THIS writer wonders why the House Quad Committee (Quadcom) investigating the extrajudicial killings (EJKs) and war on drugs during the Rodrigo Duterte administration has not thought of inviting former Vice President Leni Robredo as a resource person. Lest we have forgotten, former President Rodrigo Duterte appointed VP Leni as his “anti-drug czar”
December 2, 2024
IF you have become “addicted” to evening newscasts on GMA-TV, you must have noticed its daily video coverage of bumper-to-bumper traffic in Metro Manila even in late nights. A valid explanation is the proximity of the Christmas month when people go out to attend pre-Christmas parties, shop in the malls, or travel to
November 29, 2024
HERE goes an anecdote is said about two famous American novelists in the 1920s, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway: “The rich are different from you and me,” Fitzgerald quipped. “Yes,” Hemingway reacted, “they have more money.” I remembered that story while having coffee with my friend Berd Vargas (a former radio/TV broadcaster) at
November 27, 2024
AS the month of December is about to unfold, we fantasize about the Christmas presents we hope to give and to receive. But some of us have yet to fully pay debts incurred in Christmas 2023. To them, there is never enough income to make both ends meet. Because of the fast
November 25, 2024
ONCE there was a radio jingle, “Ang utang ay dapat bayaran, nang tayo’y pagkakatiwalaan.” Yes, we have to pay our monetary debts, lest we earn the ire of our creditors. It’s somewhat a different matter, however, when what we owe is a debt of gratitude – utang na loob in Tagalog, utang nga buot or utang nga
November 22, 2024
THE Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, signed into law by President Marcos on September 23, 2024, aims to protect and improve the opportunities of Filipino seafarers. Since there are already applicable labor laws covering exploited seamen, the Magna Carta — principally authored by Senator Raffy Tulfo — mainly seeks to enlighten them
November 20, 2024
YESTERDAY’S TV newscast showed residents of Tagkawayan, Quezon rushing to evacuation centers to escape the wrath of super typhoon Pepito. Among them was a mother of five minor children. Her husband, she cried, had become jobless. How would they survive? I could not help but empathize with her anxiety. I remembered my
November 18, 2024
THE last time I was in Anini-y, Antique, it was for the sole purpose of “time travel” to the 17th century through the town’s oldest tourist attraction, the baroque Roman Catholic Church. A plate marker “greeted” me at the huge door. Installed by the National Historical Commission, the marker identifies the edifice as
November 15, 2024
IF former Valderrama, Antique Mayor Ray Roquero had visualized himself occupying the office of provincial governor of Antique after election 2025, it was because he was counting on the endorsement of Senator Loren Legarda and her re-electionist brother, Congressman Antonio “AA” Legarda. In fact, Ray had been going the rounds of radio
November 13, 2024
FORMER presidential spokesman Harry Roque, though unseen in public for over a month, continues to post Instagram videos that spill disinformation. For example, he called President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (PBBM) a “pinakamalaking loser” following Donald Trump’s election for the second time as President of the United States. “Dahil malapit nga ang dating Presidente Duterte kay Trump,”
November 11, 2024
AN updated report from National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) estimated the damage to agriculture due to tropical cyclones Kristine and Leon at P6 billion. The lion’s share of that loss is rice production at P4.2 billion. Because of those figures, we rightly fear that the country’s rice farms would
November 8, 2024
WHILE I was writing this, the TV newscast was warning about the entry of tropical storm Marce into the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR). The weather forecaster said, “It will move north-westward to westward at a slow pace over the Philippine Sea east of extreme Northern Luzon.” “Not again,” I muttered. There
November 6, 2024