Category Archives: youth

Tribute to parents of activists

By admin | January 1, 2017

Published by Bulatlat The untold first mission of many activists does not involve the smashing of the bourgeois state or the ‘bombarding of the headquarters’ of the repressive government; their first instinct is to go home and confess their political conversion to their parents or guardians. It is a delicate and difficult duty. Delicate because […]

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Live the good life, serve the people, and embrace activism

By admin | December 15, 2016

Published by Bulatlat There are competing conceptions of the good life, but mainstream institutions bombard us with the dangerous ideology that the only way to achieve happiness and success is to acquire material possessions or gain fame in society. In schools and workplaces, we are told to get ahead of others or else we become […]

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OMG I Married an Activist

By admin | October 10, 2016

Published by Manila Today What the title really means is “Oh my Gabriela I married an activist.” No, I didn’t marry a person named Gabriela but my wife is a member of the Gabriela women’s group. To my non-Filipino friends, Gabriela is an activist group known for its uncompromising, über defense of women’s rights. Its […]

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How radicalism can change you or why activism is the ultimate life hack

By admin | August 27, 2016

Published by Bulatlat Excuse the dramatic appeal of the headline but I feel it’s necessary to emphasize the life-changing impact of the decision to become an activist. It’s also to quickly refute what activism is not: a deviant behavior that requires a corrective action, a dangerous addiction, a temporary lapse in judgment, a rebellious tendency […]

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Here’s how to tell if your friend is misinformed about activism

By admin | July 20, 2016

Written for Bulatlat Respect for diverse beliefs is one of the prescriptions of political correctness so therefore your decision to become an activist should no longer provoke scandalous reactions. But the menacing tentacles of Red Scare and Philippine-style McCarthyism continue to wield considerable influence in our social institutions. The result is that your activism is […]

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Politics and internet in the age of self-representation

By admin | March 28, 2016

Written for Bulatlat The selfie is both derided and hailed as a popular form of self-expression; but politically-speaking, what does it really signify? The ‘butterfly effect’ reminds us that a flap of a butterfly’s wings can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world. Applied to the taking of selfies, perhaps it is […]

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What Millennials Should Know About the Kabataang Makabayan

By admin | March 19, 2016

Written for Manila Today Aside from Joma Sison and the surviving participants of the First Quarter Storm era, no one has come forward to publicly admit that he or she is the leader of the Kabataang Makabayan or KM. There is no roster of KM officers, there are no KM chapters recognized by schools, there […]

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Who Are Southeast Asia’s ‘Lost’ Generations?

By admin | January 9, 2016

Written for The Diplomat The theme of ‘lost generations’ is relevant across Southeast Asia, a region besieged by decades of civil war, foreign invasion, military dictatorship, and economic underdevelopment over the past half century. In Myanmar, the ‘missing’ generation refers to young people who were deprived by the military regime of the right to political […]

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Sikreto sa Tagumpay ng Kabataan Partylist

By admin | December 25, 2015

*Mensaheng binigkas sa pambansang kumbensiyon ng Kabataan Partylist noong Setyembre 28, 2015 Natutuwa po ako at mukhang maraming bagong mukha sa araw na ito; ibig sabihin, bukod sa tumanda at gumradweyt na ang aming batch, ay patuloy ang pagdami ng kasapian ng Kabataan Partylist (KPL). Natutuwa din po ako na makita ngayong araw ang mga […]

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Huwag Maniwala sa Aldub: Ang Paglaban at Pag-ibig ay Laging Nasa Tamang Panahon

By admin | December 5, 2015

(Talumpating binigkas sa rehiyunal na kongreso ng College Editors Guild Cagayan Valley sa Isabela State University Cauayan noong Setyembre 10, 2015). Published by Bulatlat Una sa lahat, salamat at andito kayo kahit may Aldub ngayon. Huwag gawing obvious ang pagsilip sa Aldub hashtag. Pangalawa, salamat sa College Editors Guild para sa karangalan na maging keynote […]

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