People lose faith in their institutions first, when those in charge of them exploit them for their personal benefit, and second, when they do not produce definite and useful results. Institutions are the established means by which a society conducts and regulates its collective affairs.  When they fail to do their work, people feel justified … Read more

At one point in the Senate hearing on the alleged money-laundering and criminal activities of Senator Panfilo Lacson, Colonel Victor Corpus, head of the military intelligence unit and Lacson’s chief accuser, found himself being accused instead of undermining our society’s institutions.  The senators pinned him down on his statement that judges, media people, and public … Read more

In trying to pin down Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on drugs, kidnapfor-ransom and money-laundering charges, AFP Intelligence Chief Victor Corpus has clearly picked a formidable target.  Lacson is a senator who has achieved one of the fastest role transformations in our political history.  Yesterday he was just a policeman, today he is a senator, tomorrow … Read more

The resignation of Vitaliano Nanagas as president of the Social Security System has become for many thoughtful Filipinos one more occasion to reflect on the wisdom of people power and to warn against its dangers.  The prevalent view is that a reform-minded official has been sacrificed to appease a mob bent on resisting any change … Read more

On a trip to New Delhi in the late ‘70s, the cab I am riding stops at an intersection.  As the driver impatiently waits for the traffic lights to change, a woman with an infant approaches the car.  She is dressed in rags.  Half of her face is ulcerated; bits of flesh and skin hang … Read more

The problem with state-of-the-nation assessments is that they are often empty political rituals.  The government describes the institutional problems and prospects – the economic climate, jobs and investments, the budgetary picture, the peace and order situation, the state of our political life, and shows the way forward.  Critics paint a grim picture of the realities … Read more

The American sociologist C. Wright Mills offers a useful distinction between “personal troubles” and “public issues.” “When, in a city of 100,000, only one man is unemployed,” Mills says, “that is his personal trouble, and for its relief we properly look to the character of the man, his skills, and his immediate opportunities.  But when … Read more

Angelo Mawanay, alias “Ador,” is either lying or telling the truth. The information he discloses is very detailed but it does not provide a neat picture of the world of crime he inhabits. The more he tells, the more incredible his story sounds.   His confession would make of newlyelected Senator Panfilo Lacson the biggest crime … Read more

The other day, my youngest daughter, who finished college two years ago, offered to buy my old car so that, she said, I could get myself a new one.  It was a chance for me to ask how much her monthly pay was.  She assured me it was more than enough.  I found out that, … Read more

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has warned against a repeat of the protest mass action that unfolded on April 25, 2001 and ended in the violent attack on Malacanang on the first day of May.  She says the same conspirators who planned “Edsa Tres” might try it again on June 26-27, the days set aside for the … Read more