Historians, chroniclers, social scientists, political analysts and the general public continue debating about The Revolution. Whether finished or unfinished, the mere mention of the R word provokes staggering controversies, especially during heightened moments of constitutional chaos. Recently, I joined (virtually) the annual conference of the Philippine Historical Association, now headed by Ma. Luisa Camagay, PhD, … Read more
Two eminent lawyers, Saul and Daniel Hofileña, father and son, authored an elucidating monograph,” Turmoil at the South China Sea” which to me is a veritable dictionary of basic yet misapplied terms. Let us review a few: Archipelago. A group of islands inter-connected by waters and other natural features, so closely interrelated that such islands, … Read more
If you want to get a handle on how the Philippines won its case against People’s China, consult a recently published monograph that explains everything in 148 questions and answers. The authors (a father-son lawyers’ tandem ) untangle the intricacies of the UNCLOS ( United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) and its … Read more
Does the Republic of the Philippines have any State secrets? If we do have classified, restricted, confidential and top secret files, where are they kept? Are these in a vault of the Department of National Defense, under lock and key in the President’s study in Malacañan, or ensconced in the national Library and Archives? I … Read more
Let us standardize the adobo, said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). What an impossible task, chimed my Rizal lady cousins last Monday, 29 August, as we celebrated National Heroes’ Day at the chalet of Gen. Paciano Rizal. We reminisced about a couple of adobo recipes inherited from respective grandmothers that certainly defy standardization. … Read more
Most Filipinos like me believe that the United States of America is the unbreachable, gleaming bastion of democracy. Despite the rise of China and Russia, the USA remains to be the most powerful, mightiest and wealthiest country on Planet Earth. Many of my contemporaries migrated to the USA soon after graduation, in pursuit of “the … Read more
I came across this declaration: “We have created our myth. This myth is a faith, a passion. It is not necessary for it to be a reality…Our myth is the nation, our myth is the greatness of the nation! And to this myth, this greatness, which we want to translate into a total reality, we … Read more
Suddenly, there were no more coups d’etat. Although President Fidel V. Ramos (FVR) won barely 20 percent of electoral votes in the 1992 elections, the country seemed to have breathed a sigh of relief. How reassuring that perennial destabilizers, mutineers and plotters, the majority from the military and police, were content to bask in FVR’s … Read more
Much too often, snippets of “legal wife versus mistress” pop up while I am scrolling for breaking news about the J6 Select Committee hearings in the USA, or the billion dollars awarded to the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu by a foreign arbitral court. I am always tempted to watch because the snippets, usually … Read more
If I were teaching the Rizal course as mandated by R A 1425, I would begin with how Rizal reacted to the most devastating crisis he had to face. Isn’t crisis management what we need most these days? In 1891, the Dominican Order of friars were the richest landowners in Kalamba, Laguna, among their lease … Read more