The ‘undecided’ in opinion surveys

Most people have never participated in an opinion survey, nor have they seen one being conducted. This may sometimes make them wonder if the opinion surveys reported in media are real. I can assure skeptics that they are real. But the probability of being picked as one of the 1,200 respondents in a typical nationwide … Read more

Ethics for a threatened world

Early reports on Pope Francis’ much-anticipated encyclical on the environment have tended to frame its message in an old question: Can religion add anything significant to the understanding of complex issues that belong to the province of modern science? More specifically, can a pope’s pronouncements on the contentious issues of climate change carry any weight … Read more

Ethics for a threatened world

Early reports on Pope Francis’ much-anticipated encyclical on the environment have tended to frame its message in an old question: Can religion add anything significant to the understanding of complex issues that belong to the province of modern science? More specifically, can a pope’s pronouncements on the contentious issues of climate change carry any weight … Read more

If Rizal had been a Moro

The story of a nation’s birth is the same everywhere. In a landscape of fragmented and subjugated communities, someone glimpses the image of a people bound by a common experience of oppression and a shared aspiration to be free. In Benedict Anderson’s memorable words, every nation has its beginnings as “an imagined community.” We Filipinos … Read more

If Rizal had been a Moro

The story of a nation’s birth is the same everywhere. In a landscape of fragmented and subjugated communities, someone glimpses the image of a people bound by a common experience of oppression and a shared aspiration to be free. In Benedict Anderson’s memorable words, every nation has its beginnings as “an imagined community.” We Filipinos … Read more

Bangsamoro identity and modernity

ONE OF the things that I find particularly appealing in the Bangsamoro Basic Law is the way it formulates the aspiration to self-government as a modern political project. The document signals an unmistakable resolve to distance itself from the warlordism and aristocratic ascendancy that have historically characterized political rule in Southern Mindanao. As importantly, by … Read more

Bangsamoro identity and modernity

ONE OF the things that I find particularly appealing in the Bangsamoro Basic Law is the way it formulates the aspiration to self-government as a modern political project. The document signals an unmistakable resolve to distance itself from the warlordism and aristocratic ascendancy that have historically characterized political rule in Southern Mindanao. As importantly, by … Read more

Meditation on independence

Tomorrow, as we mark the 117th year of our country’s independence, it might do some good to reflect on what we, as a people, went through after the leader of the Filipino revolution, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, pronounced these islands and their inhabitants to be free from Spanish rule. Such reflection might help us to understand … Read more

Meditation on independence

Tomorrow, as we mark the 117th year of our country’s independence, it might do some good to reflect on what we, as a people, went through after the leader of the Filipino revolution, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, pronounced these islands and their inhabitants to be free from Spanish rule. Such reflection might help us to understand … Read more

Keeping up with Bruce Jenner

Bruce Jenner was the celebrated American athlete who won the grueling decathlon in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. He was hailed as the world’s greatest athlete, the icon of American masculinity. He went on to become a media star, lately appearing as the famous Dad in the long-running celebrity-driven reality television show “Keeping up with … Read more