It has become fashionable to pronounce the return of Philippine democracy through the 1986 people power uprising a failure—on two counts. One, because it has made no dent on the economic condition of the poor. And two, because it has not been able to dismantle the rule of political dynasties. Both points are persuasive. The … Read more

Some years from now, when students of politics and governance begin to publish scholarly papers on the structure of official corruption in our country, the Janet Lim-Napoles scam could emerge as the most crucial episode in the nation’s struggle to modernize its political system.  We might then realize that the effort we exert today to … Read more

In the months following the overthrow of the Marcos regime in February 1986, Filipinos greeted the air of freedom with a euphoric sigh of relief. The word “miracle” was on everybody’s lips. This was a way of making sense of a series of events that could have easily taken a different turn—what sociologists call a … Read more

As guilty as they may be in the public eye, legislators who are accused of receiving kickbacks from their pork barrel allocations have every right to defend themselves against attempts to prejudge their guilt. The determination of wrongdoing is best left to the justice system. But, this brings up the question of the function of … Read more

Watching the Filipino figure skater Michael Christian Martinez compete the other night in the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, brought me back to those times when my wife and I used to spend Saturday afternoons at the mall watching our granddaughter Julia learn how to skate on ice. The ice skating rink at SM Megamall … Read more

In the small neighborhood on the UP campus where I live, I often see a young boy in a wheelchair breeze past my house. His body appears shrunken and deformed, but his handsome face tells me he must be in his early teens. His eyes riveted to the sky and the trees above him, he … Read more

It has been almost six months since the first cases of plunder and graft involving lawmakers’ pork barrel were filed at the Office of the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman has to carefully evaluate these charges before endorsing them to the Sandiganbayan for trial or dismissing them outright for insufficiency of evidence.  The one thing the Ombudsman … Read more

In previous columns, I have argued that Thailand’s attempts to grapple with the complex problem of legitimacy since 2001 illuminate for us the roots of the crisis that rocked our society during the presidencies of Joseph Ejercito “Erap” Estrada and of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA). They prod us to reflect on the exigencies of our … Read more

Neighboring Thailand goes to the polls today (Sunday) with the hope of resolving the festering political conflict that has taken an increasingly violent turn in the last three months. The opposition is not just boycotting these elections; it is threatening to disrupt the voting itself. The government has offered to postpone the elections, if necessary, … Read more

The big topic of coffee shop talk these days is not the signing of the last annexes to the peace accord with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Nor is it the government’s latest bid to sidestep the constitutional issues triggered by the Disbursement Acceleration Program by arguing that the program has ceased, and therefore the … Read more