Are we still a democracy? Is there still respect for democratic institutions? As the nation’s highest court, the Supreme Court is supposed to be the vanguard in safeguarding our sacred and inviolable principles and institutions, among them the rule of law, the principle of separation of powers, the bill of rights, freedom of speech, government […]
(Statement of Teresita Ang See, founding president of Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran Inc., April 23, 2018) We urge our government to uphold the dignity of the Filipino people and not make our country the laughing stock of the world. Let us hold our head up high and not shame our people. No threats of unfriendly […]
It so happened that we chose Silang, Cavite, with the consent of its city council, to put up in 1989 the monument of the only full-blooded Chinese in Philippine revolution, Gen. Jose Ignacio Paua. And now, we are happy to discover a lot of informative materials about the Chinese in Silang during the 19th century […]
The Presidential Electoral Tribunal on April 2 started the recount of ballots in connection with the electoral protest filed by defeated vice presidential candidate and former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. Vice President Leni Robredo beat Marcos by just 263,473 votes. The PET Revisor’s Guide says the revision will verify the physical count of the […]
The news that Department of Justice prosecutors dismissed the case against self-confessed illegal drug distributor Kerwin Espinosa and illegal drug kingpin Peter Lim alias “Jaguar” is distressing. But is it surprising? We already have a portent that the Duterte administration’s war on drugs is a sham when the investigation on the facilitated release of P6.4-billion […]
Opium was never totally banned in China even after China’s national hero Lin Ze Xu (林則徐) burned and destroyed in 1839 all the opium to be shipped to Britain at Hu Men (虎門), Canton (Guangzhou). The first Opium War (1840-1842) that followed led to the signing of the Nanking Treaty between China and Britain. But […]
Charter change has once again reared its head. The objective: To change our form of government from a centralized, unitary system to federalism. The change would mean sharing of power between two levels of government – a central government and regional ones – both equal to each other. Instead of solving problems, the changes can bring […]
Not until we read Francisco R. Liongson IV’s 2017 work, Letran: An Untold History, vol.1: 1620-1872, did we know that the first Catholic bishop in China, Gregorio Luo Wenzao (羅文藻, 1616-1691), OP, was a product of the Philippines who came to Manila three times and studied theology at the University of Santo Tomas. Luo was […]
During the Sui Dynasty (581-618 AD), Xin Gong Yi (辛公義) was appointed as the governor of Mou Zhou (牟州) prefecture. Upon assuming his post, despite being worn out during travel, he went straight to the prison. He looked for a spot at an open air vacant lot and started interrogating the prisoners by himself. Continuing the […]
In my 25 years of working for reforms in the criminal justice system, I thought I have heard and known the worst cases of travesty of justice. I thought wrong. Feelings of shock, dismay and sadness competed while I read the news that the Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the dismissal of Dr. Ester […]