In a constitutional order led by civilians, the military is expected to stay out of politics.  Soldiers can vote and have opinions on public issues, but they cannot join political parties or act on their political convictions.  This is the price they pay for being entrusted with the state’s coercive apparatus.  The government has to … Read more

HAVANA.  Cuba is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the historic July 26th attack on the Moncada barracks, the failed assault that paved the way for the 1959 revolution and Cuba’s accidental journey toward a swinging socialism.  Yet the mood in Havana is far from celebratory, not only because the main ceremonies are being held in … Read more

CAPE TOWN.  For the last four days, I’ve been listening to a group of scholars from nine African nations talk about the language situation in their respective countries.  One immediately realizes that this continent has been robbed not only of its past but also of its soul. In country after country, the official language is … Read more

In many parts of the country today, both in the cities and in the countryside, syndicated groups, armed with fake land titles and with huge doses of underdog righteousness, are invading large tracts of public and privately-owned land.  They swoop in overnight, putting up instant shanties on bare land, bringing in families from nowhere, and … Read more

As a first-time grandfather, I read the results of the “National Survey on Children’s Current TV Preferences” conducted by the Southeast Asian Foundation for Children’s Television with great interest and urgency.  My granddaughter Julia is two-and-a-half-years old.  At her age, she watches an average of 4 hours of television per day.  This distresses me no … Read more

Against the majesty of the law, politics appears morally inferior.  This is especially true in societies like ours where the quality of politicians often induces in citizens a desire to completely banish politics from their lives. But even if this could be done, it would not be wise to do so. Politics allows a society … Read more

The lead party of the Filipino peacekeeping mission to Iraq leaves today, June 15. The rest of the contingent, consisting of 75 members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, will follow at the end of the month.  They are supposed to assist American and British forces in maintaining peace … Read more

Former senator Rene Saguisag, who is seeking the impeachment of eight justices of the Supreme Court, is quoted as saying that his aim is simply “to set the record straight,” and not necessarily to pave the way for the return of Joseph Estrada as president.  He believes that by setting “the record straight,” we will … Read more

Lawyer Alan F. Paguia argues that the justices of the Supreme Court made a mistake on January 20, 2003 when they permitted Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to succeed to the presidency. There was no vacancy in the presidency, he insists, because the incumbent president, Joseph Ejercito Estrada, never resigned.   The Supreme Court abused its authority. … Read more

“In a time of crisis,” President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo told United States President George W. Bush, “friends do not ask why, they ask how.”  That about sums up Philippine policy toward the US today, crisis or no crisis.  We trust America implicitly, we will not inquire into its behavior and motives; we support it automatically in … Read more