Randy David | PUBLIC LIVES On the 40th day of his trial, Chief Justice Renato Corona himself took the witness stand. The head of the impeachment court, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, graciously welcomed him, assuring him that he would be treated with utmost respect befitting his position and the institution he represents. Barely acknowledging these gestures of courtesy, the … Read more
In many ways, tomorrow’s (Monday) caucus of the senator-judges is probably as crucial to the impeachment case as the much-awaited testimony of the accused Chief Justice Renato Corona. We may recall that some of the senators, after hearing the explosive testimony of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, expressed a need to verify her findings by summoning … Read more
It is catchy and has rhythm. It is the phrase that beleaguered Chief Justice Renato Corona used to describe the diagram of his alleged multiple bank transactions: a “lantern of lies.” The curious reader will be forgiven for turning to Google to find the meaning and provenance of this fascinating idiom. Lanterns and lies seem … Read more
China refers to Scarborough Shoal as Huangyan Island. The crucial word is not Huangyan, but the nature of the disputed territory. Is it a shoal or an island? What’s in a name? An island is land territory surrounded by water; a shoal is an area mostly under water. Harry Roque, professor of international law at … Read more
After watching the impeachment proceedings at the Senate for several weeks now, Filipinos will have become familiar with court room rituals and conventions. Many such conventions have to do with the oaths we take. “Swear him in,” the presiding officer barks before a witness may begin to testify; whereupon, that person is prompted to repeat … Read more
CHENNAI – These days, all eyes are on Asia. While the economies of Europe and North America are tumbling down one by one under the pressure of a continuing financial crisis, those of emerging Asia are flourishing. Nowhere is this burst of economic dynamism more palpable than in China and India, the two largest nations … Read more
Waiting in line for my turn at a Landbank ATM in the UP campus the other day, I started to fret at seeing the queue wasn’t moving. Two women were hogging the machine and serially withdrawing money. They shuffled what looked like a deck of plastic cards while routinely consulting a small notebook. “Wow,” I … Read more
It’s been three weeks now since the start of the standoff with China at Scarborough Shoal, a group of mostly submerged rocks in the West Philippine Sea that the Philippines and China are claiming as part of their respective territories. While a diplomatic way out of the impasse is being sought, a complex signaling exercise … Read more
The other night, just before 9, a gunman aboard a heavily tinted vehicle fired four shots in the direction of my house inside the University of the Philippines campus. Because the bullets hit something very close to where I was at the time, I instinctively ducked but didn’t feel alarmed. I was quite sure the … Read more
You don’t pick a fight with someone bigger than you. But if you must defend yourself, you need to find an ally as big as he is, or get the backing of other small entities that may feel similarly threatened. Such support has its own costs. It may mean giving up certain things in return, … Read more