When the leaders of the member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) gather this weekend in Kuala Lumpur, their agenda will be dominated by the launch of the 10-year roadmap toward the realization of the Asean Community. But, apart from regional economic integration, President Aquino has other things in mind. The Asean summit … Read more

Of far greater relevance to the fate of the Bangsamoro Basic Law than the use of an alias by Mohagher Iqbal, the chief negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, are the charges about to be filed by the government against the MILF rebels who participated in the Jan. 25 firefight at Mamasapano. The Department … Read more

An interesting issue is presently being debated at the Supreme Court. It has to do with what acting Solicitor General Florin Hilbay calls the “doctrine of condonation.” What it entails—here I quote from the Inquirer account of the presentation of oral arguments last April 14—is that “an elected official’s liability for an alleged wrongdoing is … Read more

For being the signatory of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, and for obliging Congress’ invitation to appear before its hearings, Mohagher Iqbal has become the face of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. But, rather than focus on the justness and legitimacy of the cause he represents, our legislators have turned to questioning the validity … Read more

When Bataan fell to the Japanese on April 9, 1942, a national holiday was born. My mother-in-law, Letizia Roxas Constantino, who was born on the same day 22 years earlier, dreaded the idea of thenceforth celebrating her birthday on such a sad day. Yet, this coincidence has only had a salutary effect. With hardly any … Read more

Last January, my brother Goli and our cousin George came home specifically to go on a long motorcycle ride with the Hombres, our biking group of middle-aged professionals who like riding to breakfast on any Sunday. The previous year, these two California-based dudes rode with us to Yosemite Valley, setting the pace on America’s fast … Read more

They used to be called “spiritual retreats”—communal gatherings governed by silence and led by retreat masters who offer personal reflections aimed at stimulating a review of one’s inner life. When I was young, I slept through most of them, finding little in them that was worth keeping. The intensification of guilt was what they seemed … Read more

I have just finished reading the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s report on the Mamasapano incident. It is very short compared to the reports of the Philippine National Police board of inquiry and of the Senate. As expected, its account of the events does not diverge significantly from the narrative previously offered by MILF peace panel … Read more

When we Filipinos talk about Singapore, it is nearly always in the context of a broader discussion of what is wrong with the Philippines. Rarely do we talk about our affluent neighbor in order to highlight the positive in our own way of life. Singapore is for many of us the mirror of our aspirations … Read more

Hearing it from the US state department, one would think American security personnel played no more than a peripheral role in the Mamasapano encounter. Here’s how its spokesperson, Jen Psaki, put it at the department’s daily press briefing last March 18: “At the request of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, personnel serving in the … Read more