Sex, money and the Catholic Church

Misconduct involving sex and money is always hot material for media everywhere; more so when it involves persons of power and moral influence.  That is why politicians and priests are particularly favored subjects of reportage on sleaze.  It is not right to assume that the media attention is necessarily “politically-motivated” or “wellorchestrated”.   Nor should it … Read more

Politics in the age of TV

How shall we compare candidates: by their personal values or by their stand on issues?  This is the usual question that Americans ask in every election.  In the last US election, President Clinton appeared strong on issues, but was vulnerable on values.  Bob Dole, on the other hand, was oozing with values, but he seemed … Read more

UP: coping with perpetual penury

I have studied, taught, and lived in the University of the Philippines for the last 36 years, and I cannot remember a time when UP was not in bad need of money.  A book on UP’s first 75 years notes that the creation of the State University, first proposed in 1904, could not be realized … Read more

Globalization blues

At a conference on globalization held recently in France, someone in the audience asked me if Filipinos exported mushrooms too.  I had mentioned in my paper that our farmers were being prodded to shift to high-value crops like asparagus in order to survive the global competition.  I couldn’t tell him if we had begun to … Read more

The wallet test

The editors of the Reader’s Digest wanted to know what people from all over the world would do if they found a lost wallet.  They dropped 10 wallets, containing an address and a modest sum of money,  in every city they chose, and observed what the finders did with the wallets.  It was a clever … Read more

Split-level spirituality

A long time ago, the Jesuit psychologist Fr. Jaime Bulatao invented the curious term “split-level Christianity”.  Very simply, it meant the superimposition of imported Christian meanings upon native religious beliefs and practices. For example, scapulars replaced amulets.   Images of saints displaced the wooden gods in our ancestors’ homes.  Priests took the place of our local … Read more

Engineers who play god

At around this time last year, private contractors hired by the government were rushing the construction of the 2 billion-peso FVR megadike in Pampanga.  There was a passionate debate between scientists and government engineers on whether this was the best way of dealing with the persistent threat of lahar to people’s lives and property.  The … Read more

Burying the past

Our problem with the corpse of Marcos has less to do with the question of where to bury it, but with whether we can sustain the demonization of his legacy with the passage of time.  It is a problem because, 11 years after its overthrow, we have not validated the dark narratives of his dictatorship … Read more

Marilou’s “Milagros”

At the end of the premiere screening of Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s latest film at the UP Film Center recently, some viewers were ecstatic while others were quiet and respectful.  Those who liked it confessed that they could not immediately explain why they liked it.  Those who didn’t were disappointed over the film’s unclear point of view.  … Read more

One man’s duty and honor

My father died shortly before he was to turn 60.  Had he lived longer, he would be exactly 77 today.  I have often wondered how he would have lived in retirement.  He was a lawyer, and a very good one. He went back to law school as soon as the war ended.  Because the Ateneo … Read more