If a survey were to be run on how many Filipinos know the country’s National Artists and their works, the results would be very revealing. They would show that the artists the state celebrates are not necessarily the people’s own choices. Indeed, rare would be the National Artist who, by his or her work, articulates … Read more
To cope – to make do with what one has – has always been regarded by Filipinos as a virtue. Coping belongs to the heroic culture of sharing, sacrifice, and resiliency that one finds in societies besieged by scarcity. It is a tool of survival, a trait perfected in times of war, famine, and calamity. … Read more
My parents’ idea of fulfillment was to see all their children finish college and become successful professionals. That makes them typical Filipino parents. But, in addition, my mother’s idea of parental achievement included having a priest for a son. That makes her a typical Kapampangan mother. After my father died, she imagined keeping house for … Read more
On Feb. 24th, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued Proclamation 1017 declaring a state of national emergency. Invoking her powers as Commander-in-Chief, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the armed forces “to maintain law and order throughout the Philippines, prevent or suppress all forms of lawless violence, as well as any act of insurrection or rebellion and to enforce … Read more
On January 19, 2001, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Gen. Angelo T. Reyes went up the Edsa Shrine with the service commanders of the AFP to announce their withdrawal of support for their commander-in-chief, President Joseph “Erap” Estrada. That act tilted the balance against the incumbent president and precipitated his ouster from … Read more
I am very pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision on Presidential Proclamation 1017. On hearing the first cryptic reports on radio, I thought this was another one of those win-win verdicts that try to please everyone. It is not. The Court has struck a blow for liberty and democracy. As one of the lead petitioners … Read more
Not a few people from both the opposition and the administration were surprised by the launching of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Chacha Express. The resort to “people’s initiative” as the vehicle for Charter change effectively demobilizes Congress. It transfers political debate from the halls of Congress to the uncharted terrain of public forums and mass actions. This … Read more
Not too long ago, it was typical for Filipinos to work, start a family, and die in the same town where they were born. Today our people live and work in 192 countries in the world. They are exposed to a diversity of social systems and cultures. They are sources of new expectations. This global … Read more
For two hours last Sunday, I watched with great interest the National Geographic documentary on the lost Gospel of Judas. I have since read the English translation of this Coptic text. Unlike my brother, Fr. Ambo David, I am not a biblical scholar, and so I will turn to him for historical context when we … Read more
On Feb. 24, the day Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of national emergency, I experienced something that completely illumined my outlook of our country’s political crisis. I refer not to my arrest under Proclamation 1017, but to what I saw at Camp Karingal, where I was briefly detained. There I witnessed first-hand the hidden … Read more