Author Archives: admin

Interview on Sabah, Taiwan, GDP

By admin | July 4, 2013

The Diplomat’s Jonathan DeHart spoke with Filipino activist, legislator and writer Raymond “Mong” Palatino about his country’s recent spat with Taiwan, the Sabah turmoil, and the Philippines’ impressive economic growth. The Philippines has been through a lot politically and diplomatically these past few months, starting with the turmoil in Sabah and most recently in the […]

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Dear Neophyte

By admin | July 1, 2013

As I write this, there seems to be frantic race in Batasan to file the first set of bills in the 16th Congress. It’s a futile effort since the date of filing has no bearing in the calendaring of measures dictated by the powerful Rules Committee. Furthermore, being an early porker or early bird doesn’t […]

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Singapore Tightens Grip on News Websites

By admin | June 26, 2013

Written for The Diplomat Singapore’s new licensing scheme for news websites has ignited a flurry of criticism from netizens, press freedom advocates, and human rights groups, who have quickly denounced it as a draconian censorship measure. On May 28, the Media Development Authority (MDA) announced that news websites reporting on Singapore that receive at least […]

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Blackouts, Politics, Conspiracies

By admin | June 23, 2013

Written for The Diplomat Massive blackouts have hit several Southeast Asian countries in the past month, causing widespread panic, business losses, and even political controversy. On May 8, a sudden outage in five power plants in the Philippines plunged 40 percent of Luzon Island into darkness, including Metropolitan Manila. Meanwhile, on May 21, mysterious lightning […]

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Adventure Time

By admin | June 20, 2013

For a few minutes, I was King of Marinduque. It was in 2011 during a graduation event in Boac when province elders led by Governor Carmencita Reyes welcomed me by holding a putong ceremony. According to my lolo, one branch of the Palatino clan migrated and settled in south Marinduque. After traversing a ‘river highway’ […]

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Thai Politics According to Yingluck Shinawatra

By admin | June 15, 2013

It was the speech everybody had been waiting two years to hear, but few in the international community immediately recognized it. Last month, Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra traveled to the 7th Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies in Mongolia where she discussed the importance of democracy, good governance, and her perspectives on Thailand’s […]

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There and Back Again

By admin | June 9, 2013

The House of Representatives honored its own members last June 5 by distributing medals, plaques, and other mementos to first, second, and third termers of the 15th Congress. It was the most disgusting selfie moment of the year. What could be a more ghastly way of wasting taxpayers’ money than staging a superfluous pomp for […]

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The Politics of Numerology

By admin | May 29, 2013

Written for The Diplomat Numbers are important in explaining political issues and interpreting election results but they are rarely used to identify a person’s political affiliation, much less a person’s religion. In Southeast Asia, however, where numerology has retained its appeal among the masses, numbers are increasingly being used by politicians and religious leaders in […]

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Malaysia’s Election “Tsunami”

By admin | May 28, 2013

Written for The Diplomat The word “tsunami” became politically controversial in the aftermath of Malaysia’s 13th General Election on May 5, which saw the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) receiving a fresh mandate to lead the country, albeit with reduced votes and fewer parliamentary seats. BN has ruled Malaysia since the 1950s, making it one of […]

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Leftists and Politicians

By admin | May 18, 2013

Viewed from the outside, the reactionary state apparatus appears to be a brutal and beastly machine. Viewed from the inside, this juggernaut looks enigmatic. Seductively enigmatic. Nevertheless, it remains a ferocious stinking monster. Its hypnotic stink, however, is camouflaged by trappings, rituals, symbols, and other elegant deodorizers which distort the gaze of everybody, including the […]

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