Notes from an Insomniac

How overseas Filipinos can help with good governance in the Philippines

2010-07-02T09:43:00.047-04:00

Speech delivered at the 1st Worldwide Conference of Overseas Filipinos for Good Governance July 1 and 2, 2010 Manila Magandang gabi po and welcome home! I’m deeply honored to be speaking here with no less than Justice Carpio-Morales this evening. In fact, the group of speakers in this conference has been quite illustrious all round, so I’m delighted to be a part of such a vital moment in our

Concentric Rings, Part II: land-grabbing, land conversion and the untold human cost

2010-04-10T16:27:00.336-04:00

Note: Part I can be found here: Ang buhay sa tumpok"Hindi talaga ako papayag. Magbubuwis talaga ako ng dugo. Ipaglalaban ko talaga ang lugar na ito." Pol had been a cheerful, voluble man, inordinately fond of teasing his wife and playing pranks on his three children. He had tried out all sorts of odd jobs in his time -- from painting buildings to driving tricycles -- but continued to struggle

A conversation with Noynoy

2010-03-29T08:05:00.100-04:00

(This is being re-printed with the kind permission of Philippine Graphic and refers to the April 5-12, 2010 edition. Many thanks to Inday Espina-Varona for having been such a wonderful editor throughout.)Give five individuals you want for your cabinet, their positions and why you want them.“We are still in the process of assessing potential candidates and are, at any rate, far more focused on

Concentric Rings? -- Private musings on Manny, money and a national apocalypse

2010-03-16T12:55:00.167-04:00

Part I: Personal net worth -- a case of perjury or money-laundering? “When I travel, I don’t charge the government, although it’s allowed because it is work-related. I pay my own way. When you are this big, you have to follow the rules. You can’t afford not to, because all eyes are on you. It is not a wise business practice to use government perks. I’ll serve the three terms (allowed by the

Lernaean Hydra: the battle against impunity and its many layers

2009-12-22T09:32:00.039-05:00

I’d say it was a pretty masterful job all round, wouldn’t you? I mean, it's positively breathtaking: the Supreme Court, COMELEC, Congress, the party-lists and computerized balloting, not to mention the warlords, the military and the police? Erap no longer the lone administration spoiler with Manny Villar (among others) now apparently in tow as well? Yes, indeed -- I’d have to say the Palace had

Of Arms and the Man: the global arms trade and the Philippine context

2009-11-09T23:23:00.041-05:00

In this day and age of things unprecedented -- where climate change, economic recession, H1N1 fears and global poverty continuously assault our weary and shell-shocked senses with every passing minute -- one thing that rarely gets talked about, except in the tiniest enclaves, is the global arms trade. Many may not know this, but the global arms trade

Descending into Bathos: on substance, critical thinking and the nature of the public discourse

2009-10-28T22:52:00.053-04:00

The overarching issuesSo my buddy Peter and I were grumbling over gyoza one rainy NY evening. Where are all the policy platforms?, I exhorted. Where do the candidates respectively stand on issues like the VFA, the RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty, the MILF/MNLF/Abu, indigenous populations and Muslim/tribal land, land reform, free/fair trade and protectionism, family planning,

An open letter to FVR

2009-10-21T02:51:00.060-04:00

Fidel V. Ramos, President of the Philippines, 1992-98Breaking my silence finally. My new blog, which begins with an open letter -- a letter conveying a lifetime of admiration, bewilderment and the occasional sense of dismay -- to a beloved uncle. ------------14 October 2009Dear Uncle Ed,I was very relieved to hear that you were all safe and sound in the wake of Ondoy and Pepeng. But how