Mong Palatino

Blogging about the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific since 2004

About

@mongster is a Manila-based activist, former Philippine legislator, and blogger/analyst of Asia-Pacific affairs.

Archive for the 'youth' Category

On June 4, 2012, Monday, the House of Representatives passed on third reading House Bill 6052 which seeks to amend RA9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006. Kabataan Partylist Representative Raymond Palatino was one of the 9 legislators who opposed the measure which would lower the minimum age for criminal responsibility from […]

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No Country for Young Politicians

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

There are no young politicians in the Philippines. Politicians are getting younger but their politics remain old. The new faces, the fashionable and adorable ones, come from the same old boring brand. According to the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center, seventy-seven percent (77 percent) of legislators aged 26-40 belong to political dynasties. They are […]

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Araw ng Kabataan

Saturday, August 13th, 2011

Kapag Labor Day, may nakahandang biyaya ang pamahalaan para sa mga maliliit na manggagawa. Pagtatanggol sa kalikasan at kultura naman ang karaniwang tema kapag Indigenous People’s Day. At tuwing Araw ng Kababaihan, may pagdidiin sa kabuluhan ng pagsusulong ng pagkakapantay-pantay sa lipunan upang mabaka ang diskriminasyong nakabatay sa kasarian. Pero ano dapat ang maging paksa […]

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Reorient the SK

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

I was interviewed by Manila Bulletin a few months ago about the Sangguniang Kabataan…. 1. I learned that you are siding with the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation in this issue and is against its abolition. Please explain your position/stand on this issue and why you are supporting them. The support is incidental. Our group recognizes the […]

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SK at pagbabago sa lipunan

Friday, May 27th, 2011

Bahagi ito ng leadership module na inihanda ng Kabataan Partylist para sa mga bagong miyembro ng Sangguniang Kabataan. Malaki ang papel ng kabataan sa pagbabago sa lipunan. Sa katunayan, tampok ang naging ambag ng kabataan sa pagtatayo ng ating Republika. Si Rizal ay 25 taong gulang lamang nang isinulat niya ang Noli Me Tangere; si […]

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Secrets of the empire

Monday, April 18th, 2011

1. One of our fighting tasks today is to resist and defeat US imperialism. Philosopher Alain Badiou reminds us that the “basic freedom of states and individuals consists in doing everything and thinking everything in order to escape from the commandments, interventions and interference of that imperial power.” This oppressive power, of course, is not […]

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State of Philippine Sports

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

I attended the 2010 Sports Summit last month organized by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). Hon. Ricardo R. Garcia of the PSC presented the state of Philippine sports while Hon. Jose Cojuangco Jr. of the POC delivered the national sports development plan in the next three years. Garcia was candid […]

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Lost generation

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

Part 1: The Committed Generations Part 2: Senior Citizen activists Part 3: Veterans The Philippine-American War claimed the lives of one million Filipinos and nearly wiped out the country’s carabaos (we had to import water buffaloes from Indonesia after the war). In Balangiga, Samar Province, no adults were allowed to survive. Those who died in […]

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Remembering Edsa Dos

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Written in 2001 during Edsa Dos for the e-groups of the university. (Hindi pa uso ang blogging noon). First published by UP Forum, official publication of the UP administration…. Apat na araw sa lansangan: mga tala ng isang estudyante Myerkules, 17 Enero 2001 – Sa loob lamang ng isang araw ay nakapagpalabas tayo ng mahigit […]

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Online and offline activism

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

In 1995 I joined a protest action to condemn the decision of the French government to conduct nuclear tests in the Pacific. I was only a high school student at that time. We relied on mainstream journalists to document and report the rally. In 2001 I was part of the historic Edsa Dos uprising which […]

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