Randy David | PUBLIC LIVES

The president shows up at Payatas to express his sympathies.  It has been two weeks since a garbage avalanche buried more than 200 people here. The visit comes a bit late.  But better late than never. Like a solicitous patriarch, he lends an ear to the voices of a grieving community.  A young girl who … Read more

The woman lost six members of her family in the garbage avalanche. But there was no self-pity or anger in her voice when she spoke to the TV camera.  There was only a lingering sadness in her eyes, but an aura of resignation held that in check.  I remember her being inconsolable in early footage … Read more

I suppose pastor Wilde Almeda is now slowly realizing that it takes more than prayers to release the Sulu hostages from the grip of the Abu Sayyaf.  But his ploy, heedless as it is, may not be as harebrained as the idea of granting special powers to the president to solve the Mindanao crisis. The … Read more

The armed group behind the hostage situation in Sulu tries to disguise its real purpose by throwing in all kinds of cause-oriented sounding demands into the negotiations.  The Abu Sayyaf leaders style themselves like rebels with a cause, and some of them may have been, but the incoherence of their demands shows that their objective … Read more

The most visible political casualty in the ongoing kidnap crisis in Mindanao is Nur Misuari.  The 21 mostly foreign hostages who were taken from Malaysia more than two months ago are being held in Sulu.  This province is Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) territory.  The maintenance of peace and order there is Misuari’s responsibility.  Yet … Read more

By inclination, I can’t get excited by rituals of scheduled affection. Not that I do not value Father’s Day or Mother’s Day, but I prefer casual thoughtfulness to pious greetings induced by remembered dates.  I cringe at the idea of seeing love crammed into those special days set aside by merchants of sentiment, but I … Read more

When you apply for a visitor’s visa, you may expect to be given a tough time by consular officials of the country you wish to enter.  You may be asked to produce proof that your visit is legitimate, that you are not going to be a burden or a danger, and that you have no … Read more

In a previous column, I wrote that while Moros and Filipinos may have sprung from the same racial stock, the accidents of history have made them different nations.  I argued that any attempt to arrive at a just and enduring solution to the Mindanao problem must begin with this recognition.  But I did not mean … Read more

If you were a Moro who grew up in Mindanao, you would be telling stories of how your ancestors defended their homes against waves of invaders who tried to subjugate them and take away their lands.  If you were a Filipino, you might have been told stories of how your ancestors tried to protect their … Read more

It is difficult not to feel demoralized as a Filipino at a time like this.  The country is being torn apart by war, and you wonder if our leaders care. Innocent civilians are caught in the crossfire, or maimed or killed by bombs exploded in public places.  Hundreds of thousands abandon their homes and farms … Read more