By Alex P. Vidal “Life is a racket. Writing is a racket. Sincerity is a racket. Everything’s a racket.”—Nick Tosches MANY personalities who filed their Certificates of Candidacy (COC) for various local and national positions in the May 9, 2022 Philippine election aren’t really serious about their candidacies. They are those who don’t have the
November 12, 2021
By Alex P. Vidal “Bluffing is most effective when done sporadically; bluff too often, and you’ll blow your credibility.” – Daniel Negreanu IF she will be elected (her supporters have nothing to worry if she’s “late” because daddy knows best) as the next vice president in the May 9, 2022 Philippine election, how can the
November 11, 2021
By Alex P. Vidal “’Twas but my tongue, ’twas not my soul that swore.”—Euripides BEFORE the advent of CCTV and high-tech cellphones, community and neighborhood crimes were hard to solve by the police, or mostly weren’t solved at all. If there’s no evidence and witnesses, there’s no solution to the crime or crimes committed. If
November 9, 2021
By Alex P. Vidal “Activity in politics also produces eager competition and sharp rivalry.”—John George Nicolay IN THOSE times when Bacolod City Mayor Evelio “Bing” Leonardia carried Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao’s WBO belt inside the ring in Las Vegas, former Bacolod congressman and city mayor Monico “Nyuk” Puentevella stayed away from the limelight. The two
November 8, 2021
By Alex P. Vidal “The saddest thing in life is wasted talent and the choices you make will shape your life forever.” – Chazz Palminteri WE can’t elect all the candidates running for public office in the May 9, 2022 Philippine election, but we can scrutinize the “lesser evil” if not the “best.” This is
November 6, 2021
By Alex P. Vidal “Don’t tell me what you believe in. I’ll observe how you behave, and I will make my own determination.” – Alex Trebek WE will continue to keep an eye on 43-year-old Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte and mayor of Davao City, until November 15, the deadline for substitution of
November 5, 2021
By Alex P. Vidal “Embarrassment and awkward situations are not foreign things to me.”—Paul Rudd I WAS 13 minutes by walk away from the Aretsky’s Patroon restaurant in East Manhattan, where a small group of Filipino American protesters, led by Bayan USA, stormed October 29 evening to oppose Harry Roque’s nomination to the UN International
November 2, 2021
By Alex P. Vidal “A healthy democracy requires a decent society; it requires that we are honorable, generous, tolerant and respectful.”—Charles W. Pickering IF the angry emperor continues to tolerate graft and corruption in his administration, kill or order the police to commit murder in the name of law enforcement, curse and bully people he
October 30, 2021
By Alex P. Vidal “We would all like to vote for the best man but he is never a candidate.” —Kin Hubbard UNLIKE Iloilo governor Arthur “Toto” Defensor Jr. and Iloilo City mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas, most local government unit (LGU) chief executives in the country still haven’t revealed their choices for president and vice
October 30, 2021
By Alex P. Vidal “True independence and freedom can only exist in doing what’s right.” —Brigham Young A TRUE media “fiscalizer” committed to mirroring the truth and acting as the vanguard of democracy should limit himself—if not refrain—from associating with politicians, police and military officials with the inclination to abuse their power and commit shenanigans.
October 29, 2021
By Alex P. Vidal “Nobody really knows what they’re doing. Some are just better at pretending like they do.”—Kumail Nanjiani THE easiest way for the candidates in the May 9, 2022 Philippine election to attract the voters’ attention during the campaign period is to act naturally and refrain from borrowing the identities of others. There’s
October 28, 2021
By Alex P Vidal “Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be attained only by someone who is detached.”—Simone Weil EACH time the uproar on election substitution was brought up in any discussion, the name of Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa would always immediately surface. It’s so unfortunate for Dela Rosa that his
October 27, 2021