AS national and local elections on May 9 draw near, “noel” rumors loom wider. The word is short for “no election”. Why so when the Constitution mandates an election every third year on the second Monday of May? In view of President Rodrigo Duterte saying “joke only” whenever proven lying, any “assuring
January 10, 2022
“MACHIAVELLIAN” – the adjective derived from the name of Niccolo Machiavelli, a 16th century diplomat from Florence, Italy who authored the book The Prince (1513) — is how we brand traditional politicians who pretend to care for the people to perpetuate themselves in power. Their “goodness” springs from selfish motives. They are leaders who
January 7, 2022
IN this month of January, medical laboratories enjoy unusually high number of patients seeking blood tests for different reasons, one of which is to determine cholesterol levels. The higher the count – no thanks to meaty Christmas and New Year celebrations — the higher the risk of catching heart diseases. The last
January 5, 2022
“WE three kings of Orient are,” begins the song with the same title, “bearing gifts we traverse afar – field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star.” It is “the last song standing” at Christmas, as it summarizes the visit of the “three kings” to the child Jesus, which the Christian
January 3, 2022
I believe in God, but not in religion. It’s because of religion’s failure to take good care of her flock. This is not to say, however, that a devout parishioner has no business questioning religious beliefs. Take note that the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, though a Roman Catholic, had defied the Church’s
December 31, 2021
WHILE looking at my “expiring” calendar 2021, I saw the red number 30. I remembered it would be Rizal Day tomorrow, commemorating the 125th anniversary of the martyrdom of our national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal. He gave up his life before a firing squad on December 30, 1896. As history books would have
December 29, 2021
IT won’t be easy welcoming New Year 2022 when the clock strikes 12:00 midnight on Friday, understandably because of typhoon Odette that had drained some of us of our meager resources. But as the saying goes, where there is life, there is hope. This we saw in the way victims expressed their
December 27, 2021
DECEMBER is supposed to be the merriest month of the year. It’s Christmas. But in the wake of typhoon Odette that claimed hundreds of lives and devastated infrastructure and crops in Visayas and Mindanao, are there reasons to celebrate and expect a better New Year a week from today? Judging from TV
December 24, 2021
UNTIL now we hear outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte bragging words of “friendship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He is said to have consistently played the “China card”. He seems to be pinning his and his family’s political survival on Chinese intervention in the forthcoming May 9, 2022 presidential election, where his daughter
December 22, 2021
IN a previous column, this writer wrote of the origin of Christmas according to the Encyclopedia Britannica: “The church in Rome began formally celebrating Christmas on December 25 in 336, during the reign of the emperor Constantine. As Constantine had made Christianity the effective religion of the empire, some have speculated that
December 20, 2021
WHEN an ordinary entrepreneur sinks huge capitalization into a venture where others fear to tread, kibitzers may say he has gone “suicidal”. Fortunately, that adjective hardly fits Enrique K. Razon. Otherwise, how could he have earned the “third richest Filipino” moniker? But, yes, he has invested in an industry that is not
December 17, 2021
WHILE I was writing this yesterday, radio stations were taking turns getting the latest weather report from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). Tropical depression Rai was threatening to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) strengthening into a typhoon to be known locally as Odette. If as reported,
December 15, 2021