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Overcoming the politics of hatred that killed MP Jo Cox
“Fight against the hate that killed Jo,” were among the first words that came from the lips of Brendan Cox, the widow that Jo left behind together with their two young children.He continued, “Jo...
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Peace talks: Political prisoners?
The preliminary meeting between the Duterte representatives and the putative leaders of the CPP-NPA-NDF in Oslo is over, and they have two pages to show for it. “Duterte representatives” because at...
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Who is Rodrigo Duterte?
It is hard to resist blaming our people for Rodrigo Duterte. It’s not just that he won by a landslide. Millions of people have placed their hopes for a better future on him. We have no choice but to...
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What is the role of fathers in breastfeeding?
Before Jamir was born, my wife Nean and I did a lot of research on breastfeeding and its benefits to the mother and the baby. We've even attended birth class and some breastfeeding talks to know more...
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My last summer with lola
Lately when I wake up in the morning, I can still smell the scent of heno de pravia, which was my lola's favorite bath soap. I expect her to be waiting for me when I walk down the stairs and greet me,...
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'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer'
With the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration on the legality of China’s 9-Dash Line drawing near, and a week since the commemoration of our 118th Independence Day, national pride is boosting...
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#AnimatED: Defeating the Abu Sayyaf
The Abu Sayyaf (ASG) has beheaded 3 foreign hostages in recent months, 2 of them Canadians and one Malaysian. Before this despicable rampage, the kidnap-for-ransom group also killed a Filipino...
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Coalitions for reform? What needs to be done
On June 20, 2016, incoming Finance secretary Sonny Dominguez called for "coalitions for reform" as the Duterte administration prepares its economic agenda. In sum, he challenged the business community...
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That thingy called rape culture
When I was 15 or 16, I rode a tricycle to get to my PE class on a bright, sunny, but still sleepy weekday morning. I had woken up later than planned, so the usual 15-20 minute walk from my dorm to the...
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Lapuz’s loose lips (Part 1)
The premature announcement by Ateneo de Davao president Joel Tabora, SJ, that former UST professor Jose David Lapuz would be appointed the new head of the Commission of Higher Education (vice Dr...
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Lapuz’s loose lips (Part 2)
Lapuz's loose lips part 1Professor Jose David Lapuz's early years as a defender of secularism and the Enlightenment have disappeared in the current merriment/panic over his ambition to be CHED...
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No to mining? Think again
With the nomination of Gina Lopez to the DENR portfolio, the mining industry in the Philippines has every reason to be perturbed. No, it has every reason to panic. Lopez is known for her staunch, often...
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Aquino: Crucible of leadership
The inner doors open and 56-year-old President Benigno Aquino III, talking to two aides, walks into the Music Room. In his hands, he holds two briefers. While putting on his microphone for our video...
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#AnimatED: Duterte and high expectations
On June 30, Rodrigo Duterte, who won by a commanding lead, will start his 6-year term as president of the Philippines.He takes office amid high expectations that the country will be safer and lives...
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Brexit: Nobody loves a bureaucracy
The world was taken aback by the British vote to leave the European Union (EU) in last Thursday’s (June 23) referendum. We needn’t have been so surprised. The experience with EU referenda in countries...
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Respecting LGBTQIA, celebrating pride
Note: Last June 24, 2016, I received the Bahaghari Media Awards given by Rainbow Rights, Philippine, Outrage Magazines and the US Embassy for mainly for my Rappler columns supporting LGBT persons. This...
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Manili Massacre: Don’t look back in anger
Yesterday, I was chatting online with a former colleague about a common friend (I cannot even remember his name or my association with him). He died in a freak motorbike accident in Davao, which...
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The first minutes of a Duterte Cabinet meeting
Patricio Abinales found this unedited transcript of an audio-report in a garbage bin along Arluegi Street. Given that President Duterte refused to talk to the media until the end of his term, Filipinos...
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10 things Christians can do to apologize to the LGBT community
In a historic move, Pope Francis said during an interview that the Church must apologize for marginalizing LGBTQ people. Despite this Catholic leader's progressive stances in the past, a statement such...
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Why Duterte is not – and is unlikely to be – a socialist
As new Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte prepares to assume office, a growing number of Filipinos seem to – or want to – believe his surprising claim that he will be the country’s first “socialist”...
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