Author Archives: admin

Journey to the center of the Philippines

By admin | February 8, 2010

Poctoy is the official literal center of the Philippine Islands. It is located in Odiongan, Romblon. I always thought Marinduque is the center of the country. I was wrong. That Poctoy is the midpoint of the republic is a legacy of Spanish colonialism. If Spain didn’t invade these islands, Luzon could have been part of […]

Posted in travel | Tagged | 5 Comments

Renewable Marriage and politics

By admin | February 5, 2010

Let us mention the obvious: the proposed ‘Renewable Marriage’ bill will not be given serious attention in the 15th Congress. We can’t even pass a divorce law. A miracle is needed to convince lawmakers that shock laws are needed to reform the marriage institution. It is easy to dismiss the ‘Renewable Marriage’ proposal as a […]

Posted in nation | Tagged | 3 Comments

The way we were. The way we eat.

By admin | February 4, 2010

If a solon is not inside the plenary hall during session days, he/she could be… a. absent (nasa district? nasa isang official trip? nagbabakasyon?) b. late (dumarating ang marami after 5pm) c. somewhere in batasan (inside the office entertaining guests and constituents, speaker’s office receiving or asking for official instructions, mitra hall participating in an […]

Posted in congress | Tagged | 3 Comments

Senior citizen activists

By admin | January 29, 2010

A 20-year old student activist in 1970 is now 60 years old. The First Quarter Stormers are now senior citizens. What makes them special? They belong to a generation that defied a dictator. They were young revolutionaries who wanted to change the world. Many of them went underground after the declaration of martial law. The […]

Posted in reds | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Remembering Edsa Dos

By admin | January 19, 2010

Written in 2001 during Edsa Dos for the e-groups of the university. (Hindi pa uso ang blogging noon). First published by UP Forum, official publication of the UP administration…. Apat na araw sa lansangan: mga tala ng isang estudyante Myerkules, 17 Enero 2001 – Sa loob lamang ng isang araw ay nakapagpalabas tayo ng mahigit […]

Posted in youth | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Road Politics. Road Economics

By admin | January 18, 2010

“The only legacy of my favorite President (Cory Aquino) about which I have serious doubts are the flyovers, eyesores that cater only to car owners and do not solve the gargantuan traffic problems of a 21st century metropolis.” – John Vissers, Dutch News Correspondent, 1992 “Before the construction of the flyovers, one of the more […]

Posted in places | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Online and offline activism

By admin | January 12, 2010

In 1995 I joined a protest action to condemn the decision of the French government to conduct nuclear tests in the Pacific. I was only a high school student at that time. We relied on mainstream journalists to document and report the rally. In 2001 I was part of the historic Edsa Dos uprising which […]

Posted in youth | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

The story of Prita Mulyasari

By admin | January 6, 2010

Prita Mulyasari is a 32-year-old mother of two from Indonesia who was recently acquitted of defamation charges filed by the management of a private hospital. The defamation suit was a reaction to an e-mail complaint sent by Prita to her friends and relatives about the bad service she received at Omni International Hospital in Tangerang. […]

Posted in east asia | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Misunderestimating The Philippine Left

By admin | January 3, 2010

There are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ leftists. ‘Good’ leftists must belong to a partylist group. They demand the inclusion of civil society groups in government transactions. They participate in tripartite meetings, they attend UN conferences, they hate Joma Sison, and they endorse the candidacies of Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas. The ‘bad left’ is always wrong. […]

Posted in reds | Tagged , , | 42 Comments

Politics and immorality in Southeast Asia

By admin | December 28, 2009

“Immoral” rock concerts were banned in Malaysia. An “immoral” gay group was disqualified from participating in the Philippine elections. Immorality was blamed for the natural disasters that hit Indonesia this year. It seems public authorities are playing the morality card to uphold the dominant social order in many Southeast Asian countries. To protect the morals […]

Posted in east asia | Tagged , | Leave a comment