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Basagan ng Trip: Is Islam violent?
MANILA, Philippines – Historian Leloy Claudio and sociologist Jayeel Cornelio confront deeply ingrained perceptions that Islam as a religion is inherently violent.Are religions instruments of war or...
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Remembering the Jesuits of Cagayan de Oro
July 31 was the feast day of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus. In celebration, I remembered the Jesuits of Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan (XU), those who helped build...
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Are we postponing barangay and SK elections or not? P500M is at stake
Three months before the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections scheduled for October, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez recently rekindled the talks on the postponement of the nationwide exercise. It...
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Dangerous times for women in a culture of rape in the PH
In the span of just a few weeks, several women have been raped and slain by Filipino men. In one San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan case, 5 members of the family were killed along with the two adult women who...
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The criminal in every Filipino
Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog is dead. He was killed, together with his wife and 13 others, in an early morning raid conducted by the police. His bodyguards allegedly fired a volley of bullets, prompting...
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#FridayFeels: Pagod si Acoe
May caption dapat 'to kaso pagod na ako... #FridayFeels is a cartoon series by the Rappler Creatives Team. Cathartic, light, but relevant, it's a welcome break from your...
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Religion and our state
The topic “religion and the secular state” was what scholars talked about at a forum on Thursday, August 3, that starred, so reports say, several of the lights that shine brightly in the legal...
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Has change really come? Misleading graphs and how to spot them
The Duterte government was elected into office on the promise that “change is coming.” With one year already gone, has change come indeed? How can we tell?To show signs of change, some government...
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Timor-Leste has demonstrated its commitment to democracy – it deserves to...
AINARO, TIMOR LESTE – Bright blue election boxes and indelibly-inked index fingers. These are just some of the vivid colors of democracy that come to mind as I think back to something momentous that...
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A good conversation with a Duterte supporter
While covering the Mindanao Hour press conference in Conrad hotel, I was approached by a supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte named Kelly Dayag. Wearing glasses and with an earnest smile on his face,...
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[Newspoint] Duterte’s figures don’t add up
Had President Duterte achieved anything significant enough to report to the nation when he was called upon to do so after completing his first year in office? Apparently none, because he himself...
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Children in Duterte’s bloody war on drugs
The children in the Philippines are not spared from Duterte’s war on drugs. Some are directly killed and others are part of the “collateral damage” as claimed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.The...
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Accountability and human rights: The role of the CHR
I saw an appeal to push for the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to investigate the violation of human rights by terrorists in light of the Marawi crisis. There was also a push for CHR Chairman Chito...
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#AnimatED: Trapik sa Kamaynilaan, napag-iwanan ng pagbabago?
Ngayong ikalawang linggo ng Agosto, magbubukas na ang lahat ng paaralang nagbago ng school calendar upang makasabay sa global school openings. Parusa na namang magdaan sa C5-Katipunan area, sa U-belt,...
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Failure of the legal system: A challenge to Filipino lawyers
The Philippine legal system is a miserable failure. It has produced lawyers who are adept in using the law to pervert the law. And I say this with so much pain because I worked with many dedicated...
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Adventures in non-faith
My fiancée’s dream wedding has always been a small, private ceremony in San Francisco’s city hall. She will, fortunately for her, get her dream wedding, and, unfortunately for her, be stuck with me for...
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Who will benefit from the free tuition law?
I noticed that some of my friends are conflicted about the new free tuition law that President Duterte signed recently. It sounds good and feels right, but some analysts have also pointed out its...
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[Dash of SAS] Harmful side effects of SC TRO on contraceptives
It’s a scene right out of the dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale. Contraceptives are vanishing from our drugstore shelves and public health clinics. Modern birth control as we know it is on the verge...
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Confronting Islamophobia
Last week, Leloy Claudio invited me to his show Basagan Ng Trip to talk about the relationship between religion and violence. The topic is very timely in light of the Marawi siege. Islam has...
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Human rights advocacy IS a biased endeavor
The threat of House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to give the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) a zero budget for next year due to its supposed bias against law enforcers shows how human rights advocacy has...
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