Randy David | PUBLIC LIVES As I write this, 115 Filipinos working in war-torn Gaza are waiting at the Rafah border for permission to cross into Egypt—and from there to fly back safely to the Philippines. Those married to Palestinians must go without their spouses because neither Israel nor Egypt, which controls this border crossing, would allow Palestinians to leave … Read more
Three weeks have quickly passed since commandos of the Palestinian extremist group Hamas raided Israel’s border communities and launched what amounts to a coordinated killing rampage. Most of the 1,400 victims were innocent civilians—children, women, and the elderly. They also included young people who had just attended a nearby music festival. As the bonnet-hooded militants … Read more
It is safe to say that much of the world sympathizes with the State of Israel’s right to defend its existence. But Israel cannot hope to continue enjoying that sympathy if, in its fight for survival, it resorts to the same genocidal atrocities that it condemns in its enemies. Moreover, as recent events have shown, … Read more
At a meeting in Malacañang last Thursday, the murderous attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israeli communities a week ago was on the agenda. The first concern was to ascertain if any Filipinos were killed or injured, and whether they needed to be evacuated. The second item was to determine how this massive … Read more
Last Thursday, Oct. 5, a short video clip posted on X, formerly Twitter, went viral. The video shows a police officer stopping traffic along busy Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, purportedly to let a VIP convoy freely cross the wide avenue. Within a short span of time, the video had been reposted and uploaded on … Read more
CIFs or “confidential and intelligence funds” are all over the news, and we are becoming aware of the creative ways by which public officials spend taxpayers’ money. Less known is a 2012 Commission on Audit (COA) circular that was expressly crafted to define, disallow, and prevent what it calls “irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant, and unconscionable” … Read more
When young activists Jonila Castro, 21, and Jhed Tamano, 22, who were reportedly abducted on the night of Sept. 2, were presented at a press conference by the military and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Conflict (NTF-Elcac), I felt great relief at merely knowing that the girls were alive. Had they said … Read more
The other day, I was briskly walking toward an automated teller machine (ATM), happy to see no one waiting, when an elderly man wearing a jacket and a hat emerged from behind a concrete post, shuffling toward the same machine. I stopped to give way. But instead of proceeding to the ATM window, he … Read more
When Sen. Risa Hontiveros asked Vice President Sara Duterte what it is in the mandate of her office that justifies allotting P500 million for confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) in its proposed budget, Duterte’s first instinct was to let her chief of staff offer an answer. The soft-spoken Risa courteously insisted that it might be … Read more
Only a few public agencies are as visible to the public eye and as exposed to media scrutiny as the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), which manages the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminals. No public facility has been subjected to more constant and carping commentary than our premier airports. The reason for this is simple: … Read more