Author Archives: admin

Sex, Politics & Seksualiti Merdeka

By admin | December 3, 2011

First organized in 2008, the Seksualiti Merdeka festival has been an annual celebration of sexual diversity and gender rights in Malaysia. It promotes the human rights and acceptance of the LGBT community through films, art workshops, stage plays, and seminars. Themed ‘Queer Without Fear,’ this year’s vision is for everyone “to be free from discrimination, […]

Posted in east asia | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Statistics, Hashtags, and Political Blogging

By admin | November 27, 2011

Excerpts of my presentation in the Visayas Blogging Summit 2011 in Cebu It’s fair to assume that we are fascinated with numbers, except of course during our student days when we cursed calculus, algebra, and our math wizard classmates. But as a general rule, it seems we often equate truth with numbers. A thing, an […]

Posted in media | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

No Country for Young Politicians

By admin | November 17, 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 […]

Posted in youth | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Occupy Singapore Flop

By admin | November 13, 2011

Inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement, last week saw hundreds of protests against corporate greed and economic inequality spring up around the world. In Singapore, similar action was organized in the financial district to highlight the widening economic gap in the country and to ‘engage the public in creating a new form of democracy.’ […]

Posted in east asia | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Southeast Asia: Social Media and Human Rights

By admin | November 6, 2011

Delivered during the Amnesty International Western USA Conference in Los Angeles, November 5, 2011. Thanks @KalaMendoza for the invitation We already know that social media is a powerful information and communication tool. It has wonderful uses: Monitor, share, and create news; build networks, enhance communications; reach a broader audience while at the same time engage […]

Posted in media | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Even in the Philippines people live*

By admin | November 3, 2011

The Philippines receives international attention every time a freak storm hits the islands. It becomes more interesting to the global audience if floods, volcanic eruptions and super quakes destroy the communities of islanders. It’s pitied for being the most disaster-prone country in the world. But it also ‘trends’ because of its youtube-famous dancing prisoners, boxing […]

Posted in nation | Tagged , | 1 Comment

WikiLeaks on Laos

By admin | October 25, 2011

The Laos files from WikiLeaks underscored the country’s underdevelopment, endemic corruption in the bureaucracy and the fragile state of its environment. But we already know that. What makes the cables interesting is the kind of frankness that we don’t often get to see or hear from diplomats’ public statements. For example, here’s how the US […]

Posted in east asia | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Punch Hard Like Pacquiao

By admin | October 24, 2011

Excerpts of my keynote speech delivered during the second general assembly of the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns in New Jersey, United States. When I (first) arrived here (in 2008), people were talking only about two things: Obama and the recession. Obama promised change and the voters believed him. His victory was seen as something […]

Posted in speeches | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Political Dynasty or Destiny?

By admin | October 17, 2011

A new feature in the website of the Philippine House of Representatives is the Online Roster of Philippine Legislators from 1907 to present. During its launching, Rep Jun Abaya of Cavite (Liberal Party) said that it could be used to study the history of political dynasties in the country. Indeed, the database shows that local […]

Posted in congress | Tagged | 8 Comments

Teacher as Visionary

By admin | October 7, 2011

Speech delivered in Miriam College during the International Conference on Learning and Teaching. The other panelists were Senator Leticia Ramos Shahani and Ateneo President Jose Ramon Villarin I salute all our teachers this morning (special mention to my elementary math teacher and philosophy teacher in college who are both here). Thank you for the gift […]

Posted in speeches | Tagged , | 1 Comment