In September 1991, the Philippine Senate voted to reject a new bases treaty that would have allowed the United States to keep its military facilities in the Philippines. That decision was a watershed in the relationship between the Philippines and its former colonial master.  Many thought of it as marking the true beginning of a … Read more

The P-Noy administration’s plan to clear Metro Manila’s esteros and waterways of informal settlers by offering them money and resettlement is commendable. But it is nothing new. Past administrations devised all kinds of schemes to entice families living in these unsafe areas to go back to their provinces. But, even before the flood and typhoon … Read more

Singapore prides itself in having the greenest and cleanest city in all of Asia. Its environmental laws are exacting. A government agency religiously monitors the quality of the country’s air. Smokers are treated like an outcast race exiled to a few corners where they can poison their own lungs without harming the health of others. … Read more

Whatever it was that motivated our colleagues and students at the University of the Philippines College of Business Administration to name their college—the academic program itself, and not just the building—after their esteemed alumnus and former dean, Cesar E.A. Virata, I am quite sure it had nothing to do with the pledge of an endowment. … Read more

What is it exactly that we praise in fathers?  The answer, of course, very much depends on the culture. While there are traits (like being a good provider) that are universally admired, our notions of what constitutes ideal fatherhood will tend to vary not just across cultures but also across generations. I grew up being … Read more

When General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine independence from Spain on June 12, 1898, he had only the vaguest idea of how to proceed to establish a self-governing nation. The act was mainly the initiative of the military chiefs of the revolution. Missing was the civilian component. It fell on Apolinario Mabini to work out what … Read more

A parent whose biggest goal in life is to see all her children graduate from the University of the Philippines wrote me the other day to ask what advice to give her son who had taken a leave of absence from his studies in UP in order to work in their town’s local government. The … Read more

Something unusual is happening in Turkey today that is not eliciting much local interest, mostly because there are not many Filipinos living and working there about whose safety we usually worry.  Since last week, the tail end of May, waves of antigovernment mass demonstrations have rocked this ancient land straddling Europe and Asia.  People have … Read more

Invited to give the keynote speech at the 7th National Social Science Congress the other day, I welcomed the occasion not as a celebration of the work we have done but as a cue to allow the next generation to shine. The congress had “Generations” for its theme. I spoke about the political oligarchies that … Read more

POPS is an acronym for “privately-owned public space,” a concept that is fast replacing our traditional notion of public space.  The old public space we knew referred to town plazas, parks, squares, and promenades where citizens congregated in their free time.  Nowadays, the most common public spaces are the shopping malls that were built for … Read more