Randy David | PUBLIC LIVES It has been two years since the gruesome mass murder that took place on a lonely dirt road in Maguindanao shook and awakened us to the terrifying reality of local warlords who conduct themselves as if they were beyond the reach of the law. Were it not for the fact that the majority of the … Read more
The arrest the other day of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on charges of electoral sabotage has been hailed by those who seek to make her accountable for her past actions as the triumph of the rule of law. Her family, lawyers, and allies, on the other hand, have called her arrest a mockery of the … Read more
How serious is former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s medical condition? What are its major indicators? What is the typical outlook for cases like hers? These questions are best answered by medical specialists. Though the answers may not be crucial to the legal issues submitted to the Supreme Court for resolution, they are relevant to the political … Read more
All eyes today (Sunday) are focused on a little boxing ring inside the humongous MGM Hotel in the pleasure strip of Las Vegas in the arid state of Nevada in the United States of America. That’s where the boxer Manny Pacquiao, the greatest Filipino warrior of all time, and incidentally a member of Congress, fights … Read more
Don Ramon Revilla may be the archetype of Filipino machismo, having sired more than 50 children by different women. He may have built a legendary movie career and accumulated a sizable fortune as an actor and film producer. He may have tasted political power and gained social stature by winning a seat in the Philippine … Read more
Faith is so intertwined with nearly every aspect of the daily lives of Filipinos that it is hard to say precisely where religion ends and the rest of society begins. A quick look at our mass media and the way we conduct politics and business will show how blurred the boundaries are. As a sociologist, … Read more
Almost exactly a year ago today (Nov. 3, 2011), I wrote about a young couple who had requested to live and do subsistence farming in a 1.5-hectare plot of marginal land on the slopes of Mt. Malasimbo in Bataan that I had planted to mangoes and coconuts (“Mired in poverty,” Inquirer, 11/11/10). Both in their … Read more
“If an old man has something to learn, it is the art of dying,” wrote the great French thinker Jean-Jacques Rousseau in one of his personal life accounts. What did he mean? Most of us would rather concern ourselves with the art of living on the belief that a meaningful life assures a meaningful death. … Read more
A useful starting point for any analysis of the problem in Mindanao is the recognition that the Philippine government is not, and indeed has never been, in full control of Muslim Mindanao. The ubiquitous checkpoints that dot the region, manned by forces belonging to traditional warlords and rebel groups, concretely attest to this. To all … Read more
As soon as there was positive confirmation that Libya’s dictator Moammar Gadhafi had indeed been killed shortly after he was captured alive, US President Barack Obama went on television to congratulate the Libyan people for their great victory. This supposed victory of the Libyans is, of course, as illusory as the promise that Libya will … Read more