Editor’s note: The following is the commencement speech delivered by Caroline S. Hau via Zoom at the University of the Philippines Diliman on July 31, 2022. Ms. Hau began her speech in Filipino with a greeting to the UP Regents, President Danilo Concepcion, officials of the UP System, Chancellor Fidel Nemenzo, vice chancellors, deans and...
Category: News
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Peace and the FVR presidency
In my assessment of the peace process during a conference examining the Fidel V. Ramos (FVR) presidency, I gave his administration the grade of 6 out of 10. Looking back at that event organized by then University of the Philippines president Jose “Pepe” Abueva, since deceased, I concede that it was a stingy grade. It...
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How events in 2019 resulted in the Furigay assassination
The body of slain former mayor Rose Furigay was brought home to Lamitan City, Basilan, on July 31, but closure is nowhere near the horizon. Contrary to what is being claimed by partisans on social media, the feud between Furigay and her suspected murderer, Dr. Chao Tiao Yumol, did not spring from the latter’s campaign...
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From fish vendor to town mayor
I was in Dolores, Eastern Samar, a few weeks ago and had a chance to take a photo of the new mayor of the third-class municipality (annual income: P15-20 million) facing the Pacific Ocean, on a billboard near the port. The story of Rodrigo “Onoy” Rivera, 62, a fish vendor who became mayor, is one...
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Fear and trembling in Abra
Like any other tragedy, the earthquake struck when no one expected it.“It was a sunny morning,” Carla Manganteng, 29, told CoverStory by phone from Lagangilang, Abra. “I was in my neighbor’s house when suddenly the ground shook so violently. We immediately called everyone, told them to run outside, to a nearby open area.” Lagangilang is...
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Among the garbage in raging waters
Sleep, pretty darling, do not cry/And I will sing a lullaby… — “Golden Slumbers” by the Beatles Two girls were killed in the flash floods on July 15-16, according to the initial reports. Like many an afternoon in the metro in this warm season, dark sky and distant thunder heralded the rain that steadily became...
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‘Project Gunita’: safekeeping pages of the Marcos regime’s history
On the night of Election Day on May 9, when Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was on the way to winning the presidential race according to the count of the Commission on Elections, one thought came into my mind: the martial law files. Why? Simple. He is the son and namesake of the ousted dictator Ferdinand E....
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Filipino Geologist elected to UN body on world’s seabed resources management, protection
A Filipino geologist is joining a select panel of experts helping a United Nations (UN) agency in its mission to manage and protect the world’s seabed resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction (the Area). Mario Juan Aurelio, 57, a professor at the University of the Philippines (UP), former director of the UP National Institute of...
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The ‘battle for memory’
Reports of protesting Sri Lankans storming the presidential palace and forcing President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to run away and eventually announce that he would step down are triggering recollections of Ferdinand Marcos’ own flight from Malacañang in February 1986 as protesting Filipinos approached the gates. Written accounts of the ailing dictator’s last hours in the Palace—for...
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Dengue epidemic: how to protect your family
The number of dengue cases is soaring all over the Philippines. An epidemic is now reported in 15 out of 17 regions nationwide. With the certificate of the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia permanently revoked in the country, the Department of Health (DOH) is urgently campaigning for every citizen to take a proactive role in their home...