The present problems of Monte de Piedad began with the idea of extending small loans to tricycle drivers.  The project bore all the credentials of piety, Christian love and charity, which alone could justify Church involvement in commerce.   When it was shown that the project would not only help the poor become productive, but that … Read more

The famine that is today rapidly descending upon North Korea reminds me of a rare visit I made to that country in 1986.  The North Koreans were then just beginning to expand their interaction with the non-socialist world.  They had invited some scholars from the United Nations University (UNU), including myself, to come and meet … Read more

Misconduct involving sex and money is always hot material for media everywhere; more so when it involves persons of power and moral influence.  That is why politicians and priests are particularly favored subjects of reportage on sleaze.  It is not right to assume that the media attention is necessarily “politically-motivated” or “wellorchestrated”.   Nor should it … Read more

How shall we compare candidates: by their personal values or by their stand on issues?  This is the usual question that Americans ask in every election.  In the last US election, President Clinton appeared strong on issues, but was vulnerable on values.  Bob Dole, on the other hand, was oozing with values, but he seemed … Read more

I have studied, taught, and lived in the University of the Philippines for the last 36 years, and I cannot remember a time when UP was not in bad need of money.  A book on UP’s first 75 years notes that the creation of the State University, first proposed in 1904, could not be realized … Read more

At a conference on globalization held recently in France, someone in the audience asked me if Filipinos exported mushrooms too.  I had mentioned in my paper that our farmers were being prodded to shift to high-value crops like asparagus in order to survive the global competition.  I couldn’t tell him if we had begun to … Read more

The editors of the Reader’s Digest wanted to know what people from all over the world would do if they found a lost wallet.  They dropped 10 wallets, containing an address and a modest sum of money,  in every city they chose, and observed what the finders did with the wallets.  It was a clever … Read more

A long time ago, the Jesuit psychologist Fr. Jaime Bulatao invented the curious term “split-level Christianity”.  Very simply, it meant the superimposition of imported Christian meanings upon native religious beliefs and practices. For example, scapulars replaced amulets.   Images of saints displaced the wooden gods in our ancestors’ homes.  Priests took the place of our local … Read more

At around this time last year, private contractors hired by the government were rushing the construction of the 2 billion-peso FVR megadike in Pampanga.  There was a passionate debate between scientists and government engineers on whether this was the best way of dealing with the persistent threat of lahar to people’s lives and property.  The … Read more

Our problem with the corpse of Marcos has less to do with the question of where to bury it, but with whether we can sustain the demonization of his legacy with the passage of time.  It is a problem because, 11 years after its overthrow, we have not validated the dark narratives of his dictatorship … Read more