The Edsa People Power revolution comprised the historic four days in February 1986 that resulted in the toppling of Ferdinand E. Marcos’ dictatorship and the return of democracy in the Philippines. The people’s long struggle was heightened when Marcos imposed martial law in 1972. The assassination in 1983 of the former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino...
Category: Opinion
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War and the basic human imperatives
We are still cavemen. Clubbing each other over the head, noncompliant females included. Except that now, the clubs are missiles and drones and the targets are entire countries and peoples. The behavior has not changed. Only the technology. And consequently, the breadth and depth of the destruction. Why have we behaved this way since time...
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The everyday absurdity of ‘accidents’ on the road
Last March 3, a 22-wheeler trailer truck spun out of control and hit the island in front of Miriam College on Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City at 2:58 a.m., spilling its load of tons of sacks of chicken-feed additives and causing unusually heavy traffic up to around 10 a.m. According to reports, nobody was killed...
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At the ICC, a portrait of the strongman as aging family man
Nicholas Kaufman’s tack in portraying Rodrigo Duterte as an aging family man isolated from loved ones comprised a curious turn in the Defense’s presentation at the just-concluded confirmation of charges hearing at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Having harped on the Prosecution’s supposed use of rhetoric and hyperbole to cover what he...
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Thoughts on the standees of Rodrigo Duterte and Leila de Lima
When I first saw the Duterte standees, I almost cried laughing. Even funnier is how his supporters have made different versions of “Tatay Digs”—such as the thin and flimsy one, faded under the sun, in front of their supposed pobre residence in Davao City; the one at the head of a table somewhere in the...
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The Veep’s declared run for No. 1 and her ‘ready’ running mate
Vice President Sara Duterte’s announcement of her presidential run in 2028 was hardly unexpected. She has been projected as front-runner; her approval ratings stay strong despite her questioned disbursement of P612 million in confidential funds taken from taxpayer money. The continuing absence of explanation for the disbursement is again in prime spot among the burning issues...
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An antidynasty law is a long-delayed constitutional promise
Almost 40 years after the 1987 Constitution pledged to prohibit political dynasties, the strongest push for action has come, not from Congress, but from the courts. In March 2024, members of the University of the Philippines College of Law Batch ’76 filed a petition for mandamus at the Supreme Court, docketed as G.R. No. 272370....
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Diagnosing the ‘Maduro script’: institutional health as the Philippines’ sovereign defense
In global politics, the diagnostic frame used to interpret power shifts often dictates the response. During a recent small-group clinical colloquium in Manila, the discussion shifted from research breakthroughs to the United States’ capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January. To observers, the US operation resembled a swift, invasive appendectomy that left the regional...
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Black Venom of Malevolence and the ‘public servants’
EDITOR’S NOTE: With this section called Young Voices, CoverStory opens space for young people feeling their way into the world and trying to formulate the rhyme and reason behind the paths they choose to take. In the beginning of time, when survival was the center of living, greed and prejudice prevailed. From the land, from...
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Collective calls for accountability on various fronts mark February
The past year ended with a whimper. The public pressure brought to bear on the administration to produce results in assorted inquiries into the corruption scandal did not amount to much (and now requires recalibration). To be sure, due process takes time (in these parts, too long a time). But with the huge amounts of...