Monthly Archives: July 2012

K-12: TESDA in High School

By admin | July 30, 2012

Part 1: K-12: Education reform for whom? Part 2: K-12: Miseducation in the 21st century Under K-12, Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) courses will be introduced in the junior and senior high school levels. Students are required to learn exploratory concepts of TESDA courses in Grades 7 and 8. More details below: “…the Grade 7and […]

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Geopolitics of Southeast Asia

By admin | July 29, 2012

Written for The Diplomat The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the largest, and the official, political organization in Southeast Asia. But given where it sits—south of China and Japan, east of India, and north of Australia—the political landscape in this part of the world is not exclusively dictated by ASEAN dynamics. The Indochina […]

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The Arrogant Obscurantist

By admin | July 24, 2012

SONA 2010: Notes from the Plenary SONA 2011: Utak Haciendero I gave my strongest applause when President Noynoy Aquino mentioned in his state of the nation address that he will step down in 2016. Better if the ‘noynoying’ years will be cut short but at least we are assured that Pnoy has no plan (yet) […]

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Southeast Asia: Half-Year of Protests

By admin | July 23, 2012

Malaysia’s electoral reform movement, known as Bersih (clean), succeeded in mobilizing tens of thousands of people in the streets last April. According to organizers, this year’s Bersih was the biggest political rally in the modern history of Malaysia. The government has disputed this claim, but the political impact of Bersih in terms of reinvigorating the […]

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State of the Nation Address 1954-1961

By admin | July 21, 2012

Part 1: SONA 1946 – 1953 This was the time when the number of carabaos and labor unions in the country were still being reported in the president’s state of the nation address. Magsaysay announced in 1956 the malaria will be eradicated in three years. He proposed the creation of a Department of Interior in […]

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Miseducation in the 21st Century

By admin | July 18, 2012

Part 1: K-12: Education reform for whom? Through K-12, the Noynoy Aquino government plans to equip Filipino students with ‘21st century skills’. This seems a lofty goal considering that majority of public schools are stuck in the 20th century twilight zone. Even the commendable plan to integrate ICT starting Grade 1 seems unrealistic given the […]

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More Pork, Doleouts, Bonuses in 2013 Budget

By admin | July 10, 2012

Initial review of the 2013 budget based on the DBM presentation The Noynoy Aquino government is calling the P2.006 trillion proposed budget an ‘empowerment budget’ that will benefit the people, especially the poor. But since the budget (based on the Department of Budget and Management presentation) is loaded with more pork, doleouts, and fat bonuses, […]

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Burma’s Surprising Protests

By admin | July 7, 2012

News about the protests that spread through several Burma towns last week over power shortages should be welcomed as a positive development in the country’s bid to achieve a full democratic transition. The series of peaceful protests started in Mandalay, where hundreds of residents gathered in front of a government electricity agency to condemn the […]

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Dead End and Deadened

By admin | July 5, 2012

The obligatory canned applause to celebrate President Noynoy Aquino’s second year in office will be delivered by the crazed Yellow Gang. They are expected to highlight the visible and quantifiable – though empty and boring – so-called achievements of the government like credit rating, GDP, and investor confidence. The hypnotized herd will probably echo Pnoy’s […]

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