A growing number of Filipinos have seen enough, heard enough, to be able to form a conclusion about Joseph Estrada the president — he is destroying the nation. They want him out as soon as possible. They cannot wait for a tedious impeachment process to strip him of his position. They are asking him to … Read more
More than the souvenirs that a tourist mindlessly accumulates in the course of a trip, a Filipino traveler’s most treasured memories are those of fantastic bargains struck with local merchants. The experience has all the flavor of that first historic encounter between foreigner and native. The huge communication gap is instantly bridged by the most … Read more
The image that summed up China for me in 1983 was that of a vast country of immense highways filled with bicycles. I went back in 1990 and found a country still teeming with bicycles but beginning to choke from the fumes of motor vehicles. On my last visit two weeks ago, I was shocked … Read more
One of the intriguing ideas floated at the occasion of the recent UN Millennium Summit is the concept of an international court that will try crimes against humanity. This idea rests on the belief that acts like genocide constitute a global injury that must be redressed globally. There is a strong feeling that the instruments … Read more
Virtues must be our self-defense and necessity, says Nietzsche. What virtues might we wish for our children as they make their way into the 21st century? TOLERANCE. The capacity to accept difference and not to feel threatened by it. Its opposite is bigotry, the tendency to judge others by one’s own unexamined beliefs. As travel … Read more
It is not exceptional to hear of incest rape cases where the mother is found to have closed her eyes to her husband’s crime. The initial shock of knowing is replaced by a passive acceptance of a situation in which she feels she has no control. Her mind works this out for her, producing incredible … Read more
All transactions, including those with bandits like the Abu Sayyaf, are to some degree based on trust. Ironic as it may seem, a negotiator like Secretary Robert Aventajado finds himself not having much of a choice but to take the word of an outlaw like Commander Robot. If Robot says he will take $12 million … Read more
Armed only with a bolo, a small man charges in the direction of automatic gunfire. The momentum of his gallop carries him forward; for a while he seems immortal. The camera follows him through this act of folly until he stumbles and lands on his face. His head jerks a few times as bullets find … Read more
There was a time in the history of the Sulu Sultanate, roughly towards the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, when slave raiding became a popular means of acquiring valuable workers. Jolo flourished as the center of a large and active slave market. The slaves, known as “banyaga,” were taken … Read more
One day last month amid the rains, I bundled off my family to the beach. Two storms were threatening, but the foul weather did not deter us. It wasn’t the swim in serene waters that I longed for, it was the leisure in the company of loved ones. I thought I would never hear myself … Read more