Randy David | PUBLIC LIVES Not being a lawyer, I cannot say if it was wise for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to anchor her claim to the presidency on the theory that Joseph Ejercito Estrada had suffered a permanent disability. I think that doing so, in an attempt to satisfy the Constitution, is to revise history. It is to leave … Read more
And let our nation’s development begin. By a happy coincidence, “to develop” means literally “to free from that which envelops.” It is ironic that the contents of the envelope whose suppression triggered People Power II remain unknown to the public until now. Its opening should have been the first business of the new leadership, a … Read more
Why was People Power 2 necessary? Like all peace-loving nations in the world, Filipinos did everything to make their legal institutions work. Because he had lost their trust, they first asked President Joseph Estrada to admit his failure and resign honorably to prevent further injury to the country. But he refused to answer the serious … Read more
My dearest Julia, We have won, dear child. Finally, the man in Malacanang has fled in disgrace. Your Lola made sure of that by marching to Mendiola with thousands of others to drive away once and for all the evil spirit that inhabited that place. I wasn’t as brave as your Lola; she thought nothing … Read more
Former Finance Secretary Edgardo Espiritu did not have to testify at the impeachment trial. He is not a principal witness in any of the Articles of Impeachment. But with courage and determination, he did. He came out to say what he knew about the president. It was, he said, a matter of conscience, of love … Read more
Every witness who appeared at the ongoing presidential impeachment trial was made to swear “to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” Yet if there is anything that one learns from watching the trial, it is precisely that witnesses are not always free to tell the truth they want to tell. … Read more
Her name is Julia, and she is our first grandchild. Born on the eve of the new century, she came a full week after my mother died, almost like an angel sent from another world to comfort us. The first time I caught a glimpse of her, she looked like a mummy wrapped in nursery … Read more
In a series of defining moments in 1986, the electoral system and the military establishment asserted their integrity against efforts to misuse them for arbitrary and illegal interests. Today, it is the turn of Congress, the stock market, and the banking system to do the same. Let us hope they all rise to the occasion. … Read more
After only six days, we now know that impeachment is a very tedious exercise. But that is how its inventors intended it. Barbara Jordan, the first Southern African-American woman to become a member of the US House of Representatives, put it well at the impeachment of Richard Nixon: “Common sense would be revolted if we … Read more
Surveys are valid scientific tools for measuring public opinion. The truth they tell, however, depends on the questions they ask and the method by which they generate data. If the questions they ask are vague or favor a particular response, or if the manner in which they choose their respondents is not representative of the … Read more