Clik here to view.
'Lola' Pulido: Piniga, binarat, at kinahon sa plastik
People who were touched by Alex Tizon's prose can adulate over his purported anguish and kindness, but no amount of lachrymose worship will erase the fact that Eudocia Tomas Pulido was worked to death...
View ArticleClik here to view.
#AnimatED: Si Yaya, ang aliping sagigilid
“Yaya, Yaya!” It’s a name every middle to upper class Filipino kid knows from the gut and can be as evocative and visceral as “Mama.” We love our mothers but our yaya belong to our heart of hearts,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A child of the university
I have a lot of debt in the area of “writing about the University of the Philippines”. And it’s a debt that comes from several sources, has been unpaid for several years now, and has therefore...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Great lawyers form under most terrible conditions
I laud the philosophical shift the Court has been taking in recognizing the need for greater access to justice for our fellowmen who are cash-challenged, distance-disadvantaged, and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mindanao a laboratory again?
The irony about President Rodrigo Duterte declaring martial law in the entire island of Mindanao is that he is not coming out as the decisive leader who will give Islamic terrorism and communist...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why solidarity with Mindanao requires opposing martial law
As with their "war on drugs”, Duterte and his army of enablers are trying to rally support for martial law and their own version of the "war on terror" by claiming that, just as there is no other way...
View ArticleClik here to view.
#FridayFeels: The garden of compassion
Amid the crisis in Marawi City and the declaration of martial law in Mindanao, we reflect on these words from Islamic poet Jalaluddin Rumi:Grief can be the garden of compassion.If you keep your heart...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Duterte’s China policy shift: Strategy or serendipity?
Close to marking its first year in office, the Duterte administration has turned around the country’s relations with China in a number of ways. Departing from the previous government’s strong...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Digong's Cabinet should talk more, take the bullet
Prez Digong alarmingly and needlessly cut short by a day his trip to Russia and took the mic energetically on arrival for another rambling performance. He talked of martial law (ML) in Mindanao where...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Making sense of Duterte’s martial law
Very recent events in Marawi City are a stark reminder of the serious security and governance challenges facing the country.This is not the first time the Maute group and others like it have threatened...
View ArticleClik here to view.
President Duterte must explain to Congress
The President must explain to Congress.The Constitution obligates him to. He need not appear before the legislators in person, but he must, at the very least, send a written explanation. And whoever...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Atenean facing martial law
Thirty seven years ago, dear Loyolans, I stood in your place, about to take a place of honor and privilege as a graduate of Ateneo.Three years later, Ninoy Aquino would be assassinated; by 1986, the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why Duterte's ‘4 million drug users’ is statistically improbable
Upon his return from Russia, the President gave a press conference where he explained at length his decision to declare martial law across Mindanao.But perhaps just as significant was his on-the-spot...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The pursuit of passion and how it can be wrong
Passion has become a virtue in our day and age. We are asked to listen to our heart, go for our dreams, and be anything we want to be. A song even tells us that there can be miracles when you...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Becoming white: A letter to all Filipinos
I am a Filipino born and raised in the outskirts of Mindanao. I grew up in a place where daily bloodshed is almost normal, where wars are a game of chess, and bullets are seen anywhere like stones.In a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
[Newspoint] Where is Duterte taking us?
When Rodrigo Duterte warned early in his presidency that he might suspend the writ of habeas corpus to allow for arrests without warrants, human rights lawyer Chel Diokno remarked, “The train may have...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lesson from '70s Jolo: War and martial law won't solve the problem
I was 12 years old when my parents sent us to Dumaguete, my mother's birthplace, to escape an impending attack on Jolo by Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) fighters. I remember rehearsing for our...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Martial Law 2.0 in Mindanao: Beta version of Duterte's authoritarian project
Burdening an already overstretched AFP with the responsibilities of administering and governing a civilian population of 22 million promises to divert military action against terrorists. Rather than...
View ArticleClik here to view.
China should pay and go
As a matter of inviolable principle, the Philippines should incorporate in its terms of reference for bilateral talks with China the July 12, 2016, award by the Ad Hoc Arbitral Tribunal constituted...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Who's afraid of martial law… in Mindanao?
Not me. Martial law targets lawless elements, so why should anyone be?I was 24 when I experienced Marcos’ martial law. I was already running the Sunday Punch, then a 17-year old community newspaper...
View Article