One can sympathize with Sen. Koko Pimentel’s dilemma as he ponders the wisdom of joining the senatorial slate of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) for 2013.  How can he run in the same party, campaign on the same stage, and endorse the candidacy of a person he has accused of electoral fraud?  Koko was the … Read more

RIGHT AFTER being removed from his position as Chief Justice, Renato Corona announced that he would go on a lecture tour to launch a crusade for transparency and judicial independence. No doubt, this is an important and timely crusade. But one can’t help asking if the former Chief Justice is the right person to spearhead … Read more

Forty years ago, a radical philosopher by the name of Ivan Illich rocked the world of education by suggesting that children’s learning needs would be better served if they were not made to go through the institutional “funnels” of regimented formal education. He advocated, as an alternative, the formation of “educational webs which heighten the … Read more

If I were a young parent today with the choice of where to send my child for basic education, which school would I choose? There is no simple answer. One’s choice of school would depend, first of all, on the kind of education one thinks his child needs. In turn, this would depend on the … Read more

Most of us do not get to know the names of the members of the Supreme Court because, unlike politicians, they are seldom in the public eye. Neither do we remember how they look, apart from the thick robes they wear. It is as it should be. We stand in awe of the members of … Read more

Justice wears a blindfold because it is supposed to only hear the voices of the individuals that come before it, and not see and be affected by the statuses they carry with them. The tenacity of justice is especially put to a test in an impeachment process, an institution that has been devised precisely to … Read more

On the 40th day of his trial, Chief Justice Renato Corona himself took the witness stand. The head of the impeachment court, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, graciously welcomed him, assuring him that he would be treated with utmost respect befitting his position and the institution he represents.  Barely acknowledging these gestures of courtesy, the … Read more

In many ways, tomorrow’s (Monday) caucus of the senator-judges is probably as crucial to the impeachment case as the much-awaited testimony of the accused Chief Justice Renato Corona.  We may recall that some of the senators, after hearing the explosive testimony of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, expressed a need to verify her findings by summoning … Read more

It is catchy and has rhythm.  It is the phrase that beleaguered Chief Justice Renato Corona used to describe the diagram of his alleged multiple bank transactions: a “lantern of lies.”  The curious reader will be forgiven for turning to Google to find the meaning and provenance of this fascinating idiom. Lanterns and lies seem … Read more

China refers to Scarborough Shoal as Huangyan Island. The crucial word is not Huangyan, but the nature of the disputed territory. Is it a shoal or an island? What’s in a name? An island is land territory surrounded by water; a shoal is an area mostly under water. Harry Roque, professor of international law at … Read more