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The year of getting things right
Twenty-sixteen was called many names. The year of voting dangerously. The complete meltdown of humanity. The age of post-truth politics. A year of terror, war, and political turbulence. A horrifying...
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Duterte's imagined 2017 New Year's resolutions
2017 New Year's Resolutions ofPresident Rodrigo Roa DuterteDelivered at Rizal Hall, Malacañan Palace | 1 January 2017I’d like to just tell you a story. I was a small-time mayor and I never wanted to be...
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Weighting in vain
I am sharing my 12-month journey of triumph, failures, and self-discovery. Last year, I experienced having cardiovascular problems, such as chest pain, easy fatigability, and abnormal ECG tracings. At...
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Thinking of martial law? Time for collective action
Congressional debate on martial law has suddenly taken public attention when President Duterte expressed strong disappointment in the way it is provided for in the 1987 Constitution. He cannot...
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A year of deviant knights
The Americans have never had a ruder and unlikelier awakener than Donald Trump: he has done it with antithetical values – he is sexist, homophobic, and xenophobic. And he is taking over as their...
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Bidding 2016 farewell and welcoming 2017
Do not attribute to 2017 qualities it – or any year for that matter – does not have.It is no bundle of pre-determined events just waiting to be unraveled.There is really nothing to foresee, foretell or...
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Rodrigo Duterte: A fascist original
Fascism, someone wrote, comes in different forms to different societies so that people expecting fascism to develop in the “classic way” fail to recognize it even when it is already upon them. In 2016,...
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#AnimatED: Democracy watch in 2017
In December, President Rodrigo Duterte set alarm bells ringing when he said he wanted the Constitution amended so that a president should be able to declare martial law without the approval of Congress...
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Condoms in schools won't cut it
The Department of Health’s plan to distribute condoms in public high schools may stem from good intentions. But with all due respect, it is unlikely to achieve the goal of reducing the incidence of...
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From an old poet to a young novelist (and back)
[On December 12, 2016, Miguel Syjuco, the novelist, posted on Facebook his agreement with Herbert Docena's December article on Rappler saying: "Though we must of course march alongside Robredo in her...
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[DASH of SAS] Give the gift of choice
It was around Christmas time in 2012, then President Benigno Aquino III quietly signed the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RH) Act into law. It was the fulfillment of Aquino’s promise...
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Federalism's implications on our legal and judicial systems
This is the first of a series of articles the authors (and other collaborators) will be writing on constitutional change. The intent of the series is to influence the process of amending or revising...
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Why raising SSS pensions isn't that simple
Combating social inequality is hard in itself. But the recent debacle over the proposed SSS (Social Security System) pension hike highlights the even tougher task of redressing inequality across...
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Matobato is holding out
It doesn't look like Edgar Matobato, the whistleblower on President Rodrigo Duterte, is going away. He's prepared to hang for his crime, he maintains, but Duterte should go first.Matobato remains in...
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#AnimatED: AMLC's bloodless contribution to war on drugs
For Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has been a prickly thorn in his side. Last year, Aguirre lashed out at them for not sharing financial information on...
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New Year’s resolutions
It’s that time of year again. People are awash in the usual new year articles and discussions. A new year is about hope and new beginnings.Coming from well-needed vacations, many are also coming from...
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Duterte, Mocha and outflanking critics
Often, if feels like President Duterte and his most fervent supporters like Mocha Uson are playing a political game that his critics are still trying to figure out.It's as if the former are playing...
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10 years after Tokhang: Options for transitional justice and reconciliation
Consider this a work of speculative fiction.It is 2032, ten years after Rodrigo Roa Duterte successfully ended his term as president, and with it, the lives of the estimated 4-5 million "drug...
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Duterte's talks with NDF: The meat of the matter
Later this month, the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) enter their third round of talks under the Duterte administration. Foremost in the agenda is the second...
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Is federalism the silver bullet?
Shortly after the fall of the Marcos dictatorship, the nation’s leaders embarked on a reform that would reverse the over-centralization of power and finance. Launched in 1991, the Local Government Code...
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