MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/15 February) — So what really happened, Mr. Senate President, Sir? Was then defense secretary and now Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile ambushed shortly before would-be dictator Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law on 22 September 1972? (The official
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/8 November) – Surveys had suggested it would be a tight race between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the Republican Party bet for the White House. Obama, however, came out roaring even in the so-called battleground states
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/26 October) – A week after the tragedy in Barangay Kimlawis in Kiblawan, Davao del Sur that left a pregnant mother and her two sons dead, no government office or official has issued a pronouncement on the incident.
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/25 October) – Civilians should not become the objects of attacks. This is the crux of International Humanitarian Law or IHL, the law governing the conduct of both state and non-state armed forces in armed conflicts. IHL seeks
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/6 October) – As the filing of the certificates of candidacy for next year’s midterm elections closed on Friday, October 5, Filipino voters will again have to face a lingering malady of Philippine politics – the dominance of
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/14 September) – So, where’s the supposed reformer named Benigno S. Aquino III? Gone. Not physically but from the hopes and dreams of those who voted him and those who did not – like me – but had
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/31 August) — Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney spiced up his acceptance speech Thursday night (Friday morning in the Philippines) as the Republican Party’s nominee for the US presidential elections in November with scathing remarks on President Barack
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/30 August) – Plagiarism – an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author’s work as one’s own, as by not crediting the
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/29 August) – In the continuation of his turno en contra speech on the Reproductive Health Bill today (Wednesday), Senate Majority Floor Leader Vicente Sotto III again defended himself from accusations he had committed plagiarism by using the
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/27 August) – Certainly, the memory of the late Local Governments Secretary Jesse Robredo deserves a niche in the nation’s consciousness. But as in past instances where a public figure passed away the media, national television in particular,
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/9 Aug) – Opponents of the Reproductive Health Bill have plenty of religion in their minds, but they appear to be defending it at the expense of reason. This can be seen in how the bishops and the
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/31 July) – It’s normal for public officials to worry over negative reports coming out in the media on the economy, peace and order and other matters concerning governance – or the lack of it. And journalists may
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/27 July) – How do you – or maybe, how can you – wean politics from sports? Even the Olympics, which opens its 30th season 9pm today (July 27) in London (4am on July 28 in the Philippines)
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/20 July) – What is Senator Antonio Trillanes IV up to? I’m referring to the military mutiny leader turned senator’s statement that retired Major General Jovito Palparan was only following orders from his superiors and thus could not
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/02 July) — With the political air now filled with the scent – or maybe ordure – of next year’s midterm elections, expect the media to be contaminated too with filth spewed by politicians and their spin doctors.
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/27 June) – I’ve hardly seen the sun this week. The rains would come even at midday, leaving a dreary sensation that blends with the stillness of our village. But it’s not actually the clouds that cover the
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/22 June) – After three tries, LeBron James won his first championship title in the NBA and the second for the Miami Heat. His first finals were with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the second with his current team.
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/20 June) – Twenty years after governments and private entities met in Rio de Janeiro for the first Earth Summit, all roads lead again to the Brazilian city that is more known for the tallest statue of Christ
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/18 June) – With the Miami Heat taking game two of their best of seven championship series against the Oklahoma Thunder in the NBA, my prediction that the latter will bag the title in six games appears doomed.
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/15 June) – No, I’m not going to write about the 114th anniversary of Philippine Independence. This is a tribute to a girl in a faraway land who dreamed of becoming a journalist but never became one. War
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/12 June) – Years ago the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued a pastoral letter about stealing. I could not remember the exact context of that pastoral letter, but it sort of argued that stealing, though
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/11 June) – So it has come to pass: Representatives Gwendolyn Garcia and Mitos Magsaysay, as well as former congressman Juan Miguel Zubiri, have been officially accepted into the senatorial ticket of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) for
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews) – That three journalists in Butuan City were acquitted of libel on Monday was refreshing news, like rain after a long dry spell. Judge Augustus Calo of Regional Trial Court Branch 5 cited the constitutional right to
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/04 June) – It’s a relief that the impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona is finally over. Now Filipino NBA fans like me can focus on enjoying the exciting conference finals that will determine the two
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/30 May) – In the end, it was not the evidence presented by the prosecution but the words coming from the mouth of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona himself that sealed his fate in the impeachment trial. So
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/28 May) – In their closing arguments at the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, the defense lawyers employed an approach that provided a glimpse of what they will do in case of a conviction. Their arguments
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/26 May) – Reeling from the refusal of China to accept bananas coming from the Philippines – apparently a backlash resulting from the row over Panatag Shoal in the West Philippine Sea – a business leader in Mindanao
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/24 May) – In his appearance on Tuesday at the Senate sitting as an impeachment court, Chief Justice Renato Corona sought to reverse the tide of public opinion in his favor by delivering scathing remarks against his perceived
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/23 May) – Chief Justice Renato Corona has a lot to thank the Senate for. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile was too lenient in letting him read an opening statement, and later to proceed to a narration of
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/22 May) – There is one thing that Vice President Jejomar Binay and his coalition, the United Nationalist Alliance, should do before taking former Bukidnon congressman Juan Miguel Zubiri into their senatorial ticket: They have to be clear
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/21 May) – I can find no valid reasons why the military bombed the ancestral domain of the Bukidnon tribe within the Mt. Kitanglad Range in Barangay Dalwangan in this city, on April 21. Contrary to what the
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/20 May) – My hunch could be wrong, but I am having doubts Chief Justice Renato Corona will testify on Tuesday (May 22) at the impeachment trial as assured by his lawyers. Corona’s decision will depend on how
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/19 May) – As of May 18, residents of Barangay Dao in San Fernando town, Bukidnon are still encamping the capitol grounds in this city. Their number seems to have grown, as I saw more tents when I
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/17 May) – In their solitude the lawyers of impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona must have regretted the day they announced that he would testify on the $10-million allegation if the Senate would summon Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/16 May) – With his brilliance as a lawyer, the late Frederico “Fred” Gapuz could have just chosen the path that would have brought him wealth, influence, and perhaps power. But maybe some people are cut out to
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/10 May) – Without intending to, Bukidnon Vice Gov. Jose Ma. R. Zubiri Jr.’s verbal antics on Monday confirmed what had only been known through the grapevine, that he has always wanted Gov. Alex P. Calingasan to resign
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/9 May) – After Senators Franklin Drilon and Edgardo Angara, who will the defense lawyers of impeached Chief Justice Renato C. Corona ask (read demand) to inhibit from the trial? Corona’s lawyers had asked Drilon to inhibit after
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/04 May) – Inclusive growth. That’s the theme of this year’s Asian Development Bank meeting held in Manila this week. It’s such a welcome theme except that it included everybody but the poor. At the very least, they
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/03 May) – Erwin Mascarinas’ article on retired Air Force general William Hotchkiss was rather too short for the long vision of this rare breed of an officer and gentleman. I’d like to think that Hotchkiss holds a
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/02 May) – Modernizing the Armed Forces of the Philippines has always been on the wish list of every right thinking general or defense official. With tensions rising between China and the Philippines amid a standoff in the
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/29 April) – Both the Philippines and China have upped the stakes in the disputed Spratly Islands through a heated exchange of statements and stonewalling amid a standoff that started early this month when Philippine Navy men tried
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/28 April) – On Monday, April 23, I accompanied my daughter Anthea to Cagayan de Oro City for an orientation for scholars of the Department of Science and Technology. She has decided to avail of the scholarship and
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/20 April) – Nobody can say with finality if the Filipino voters in the pre-Martial Law years were any better than the voters today. However, since elections in this country then and now have had taken place under
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/19 April) – Nobody perhaps can surpass Manny Pacquiao’s feat as the only boxer so far to have become world champion in eight weight divisions. It takes more than luck to move from one weight division to another
