@mongster is a Manila-based activist, former Philippine legislator, and blogger/analyst of Asia-Pacific affairs.
Written for Bulatlat Waray, which refers to both the lingua franca and the people of Samar and Leyte, literally means nothing. It is interesting and also quite strange that this term is also used to signify nothingness. But can there be something out of nothing? Can nothing produce something? Today, the word Waray is both […]
Panday Pira, Tondo, Maynila Mawawalan na ng bisa ang 60-day TRO na ipinataw ng Korte Suprema sa dagdag singil ng Meralco. Bago dumating ang araw na ito, nangagailangan ng malakas at maingay na protesta upang itulak ang korte na maglabas ng desisyong tuluyang ibabasura ang sobra-sobrang paniningil ng Meralco at power companies. Tayong mamamayan ang […]
Written for The Diplomat Thailand conducted a “peaceful” election yesterday amid worsening political tension in the country. Let us first review some essential numbers: Thailand has 48 million eligible voters out of a population of 65 million. According to the Election Commission, voting took place in 89 percent of 93,952 polling stations nationwide. But the […]
Written for The Diplomat Several Asian nations reacted harshly when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the controversial Yasukuni war shrine last month. But in Manila, which was the second most devastated Allied city during World War II, Abe’s visit almost went unnoticed. Yasukuni is Japan’s monument to honor citizens who died during the Second […]
Written for Bulatlat Despite its high Gross Domestic Product in recent years, the Philippines has remained a backward nation. Poverty numbers didn’t change although wealth disparity has worsened especially between the rural and the urban. It’s clear that the GDP is an inaccurate and inadequate measure of the real state of the economy. Its use […]
Written for The Diplomat Kangkung, or water spinach, has been trending in Malaysia since last week after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak cited it as an example of a commodity that has become less expensive over the course of his administration. Najib was responding to protests against rising prices caused by the government’s decision to […]
