Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, who took a leave from her Senate duties because of illness, surprised everyone by filing at the last minute her candidacy for the presidency in the 2016 election. On the same occasion, she sprang an even bigger surprise on her young awestruck fans: Bongbong Marcos is her choice for vice president. … Read more
The Commission on Elections had its hands full last Oct. 12 and 13, receiving the certificates of candidacy of at least 37 individuals vying for the presidency in the 2016 national elections. Jostling with the known and the lesser known were the completely unknown, claiming equal right to run for public office. The term “nuisance … Read more
Since I have been filing my income tax in Pampanga for some years now, I feel duty-bound and entitled to cast my vote at my old precinct in Betis, where I spent my childhood. I continue to list our ancestral home in this province as my permanent residence even if I have lived and worked … Read more
Apolinario Mabini is primarily known as the “brains of the revolution,” Emilio Aguinaldo’s brilliant adviser, who guided the leader of the revolution through the essential steps of political consolidation and state formation after the June 12, 1898, proclamation of Philippine independence from Spain. But, there is another side of Mabini that is less appreciated. In … Read more
The other day, my 14-year-old granddaughter, Julia, who serves as my weather vane for things that go viral on social media, showed me a YouTube post. “What’s this about, Lolo?” she asked. It was a video clip of a scantily clad female dancer doing what looks like the “twerk” with a man in a yellow … Read more
Two leading lights of the Nacionalista Party (NP), Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV, have formally declared their intention to run for vice president in the 2016 elections. A third member of the party, Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., is also expected anytime soon to announce his availability for the vice presidency. … Read more
One of the readers of my column, Abel Manliclic, raised an interesting point when he wrote to ask if claims made in political advertisements are covered by the same truth standards to which commercial ads are subjected. He then rattled off the incredible achievements that one probable senatorial candidate claims for himself in his political … Read more
Compared to the dictatorships that flourished in Southeast Asia and Latin America in the 1970s and 1980s, the martial law regime that Ferdinand Marcos inaugurated in September 1972 might have been the most benign. To say that, of course, would not comfort those who were brutalized and victimized by martial law. Nor would it blunt … Read more
In mature democracies, people run for president or prime minister because there are fundamental priorities or goals they want to pursue through the political system. As these are typically complex and interconnected, no one can realistically aspire to accomplish them by oneself. Thus, modern politics involves the organization of a lead group called a party, … Read more
In mature democracies, people run for president or prime minister because there are fundamental priorities or goals they want to pursue through the political system. As these are typically complex and interconnected, no one can realistically aspire to accomplish them by oneself. Thus, modern politics involves the organization of a lead group called a party, … Read more