Randy David | PUBLIC LIVES Early in her presidency, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo called the Philippines “a deeply divided society.” It is a forceful statement, and I agree with it. But I am not sure how the president precisely meant it, and what policy direction, if any, it was intended to signify. She could have been referring to the major fault … Read more
The old man had dared to stand up to the bosses of political gangland. Now he is being taught a lesson by the young heirs of those who have always imagined themselves to be the real lords of this little corner of the world. The “elected” representatives of the people will not brook any display … Read more
Busan, South Korea. This scenic port city was the only major city that was spared during the Korean War of 1950. Those fleeing from the war drifted south and found sanctuary in Busan and nearby islands. After Seoul was overrun, the central government transferred to this little corner in the southern coast of the Korean … Read more
George W. Bush Jr. has come to Asia not to give away but to solicit money, not to deploy more American troops but to ask the governments of the region to send their own soldiers to secure Iraq, a country it destroyed and occupied. The president of the most powerful country in the world has … Read more
In December 2002, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo felt so discouraged about how the country was faring under her leadership that she found herself suddenly announcing she was not standing for election in 2004. The decision jolted even her closest allies who were only too aware of her consuming quest for another six-year term. By then, two years … Read more
My three sisters who live in the States used to come home every year mainly to visit our ailing mother. They would bring her everything they thought she needed, and for the whole duration of their vacation, they took care of her, compressing in two weeks what in their hearts they felt was a lifelong … Read more
The debate whether we need a change in system rather than a change in leaders is a sterile one. The shift to a parliamentary, or federal, or unicameral system will not mean anything if not accompanied by changes in the distribution of power, wealth, and opportunity across social classes. The pressures toward a radical re-ordering … Read more
If the President’s husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, is truly not the owner of the Jose Pidal accounts, then the more details his brother Ignacio can share about these accounts the better. Ignacio, who came forward on his own volition to claim the fictitious name Jose Pidal, has to prove he is really the owner of … Read more
Joseph Stiglitz, the 2001 Nobel laureate for economic science, puts it bluntly: The United States and Europe subsidize their cows at $2 per day, more than what a human being in many parts of the world earn in a day. I have come across more disturbing figures. An article by Hamish McRae for a South … Read more
Politics is an inescapable element of collective life. In itself, it is neither good nor bad. All of us engage in politics when we seek to enhance our power or influence over others or try to free ourselves from others’ control over us. In the life of nations, politics is a way of negotiating and … Read more