Days before the May 18 proclamation of the senators-elect, comeback kid JV Ejercito, No. 10 in the Senate’s “Magic 12,” noted a prickly point: the continuing detention of Sen. Leila de Lima on charges of taking drug money to fund her senatorial campaign in the 2016 elections. “Hopefully,” Ejercito was quoted as saying in CNN...
Category: Featured Stories
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Here come the heartstopper(s): 6 BL shows to binge on
BL (boy’s love) became a familiar genre to us Filipinos during the pandemic. Confined to our homes, we looked to the internet for things to get us through the uncertainties. BLs provided a mental health break. Two years later, the pandemic is still with us. And thanks to recent political events, some of us may...
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The way to overcoming historical amnesia
Marcosian martial law made us Humpty Dumpty and we will never be put back together again. It broke us in ways so deep and permanent no amount of talk about reconciliation and unity will ever make us whole. But we can cope with it in a very Filipino way. We have always been described as...
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Staying fit has its ups and downs, but don’t quit
For someone who has been battling obesity, type 2 diabetes, liver disease and depression for years, trying to stay fit is a constant challenge made more difficult as I grow older—and simply because I love to eat. Being overweight isn’t the same as being obese. The World Health Organization defines both overweight and obesity as...
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No longer the host, but a 3rd-place SEAG finish for PH is still sweet
Host country advantage: This explains why Vietnam, the host of this year’s 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) is well ahead of its rivals in the medal standing. At this writing, Vietnam has bagged 99 gold, 65 silver and 64 bronze medals, or a total of 228. Thailand is at No. 2 with 43 gold, 44...
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Elections 2022: a political party system in shambles
Our political party system is flabby, almost irrelevant. -Elections 2022 – Political parties are a mere supplement to the fluid alliances of dynastic families serving as the main political machine for churning out votes in national elections 2022. At the local level, the clan of the moment can secure for the family the posts of governor,...
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When art meets reality in Korean ‘chaebol’
Kang Tae-moo arrives in Seoul from New York and heads to the office immediately. The tall, dashing heir to Geumhwa Group, a chaebol founded by his grandfather, Chair Kang Da-goo, snubs his inauguration ceremony as president of the subsidiary Go Food. He also fires a company executive for misbehaving. The chaebol has always been associated...
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SEAG 1981: Hats off to the heroes
The ongoing Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam provoked this reminiscence from a journalist who covered the event hosted by the Philippines in December 1981. — ED. SYDNEY, Australia—The flag patch on the left breast of the barong shirt confirmed it: This was the official uniform of Filipino athletes competing in the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG)...
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‘Necessary Contexts’ and the question of being human in a world that is becoming less and less humane
Editor’s note: These are remarks delivered by the author at the recent online launch of the book “Necessary Contexts: Essays for Our Times,” published by Gantala Press and Alfredo F. Tadiar Library. As I begin, I thought of mentioning an important detail that caught my eye in RosarioGarcellano’s first book, “Mean Streets: Essays on the Knife...
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Bogus vote tallies, candidate disqualifications top Election Day disinformation
Spurious last-ditch reports of candidates being disqualified and a buildup of fabricated vote tallies of presidential contenders took hold of social media as voters trooped to precincts on Monday. The misleading and deceptive narratives on election day largely targeted now presumptive president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his rival, Vice President Leni Robredo; their running mates,...