Loving from a distance: The OFW story
IT WAS a three-day visit to the Philippines I wish I never had to take. I had to come back to my homeland for a reason most Filipinos living abroad…
Category: Opinion & Editorial Columnists
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Strong ties
TIME may not yet be ripe for another US president to set foot on Philippine soil. Philippine Ambassador Jose Cuisia Jr. said that the consulate in Washington, DC has not…
Goodbye, my dear brother David
PLEASE allow me to deviate from my usual commentaries and discussions about current issues. I want to use this opportunity to pay homage to my younger brother, David Santos. He…
Kababayans debate: Should Napoles testify in the Senate?
WHAT is supposed to be a common aspiration– to end corruption in the Philippines and seek justice in the pork barrel scam — has now divided Filipinos all over the…
The gift of tolerance
ONCE described as a medieval institution, the Catholic Church (under the leadership of Pope Francis I) is no longer sitting on its laurels. The high prelate is encouraging the Church,…
Invoking the power of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee
WHAT is the role of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee in the quest for truth and justice in the ongoing investigations for the pork barrel scam? What mandate does it…
Of Pity, Pork and Pagpag
Aside from our inability, as a people, to sustain our anger, and our poor collective memory, we have one more trait that keeps us from exacting full retribution from public…
Fil-Ams take action: Pork barrel system is institutionalized plunder
THE first batch of plunder charges may have been filed against lawmakers and other officials allegedly involved in the P10-Billion Pork Barrel Scam in the Philippines, but Filipinos around the…
Never again
It was an era in history that older generations of Filipinos would rather forget. But lessons from this tumultuous period has taught us to commemorate the past — if only…
Plunder charges filed: What’s next in the long road to justice?
Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada. They are but three among lawmakers recommended to be charged for plunder, after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)…
Botched attempt
WHILE the standoff between Philippine military forces and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) continues in Zamboanga City, Vice President Jejomar Binay took his share of the spotlight, after his failed…
Kababayans’ comments on the impending US strike on Syria
“Our ideals and principles, as well as our national security, are at stake in Syria, along with our leadership of a world where we seek to ensure that the worst…
Do your homework
Starting October 1, open-access markets for subsidized coverage under Pres. Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul may change your health insurance — and not necessarily for the better. According to the Associated…
Lessons from 9/11
“WE will never forget.” These words are forever etched in the hearts and minds of people across the world, as we recall that fateful day when the World Trade twin…
Should the US trust the proposal of Russia and avert US strike in Syria?
After the Obama administration’s all-out push for a limited military strike against the Assad Regime for using chemical weapons to slaughter more than 1,400 of its own people to hold…
Deniability and Passing The Buck
It was during the presidency of Ronald Reagan that “deniability” became a buzz word in international media. The US Congress attempted to hold Reagan directly accountable for the Iran-Contra scandal,…
Fil-Ams react to the pork barrel scam: ‘Tuloy ang laban!’
“ENOUGH with politicians pocketing people’s taxes, while the rest of the country are suffering from the devastation of the floods,” Los Angeles- based Fil-Am community leader Art Garcia said in a…
‘Daang matuwid’
THREE days before the scheduled ‘A Million People’s March’ of protest in Luneta [which calls for the abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), more popularly known as “the…
Ang paglilitis ng ‘daang matuwid’
PRESIDENT Noynoy Aquino ran and won on his anti-corruption platform. While not all kababayans were happy about the way his administration pushed for plunder charges against his predecessor and now…
Airlines have a responsibility to keep airfares low and affordable
Three weeks ago, the National Asian American Coalition (NAAC) was among the first, if not the very first minority organization in the nation, to protest the proposed merger of American…
Dark meat or dead meat?
EVER since a warrant was released by the Department of Justice for the arrest of businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles and her brother Reynaldo Lim, social media has been inundated with feedback…
It’s final: CA same-sex marriages are here to stay
The California Supreme Court justices’ unanimous ruling last Wednesday tossed out a legal challenge by supporters of Proposition 8, a ballot measure passed by voters in 2008, which banned same-sex…
Pacquiao boxing diplomacy and other approaches against China’s intrusion
How do we solve a problem like China, with its continued “bullying” and claim on a million square miles of the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea including some Philippine territories?…
Corruption, More Fun In The Philippines
What is it about Janet Lim-Napoles that reminds me of the Mafia? Oh, yes, Napoles sounds like Napoli or Naples in Italy, the original turf of The Mob, which subsequently…
The Asian American community must advocate for itself
Over 99 percent of all issues decided by the federal government that affect our nation’s 20 million Asian Americans are decided with little or no Asian American input. Largely, this…
Social media is now for the elderly
MOVE over, teenagers! Lolos and lolas are now on Facebook and it seems that they are here to stay! According to a new report from Pew Internet & American Life…
Language barrier
“Ang hindi magmahal sa sariling wika, daig pa ang hayop at malansang isda.” – Jose P. Rizal PURSUANT to Presidential Decree No. 1041(s. 1997), August has been declared as Buwan…