One of the the most read articles in the New York Times online in recent days is the story “My life as an undocumented immigrant,” written by Jose Antonio Vargas, a Filipino who came to America as a young boy, completely unaware that his documents were fake. This legal deficiency hounds him from the moment … Read more

God’s word was invoked several times in the session hall of the House of Representatives this week as legislators debated the Reproductive Health bill. The bill’s main proponent, Rep. Edcel Lagman, basically argued that the issue of the common good, which the bill purports to serve, is for the State alone to settle.  His interpellators … Read more

I belong to a brood of thirteen children. Maybe I can speak with some authority about the advantages and disadvantages of growing up in a large family.  It was fun, but it was very hard.  It took a while for me to erase the blind impress of past deprivations. Except for my brother the priest, … Read more

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was plucked out of the first class cabin of an Air France flight by theNew York airport police last Saturday afternoon, just minutes before the plane was to take off.  The police arrested the 62-yearold “DSK” to answer allegations made by a hotel housekeeper that … Read more

On so fundamental a proposal as the Reproductive Health bill (HB 4244), there is bound to be wide and passionate disagreement.  The bill touches on matters that lie within the scope of three basic institutions: the State, the Church, and the family. Although differing views on such matters may not always be reconcilable, they can … Read more

Singapore held its general election last Saturday, 7thof May.  But even in our politically-obsessed society, hardly anyone took notice.  This indifference is understandable.  Filipinos are generally uninterested in the politics of other countries, except the United States.  Singapore is also one country that most people do not associate with politics.  After all, this citystate has … Read more

A morning radio program the other day asked its regular listeners to phone in their opinion of President Noynoy Aquino’s performance.  Taking off from the Social Weather Station’s recent report of a steep drop in the president’s ratings, the hosts posed two questions: “Based on your own personal expectations, is President Noynoy’s performance ‘over’ or … Read more

Soon after United States President Barack Obama personally announced that US Special Forces have killed Osama bin Laden, Americans exploded in triumphant patriotic celebrations.  They gathered in public places rhythmically chanting “U-S-A! U-S-A!” No doubt, they saw the killing of the world’s most wanted person as a major victory in the US-led war against terrorism.  … Read more

There are more workers today who work for wages than was the case fifty years ago.  And yet, ironically, the increase in size of the working class has not increased the ranks of organized labor. Workers’ unions today have considerably less power over the conditions of production.  Indeed, one can go further and say that … Read more

The royalty and the papacy in the modern world no longer wield substantial political power, yet the beliefs surrounding them have remained as vibrant as ever.  So compelling are these beliefs even today that modern media find themselves ineluctably drawn into the swirl of royal and pontifical events.  In the process, they sometimes become the … Read more