Fifty-four years have passed but the wound inflicted by Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s imposition of martial law remains unhealed. The number of organizations engaged in commemoration nationwide indicates it; the government acknowledges it, with reportedly more than 17,000 police personnel deployed, and more on standby, to keep order. The police deployment appears to be also intended...
Author: Rosario A. Garcellano (Rosario Garcellano)
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Eggie Apostol writes ‘30’; whence comes such another?
Eugenia Duran Apostol, “Eggie” to most, had long bowed out of newspapering. Still, news of her passing on Sept. 13 shook the media landscape and beyond, on the same day marked by the departure of her former sports editor Recah Trinidad, likewise long out of circulation, whose writing enriched not only sports reportage and commentary...
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P-Noy and an explosion of yearning
This commentary was originally run in the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Opinion section on July 4, 2021, and is being republished here with its permission. President Benigno Aquino III passed on June 24, 2021.—Ed. An explosion of yearning triggered by the death of Benigno Aquino III is searing many Filipinos. Ten days later the flood of...
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Her words, not simply her turn of phrase
Reading “Not Quite There” presents an experience out of the usual. The range of Chit Roces-Santos’ second collection of essays is wide and welcoming; it not only invites the reader to get a glimpse of a charmed life in this neck of the woods but also and in good humor provides leeway for the reader...
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Tenderness and ‘heroes’ at the Cayetano bloc’s blue ribbon committee hearing
There was tenderness galore on Thursday at the blue ribbon committee hearing of the bloc led by Alan Peter Cayetano, by his own declaration “the legitimate, legal and moral Senate President.” Ignoring the changes made on Wednesday in the chamber’s power structure by the 12-member majority led by Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian, Cayetano...
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When the Senate majority senators stage a ‘boycott’
The majority senators led by Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano were nowhere to be seen at the scheduled start of the 5 p.m. session on Monday and well into the evening. There was neither word nor explanation to the minority bloc (all 11 present and accounted for). Shortly the man posted online that the minority...
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Still trying to put out the flames
The new majority in the Senate began the week like a house on fire and they’re still trying to put out the flames. After persuading Bato dela Rosa to come out from under the rock he was hiding and add to the vote ousting Tito Sotto as Senate president, Alan Peter Cayetano has his hands...
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Consider the new Senate majority
Consider the Senate majority now led by Alan Peter Cayetano after the power seizure on Monday. It’s nearly identical to the grouping led by Francis Escudero that famously did in the first impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte. The Cayetano sibs. President Marcos Jr.’s estranged manang. The mother of the young Batangas lawmaker slapped...
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Plant a tree, but make sure it’s not mahogany
Every tree has a story, a name, a role in healing, Glenda Flores Co told her audience. She spoke in elegant Filipino—“Bawa’t puno ay may kwento, may pangalan, may silbi sa paghilom”—at the close of the program held to launch the book “Philippine Native Trees 404: Rooted and Rising” last April 28 at Club Filipino...
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The work of the House justice committee merits public attention
Ramil Madriaga’s allegations were intense, yet Vice President Sara Duterte did not seize the clear and present opportunity to make mincemeat out of them. There was no bloodbath during the daylong hearing of the House justice committee last Tuesday although there was a recurring ritual performed for the record: Madame Chair, the redoubtable Batangas Rep....