Category Archives: nation

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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Anti-Americanism, anyone?

By admin | October 6, 2013

Written for Bulatlat I believe in America. This is the famous opening line of the Hollywood film The Godfather. Incidentally, I share the same sentiment and I’d like to believe that most of my activist friends have a similar high regard for what America stands for. So why are we called anti-Americans? First, America should […]

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Are Myanmar and the Philippines Guilty of Genocide?

By admin | August 20, 2013

Written for The Diplomat It is common for unpopular governments to be accused by their enemies of committing serious human rights violations such as murder and kidnapping, but it is not often that genocide is included in the charge sheet. Even notorious dictators who are assumed to be guilty of committing the most heinous crimes […]

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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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Are Filipinos Malays?

By admin | March 10, 2013

Written for The Diplomat If asked about their race, most Filipinos would identify as being Malay. Filipinos are taught in schools to be proud of their Malay heritage and encouraged to strengthen their ties with other Malays in Southeast Asia. But Filipinos wishing to migrate in Singapore have to deny this fundamental identification because the […]

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Think Out of the Box? Not if it’s a Balikbayan Box

By admin | February 7, 2013

We are often reminded by management experts to think out of the box. I agree. But if it’s a Balikbayan Box, think through it. The Balikbayan Box is not an ordinary box. it’s a travel luggage plus more. It’s a mini sari-sari store, OTOP in a box, the concrete ‘objectified’ affirmation that returning to one’s […]

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Fallen Drone. Grounded Minesweeper

By admin | February 4, 2013

Written for The Diplomat A series of unfortunate mishaps in the past two weeks has afflicted United States military forces stationed in the Philippines. On January 6th, a BQM-74E target drone that appeared to be of American origin was found floating in the waters off Masbate, an island province in the central Philippines. Although the […]

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Politics as Sound Bite

By admin | January 7, 2013

One liners, sound bites, SMS and twitter reactions are inferior substitutes to a well-written political manifesto. The essence of a political standpoint can’t be adequately represented by 140 characters or even by hysteric rhetoric. Yes, a charming slogan or a witty phrase, and a fiery quote can agitate a crowd, inspire the electorate, and trigger […]

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Philippines: Top Stories of 2012

By admin | December 30, 2012

Slightly edited version of an article submitted to The Diplomat The impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona, the government’s “cold war” with China over maritime disputes in the South China Sea, and deadly tropical storms were the top news stories in the Philippines in 2012. Accused of corruption, Corona was found guilty by the Senate […]

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You do not self-demolish yourself. Please.

By admin | August 20, 2012

You do not self-demolish yourself. You do not self-exile yourself. Urban poor communities are not depressed. There are no undocumented human beings. Low skilled workers don’t exist. Self-demolish. To self-demolish is to voluntarily destroy a house or home and relocate to a safer place. But there seems to be no other usage for self-demolish other […]

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