Solicitor General Jose Calida, the government’s lead counsel in the Supreme Court hearings on the validity of imposing martial law in Mindanao, has taken the interesting view that Proclamation 216 does not give the President additional powers beyond the right to call out the troops. As my fellow columnist, Oscar Franklin Tan, pointed out in … Read more

As we mark the 119th anniversary of the declaration of our people’s emancipation from Spain, it is worth revisiting the values and experiences that led us to that historic event.  There are many forms of nationalism.  In the light of what is happening in the world today, we should bear in mind where ours is … Read more

Even as we grieve and condole with the families of the victims of the attack by a lone gunman at the Resorts World Manila casino and hotel, the question that will linger in our minds is what we ourselves would have done if we had been there on that fateful evening. Would we have rushed … Read more

From the perspective of President Duterte and his advisers, there’s probably no better time than now to determine what else he can do, or how far he can go, as president of this country. Declaring martial law in Mindanao is his way of testing the outer limits of his political prerogatives. This course of action, … Read more

Last Friday the newly appointed secretary of foreign affairs, Alan Peter Cayetano, made this statement with regard to foreign aid: “We will not accept aid from any country if there are strings attached, if there are conditions, because we are an independent nation, and we have an independent foreign policy.” This statement echoes the Duterte … Read more

Following President Duterte’s state visit to China in October 2016, 27 deals have been signed with Chinese state entities and business corporations covering around US$9 billion in loans and US$15 billion in investments.  The President proudly touts these achievements as having been made possible by the reversal of the previous administration’s unfriendly attitude toward China. … Read more

Voters everywhere are desperately turning to leaders from outside the political establishment, demanding bold action to rescue their countries from the incompetence and indecisiveness, the corruption and complicity, of conventional politicians. This clamor is encapsulated by slogans like “Take back our country” or “Save the next generation.” From what?  In America’s case—from a myriad of … Read more

There’s a theory in sociology that sees society as a network of self-creating function systems, and human beings as entities lying outside these systems. Examples of these are law, politics, the economy, science, religion, art, the mass media, etc. Evolving as embodiments of specific rationalities and each operating by a distinctive medium, these communication systems … Read more

On April 8 and 9, Manila will be the venue for an international conference aimed at expressing solidarity with the Cuban people in their bid to end more than half a century of American sanctions against their country. I understand that President Duterte, a self-described socialist, has been invited to speak at this conference, which … Read more

A fact that the Duterte administration has to learn to come to terms with is that there is such a thing as global public opinion. No government, no matter how popular, can command the rest of the world to “leave us alone” — and expect to be taken seriously. World opinion today will weigh in … Read more