Randy David | PUBLIC LIVES What brings you to the United States?” the immigration officer asked, as he scanned the faces of my two granddaughters who had traveled with me from Manila. “We’re on holiday and will be visiting relatives,” I replied. “And where are you going?” he probed. “Mainly Los Angeles,” I said. “My granddaughters want to attend an … Read more
On my recent trip to Lanao del Sur to take a look at the rehabilitation effort in Marawi, six years after it was devastated by a five-month-long war with the Maute armed group, I was able to visit some of the villages surrounding Lake Lanao. What I saw and heard on these quick visits convinced … Read more
From her cell in Camp Crame, where she has been detained for over six years on charges filed during Duterte’s presidency, former senator Leila de Lima expressed disappointment over the denial of her petition for bail while awaiting trial in the third and final case against her. Everyone who has keenly followed the ordeal of … Read more
In early May, as the sixth anniversary of the Marawi siege approached, I resolved to visit this historic Islamic city by the lake. I’ve been to the remotest parts of Mindanao but never to Marawi, the seat of Meranaw culture, and an important site of resistance in the colonial conquest of the country. I almost … Read more
Worse than being poor is to be undocumented: to possess no valid proof of identity, and to have no one to attest to who you are and where you came from. It is to live without access to the institutional mechanisms of modern society: the law and the courts, the school system, jobs and credit … Read more
“If you’ve been in government long enough, you’ll have seen many of these,” said President Marcos the other day by way of downplaying the abrupt ouster of Pampanga representative and former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) from her position as senior deputy speaker of the House of Representatives. “It’s just part of the reorganization.” But … Read more
To do justice is what the legal system believes to be its function. But that is a self-serving description. From an outsider’s perspective, the law’s function appears to be, strictly speaking, no more than to follow due process, no matter how long this may take. Courts of law rule on the validity of facts and … Read more
Two online Business Insider articles about trends in college education in the United States recently got my attention. One bore the intriguing title “12 college majors that may limit your career potential.” The other carried the equally click-worthy heading “After 10 years paying for student loans, I know exactly what I should have done differently … Read more
There are about 10 million Catholics in today’s China. The majority of them worship in churches authorized and supervised by the government. They are officially called the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association. The rest of China’s Catholics, until recently, refused to attend these state-sanctioned churches, preferring instead to congregate in small prayer groups in the privacy … Read more
Seeing their lives slowly wasted in a country that offers only limited opportunities to improve their lot, many Filipinos have found hope in a globalized world. Overseas employment has allowed them to hone their skills and test their endurance in a world that is both welcoming and threatening, nurturing and abusive. Their years of struggle … Read more