Author Archives: admin

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 […]

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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 […]

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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. […]

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Philippine Scholars Summit

By admin | December 2, 2013

Talumpating binigkas sa UST, Oktubre 24, 2013 Mahigit 20 milyon ang mag-aaral sa Pilipinas, mula kinder hanggang post-grad. Subalit hindi lahat nakakatapos ng pag-aaral. Mataas ang drop-out rate mula elementary hanggang kolehiyo. Sa kolehiyo, hindi lalagpas sa kalahating milyon ang nakakatapos taun-taon samantalang 4 milyon ang enrolment kada semestre. Sana ang grupong ito ay maging […]

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The Meaning of Yolanda

By admin | December 1, 2013

Written for Bulatlat If there is a bigger calamity than super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), it must be the Philippine government which has been notoriously inept in the wake of the devastation wrought by the storm in the Visayas. But aside from deficiency in leadership, the slow response of the government also reflected the tragic state […]

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Arroyo, Aquino and the Left

By admin | November 27, 2013

Written for Bulatlat 1. Did the Left support Gloria Arroyo in 2001 and 2004? The Left was part of Edsa Dos uprising and support for Arroyo was incidental since she was at that time the Vice President who stood to benefit from Estrada’s ouster. In 2004, the Left didn’t openly endorse any presidential candidate. It’s […]

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Lessons from the Haiyan Typhoon Tragedy

By admin | November 26, 2013

Written for The Diplomat The Philippine government has already declared a state of national calamity in the wake of the devastation caused by super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) on several Visayas islands. More than 10,000 are feared dead after Haiyan, the strongest storm in the world this year, ravaged entire communities – especially the costal barangays […]

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Our year of living disastrously

By admin | November 19, 2013

Written for the CNN The images of the devastation wrought by super typhoon Haiyan as it hit the Philippines the past two days have shocked people across the globe. But be prepared for even more heartbreaking images and stories of the storm’s aftermath once reporters and rescuers are finally able to reach remote coastal towns […]

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Singapore’s ‘Tuition Industrial Complex’

By admin | November 5, 2013

Written for The Diplomat Policymakers are debating the social impact of private tuition or tutoring classes which have proliferated in recent years. The numbers are simply staggering: More than 90 percent of primary students are enrolled in after-school tuition centers while parents spend an estimated $680 million annually on tutoring services. Soon, it will be […]

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Information Fatigue

By admin | November 2, 2013

Written for Bulatlat If journalism is history in a hurry, can we describe social media as the hurrying of history? Because of mobile Internet, events are ‘instantiated’ in our timelines and webpages. We constantly access the Internet not simply to read the mirror images of this morning’s newspapers or videos of last night’s news reports […]

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