Randy David | PUBLIC LIVES Running for public office in our society has become so costly that elections are losing their relevance. Instead of serving as the means for tracking changes in the public pulse, injecting new blood, and strengthening the legitimacy of government, our elections only perpetuate feudal hierarchies and promote political instability. The new forces of modernity are … Read more
Soldiers erecting checkpoints, entering communities, and rounding up and interrogating residents in various parts of the country have become so commonplace in Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s regime that we take for granted their lawfulness. Do soldiers have a right to do these things? Not being a lawyer, I can only ask questions. The construction of the 1987 … Read more
One of the most compelling public affairs programs on Philippine television today is GMA-7’s “I-Witness,” a show featuring documentaries made by the station’s young reporters. Every week, a different host gets to write the script, go on location shoots, and present the show. My daughter, Kara, is fortunate to be one of the regular hosts. … Read more
The latest name in this growing list is that of Farly Alcantara II, 22, a graduating student of the Camarines Norte State College in the capital town of Daet. Farly was the former spokesperson of the League of Filipino Students (LFS) in Camarines Norte. A lone gunman shot him five times with a .45 caliber … Read more
When Lito Lapid, a k a Leon Guerrero, was campaigning for governor of Pampanga, he got stuck somewhere and could not attend an important rally in another town. The people had lined up the streets waiting for him all morning, but he could not be there. So he sent his horse instead. It was a … Read more
If anyone had suggested in July 2005 that the correct response to the political crisis spawned by the Garci Tapes would be to wait for the 2007 midterm elections, that person would have been denounced as an agent of Malacanang. Half of the members of the Arroyo Cabinet resigned that month, calling on the president … Read more
The current debate on the propriety of so-called “political dynasties” in a democracy is quite interesting. While focused on the prospective senatorial candidacies of Alan Peter Cayetano, J. V. Ejercito, and Aquilino Pimentel III — who all have close kin in the present Senate – the issue is bound to affect many others at different … Read more
People pursue public office for a variety of reasons. For some, politics is just another livelihood. For others, it is the best way to protect the wealth of their families. A rare few enter the political arena because they like the feeling of holding in their hands “a nerve fiber of historically important events.” In … Read more
If you were an Iraqi today who cares deeply for his country, what would you do? Your country, previously one of the most modern in the Arab world, has been reduced to rubble. A weak government, installed by the United States, desperately tries to enforce order in a society wracked by sectarian violence and an … Read more
I was one of those who opposed the Visiting Forces Agreement when it was being negotiated during the final months of the Ramos presidency. I was convinced that the country did not need it; we faced no external threat. I also felt vaguely that it was not the right time to invite US troops back … Read more