Randy David | PUBLIC LIVES While a good number of thoughtful Filipinos believe that the May 2022 presidential election is a watershed moment for our country and for generations to come — one that demands the most careful reflection about the kind of nation we want to be — this is not necessarily how the majority of voters think about … Read more
While the May 2022 presidential election has been portrayed by pundits as a choice between strongman rule and liberal democratic governance, there is another way of looking at it that, unfortunately, may be more attuned to current Filipino political narratives. This is the view that sees this year’s presidential contest as largely a reprise of … Read more
Those mammoth pink crowds that have materialized almost overnight in various places, in support of the presidential team of Vice President Leni Robredo and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, appear to be saying only one thing. “The surveys draw a picture that doesn’t include us. Governors pledge our votes as though they belonged to them. We … Read more
Business groups, who foresee the election of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the May 2022 presidential contest, are anxiously asking what kind of president he might be, especially on economic matters. Would he be like Marcos Sr. who, from the start, sought not only to restructure the Philippine economy but also to intervene directly in the … Read more
Last Thursday, March 31, President Duterte visited Cebu, and gave two speeches. One was before a meeting of the National and Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-RTF-Elcac). The other was at the grand proclamation rally of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban, Cusi wing). The latter was eagerly awaited. The … Read more
If Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. becomes president, our country’s brittle institutions would be subjected to their most difficult test. Would they dare to rule against his interest in the many unresolved cases that have been filed against members of his family? Or would the Marcos scion’s election to the nation’s highest office be interpreted as a … Read more
It is my late wife’s birthday as I write this. Karina would have turned 76. I woke up early, so I could visit her grave, bring her flowers, and light a candle. I do this quite often, perhaps at least twice a month since she died almost three years ago. This morning, as I picked … Read more
On the surface, the unity theme that is at the heart of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s and Sarah Duterte’s respective presidential and vice presidential candidacies seems nothing more than a reference to the alliance of two powerful political clans—the Marcoses of the North and the Dutertes of the South. The “UniTeam” brand seeks to convey … Read more
There’s a documentary about people’s power in Ukraine that is currently trending on Netflix. “Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” deals with the events in the winter of 2013-2014 that led to the toppling of the pro-Russian government of then President Viktor F. Yanukovych. It shows why Vladimir Putin is bent on punishing the … Read more
In trying to understand momentous political events like the current crisis in Ukraine, it is always good to bear in mind that the situation on the ground and the perspective of ordinary people tend to be far more complex than the way such events are rendered in the news and in official narratives. What we … Read more