One hundred and twenty years ago, our ancestors raised the Philippine flag from a balcony in Kawit, Cavite to signify the beginning of our journey as a free nation. Hijacked by the United States of America right at the start, and interrupted by Japan during World War II, the quest for an independent Filipino nation … Read more

A legislative bill creating a national ID system is just inches away from becoming a law. But, for a measure that has been proposed by nearly every administration in the last 20 years, the issues it throws up have not really engaged the attention of the average Filipino on the street. I don’t think we … Read more

There can be no doubt that the world system which determines the relations of nations to one another has dramatically changed over the last 30 years.  The United States of America, the superpower that completely dominated the world stage following the collapse of Soviet socialism, is manifestly retreating from its role as a global leader … Read more

The relationship between law and politics is always a complex one. On one hand, they are coupled to one another. Politics produces and shapes the law, and law regulates the practice of politics. But, on the other hand, law and politics must be able to operate autonomously of each other — that is, governed by … Read more

Time magazine’s latest issue banners the article written by Ian Bremmer, titled “The ‘Strongmen Era’ is here. Here’s what it means for you.”  Filipino readers will be keen to know if the country’s tough-talking president, Rodrigo Duterte, is among the “strongmen” featured in the Time essay.  They won’t be disappointed.  He is. What it means … Read more

The “rescue missions” recently undertaken by Philippine Embassy personnel in Kuwait to free Filipino household workers from the grip of their abusive employers are, from a Filipino standpoint, singularly laudable. Done quietly — and with the knowledge and cooperation of the host government — these proactive moves affirm the state’s responsibility to come to the … Read more

Nearly two years after Rodrigo Duterte was elected to the presidency, his signature approach to power has become all-too-familiar. It is one based on the methodical use of the coercive power of the state in order to intimidate dissenters, critics, skeptics, deviants, and noncooperative individuals who, in his perception, are not taking him seriously. It … Read more

One thing allegedly struck Mark Zuckerberg when he was building a prototype of Facebook as a Harvard University undergraduate student. This was the readiness with which people shared aspects of their private lives online in exchange for the chance to multiply their social connections. Such pervasive gullibility supposedly shocked the Facebook founder. Two billion Facebook … Read more

Reading the recent notice of the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute filed at the office of the United Nations Secretary General, one gets the impression that there are people in the present administration who equate the Duterte presidency with the Philippine state. They should be reminded that we are not an absolute monarchy. Not … Read more

Mike de Leon’s new film, “Citizen Jake,” is a psychosocial drama that focuses on the personal contradictions of a crusading upper middle class “citizen journalist” who appears to lack insight into his own privileges. His inquiry into a gruesome crime leads him to a profound realization of the corrupt system in which he—and, indeed, all … Read more