Author Archives: admin

Protests Greet New Year in Southeast Asia

By admin | January 18, 2014

Written for The Diplomat Southeast Asia was rocked by street protests during the first week of the new year – a troubling preview of the unfolding political and economic crisis gripping many countries in the region. In Malaysia, consumers rallied against the looming price hikes in petrol, sugar and other basic products. In Cambodia, garment […]

Posted in east asia | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

‘Wrecking Ball’ and other objects that made news in 2013

By admin | January 14, 2014

Written for Bulatlat 1. Martilyo. Robbers belonging to the ‘Martilyo Gang’ used a hammer and crowbar to rob jewelry shops in SM North Edsa, the grandmother of all supermalls in the country. Because of this incident which happened during the Christmas shopping rush, hammers cannot be sold anymore in malls and police has banned the […]

Posted in nation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Southeast Asia in 2013: Disasters and Election Protests

By admin | January 12, 2014

Written for The Diplomat Southeast Asia experienced numerous disasters in 2013: oil spills, dengue outbreaks, earthquakes, bus crashes, and massive floods. But the two biggest were the trans-boundary haze pollution that affected Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia; and super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), which wrought devastation in the central part of the Philippines. The haze was caused […]

Posted in east asia | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘We Should Legalize Everything’ and other shocking sound bites of 2013

By admin | January 10, 2014

Written for Bulatlat 2013 was a calamitous year for the Philippines – earthquakes, strong typhoons, bus crashes, corruption scandals. The reactions of various newsmakers to these disasters have revealed a lot of things about the fundamental flaws in governance, and in particular the inability of President BS Aquino to govern properly and decisively. Let us […]

Posted in nation | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

East Timor-Australia Spying Scandal

By admin | December 31, 2013

Written for The Diplomat It seems Australia likes to spy on its neighbors. After Indonesia, it is East Timor’s turn to criticize Australia for alleged espionage targeting its leaders. Australia is accused of conducting an operation that targeted East Timor’s Cabinet when the two countries were negotiating a gas treaty in 2004. After learning about […]

Posted in east asia | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

13 natural and man-made disasters of 2013

By admin | December 28, 2013

Written for Bulatlat 1. Taiwan-Philippines diplomatic row. The crisis was triggered by the tragic killing of a 65-year-old Taiwanese fisherman by members of the Philippine Coast Guard on May 9 in Balintang Channel. Angered by the incident, Taiwan stopped issuing work visas to Filipinos and has conducted military exercises near Philippine waters. The Coast Guard […]

Posted in nation | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Manny Pacquiao as Legislator

By admin | December 26, 2013

Written for The Diplomat For his fans around the world, he is the greatest boxing champion of our time. For fellow Filipinos, he is the humble hero of the masses and pride of the Philippines. But for Sarangani residents in the southern region of Mindanao island, Manny Pacquiao is more than an athlete and living […]

Posted in congress | Tagged | 1 Comment

Eight Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Bonifacio and the Katipunan

By admin | December 24, 2013

Written for Bulatlat 1. The decision to adopt the acronym KKK was a radical act. The letter K was not part of the Tagalog alphabet during the time of Rizal and Bonifacio. Since Filipinos at that time were using the Spanish writing system, the letter K was represented by letter C. The Kataastaasan Kagalang-galang na […]

Posted in nation | Tagged | 1 Comment

Thailand’s Provocative Protesters

By admin | December 9, 2013

Written for The Diplomat News of Thai protesters occupying several government buildings in Bangkok reminded many of similar provocative rallies which shook the nation’s capital in 2008 and 2010. Indeed, one way to analyze how the current crisis will unfold is to review how various political forces reacted in the past. In 2008 the People’s […]

Posted in east asia | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Daang Matuwid at Mabuting Pamamahala

By admin | December 6, 2013

Talumpating binigkas sa Escaler Auditorium, Ateneo de Manila, Nobyembre 29, 2013 Ang unang slogan ni Noynoy Aquino noong 2009 ay ‘Hindi ako Magnanakaw’. Star-studded pa ang ginawang music video na nilahukan ng maraming artista na may hawak na sulo. Patutsada ito sa pamahalaan ni Gloria Arroyo na kumaharap ng maraming kaso at iskandalo ng korupsiyon. […]

Posted in speeches | Tagged , | Leave a comment