politics straight from the periphery — is the astounding level of popularity he seems to enjoy among Filipinos overseas, particularly the OFWs. As a … Read more
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo is invoking national sovereignty to protest “foreign interference” in the country’s judicial processes. This nationalism, a sentiment that is swiftly awakened in response to criticisms from the United States and Western Europe, stays dormant otherwise, where nowadays it matters more—in our relationship with China. What provoked Panelo’s latest patriotic fulmination is … Read more
This week, we mark the 47th anniversary of Ferdinand Marcos’ declaration of martial law. It is incredible to think how long ago that was. Our eldest son, CP, who turns 50 next year, was barely 2 years old. I doubt if he remembers anything of that fateful day in September 1972. A phone call from … Read more
Reporting on what transpired during the dialogue between President Duterte and China’s President Xi Jinping in Beijing last Thursday, Aug. 29, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo gave a hyperbolic account of the encounter: “The President unequivocally, assertively, but [in a] friendly [manner], asserted the arbitral ruling… He [Mr. Duterte] said that the arbitral award is final, … Read more
With rapid economic prosperity has come the epidemic of online gambling addiction that defies national borders. Recently, a spokesperson from the Chinese foreign ministry described this malady as “the most dangerous tumor in modern society.” China has appealed to two of its trusted allies in the Asean — Cambodia under Hun Sen and the Philippines … Read more
Former police chief and now Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa complains about what he calls an “imbalance” supposedly existing in state universities like the University of the Philippines and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. The imbalance, he declares, favors the recruitment of students for revolutionary roles in the communist movement over professional careers in … Read more
I can still remember with clarity the day we lost our radio set to a burglar. It was as though a window to the larger world had been abruptly shuttered. This was in the 1950s, when television was very new — so new that a TV set and its ubiquitous outdoor antenna were the prime … Read more
Conventional thinking has it that the approval rating of a sitting president is a function of his/her performance in office. Performance is typically understood in terms of how well the leader meets the people’s expectations of his rule. The latter is largely a matter of perception, however, rather than of objective measurement of outcomes according … Read more
Basking in the glory of his record-breaking high approval ratings in the latest opinion surveys, President Duterte began his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona) by highlighting the minuscule 3 percent that disapprove of his performance. But it is not really the numbers that matter, he added, trying hard not to gloat. It is … Read more
When the series of videos titled “Ang Totoong Narcolist” were first released on social media in April this year, the initial response of the Philippine National Police was neither here nor there. They were obviously caught flat-footed, as surprised as everyone else by the sudden appearance of these shocking videos, which purported to expose the … Read more