In a previous column written after the 2016 presidential election, I interpreted the rise of Rodrigo Duterte to the presidency as the “revolt of the periphery.” The avalanche of Mindanao votes for the maverick former Davao City mayor, I thought, was emblematic of the strong reaction to an “imperial Manila” and everything else that that … Read more
A weapon is an object that is used to inflict harm or injury on a person or a group. To “weaponize” is to transform or convert something into an instrument of attack. The implication is that something is deployed in a manner not normally expected. And this, precisely, is what lends “weaponization” its insidious character. … Read more
As a sociologist who has spent decades observing the various types of communities and social groups we humans create, closely noting how these societies sustain and renew themselves over time, or in some instances — how they fail and fade away, I have come to the realization that nothing that I know about the nature … Read more
In a barangay in Quezon City a few days ago, a group of young men vented their anger over the sudden stoppage of the water supply in their neighborhood by attacking the two fire hydrants in their street. No one dared to stop them. They pounded the concrete base of the hydrants until they hit … Read more
On Sundays and public holidays, the University of the Philippines Diliman campus closes its inner streets to motor vehicle traffic, thus instantly transforming the entire tree-lined academic oval into a vast public green park. Bordered by busy Katipunan (C.P. Garcia Avenue) and Commonwealth Avenue, the UP campus in Quezon City is probably the only remaining … Read more
Last Tuesday, Feb. 26, I had the unusual privilege of accepting the Ka Pepe Diokno Award on behalf of my brother, Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio S. David. Unusual, because he had previously confirmed his attendance at this important event. I meant to be there, but only as a guest. We were together just the day … Read more
The Edsa regime refers to the political order that was founded soon after the overthrow of the dictatorial regime of Ferdinand Marcos. Its legal framework is laid down in the 1987 Constitution crafted under the post-Edsa government of President Corazon Aquino. This founding document incorporates the political values and principles that grew out of the … Read more
What makes the law in a modern society a trustworthy arbiter of what is right and what is wrong is the consistency of its application and procedures. This is what guarantees the attainment of its basic societal function — the stabilization of normative expectations. Without normative stability, contracts will have no binding effect outside the … Read more
Ignorance is bliss until the outcome of benign neglect, its twin, begins to hit us in the most unexpected way. Then we start blaming everyone for not anticipating the problem. Everyone except ourselves. Ecological problems are of this nature. We barely see our own responsibility for the mess we have collectively created. The gigantic septic … Read more
If our legislators did not have pork to spend, many of them would not know what to do with their time in Congress. They see themselves primarily as dispensers of public funds, oblivious of the law that regards this as chiefly an executive function. They are annoyed when asked about bills they have proposed or … Read more