We beg to differ.
Killed over a Php 1 million (USD20,000+) monthly allowance. That was what seemed to have been the motive for the killing of showbiz personality Ramgen “Ram Revilla” Bautista who was murdered apparently in cold blood on the 28th October in his home. The two prime suspects are his younger siblings Ramon Joseph “RJ†Bautista and…
Read More “It’s amazing how many of the Revillas of Cavite are named ‘Ramon’” »
Any motorist who’s spent enough time negotiating Manila’s potholed streets will attest to how the Philippines’ surreal complex of culturally-ingrained bad manners, ill-thought-out road layouts, inconsistent law enforcement, and the overall unsightliness that blankets the Philippines’ capital cities contributes to an experience like no other. At the root of the banal dysfunction of Philippine-style motoring…
Read More “Road rage and the Filipino ego – like navigating a bubble through a forest of pins” »
History’s worst terrorist act against Americans within and outside of their borders will be remembered on Sunday, the 11th September this year. Exactly ten years ago on that date (now known simply as “9/11â€), more than three thousand people died in separate suicide attacks against high-profile targets within the United States, culminating in the total…
Read More “The 11th September 2001 terrorist attack – ten years hence: What have we learned?” »
Pepsi Paloma was best known as one of the “softdrink” beauties along with starlets Coca Nicolas and Sarsi Emmanuel in Philippine Cinema of the early eighties. Her career and life were tragically cut short after an unfortunate alleged crossing of paths with comedy stars and noontime variety show personalities Joey de Leon, Richie d’Horsey, and…
Read More “Recalling Senator Tito Sotto’s Pepsi Paloma connection” »
Writing in yesterday’s Manila Standard, columnist Rod Kapunan demonstrates exactly the sort of violent, misplaced nationalism that is the best reason for the Philippines to join the International Criminal Court. If I was writing this for my own blog, I’d probably call Kapunan a tinfoil hat-wearing conspiracy freak and an uncivilized thug, but since this…
Read More “The Philippines and the ICC: The Right Sort of Foreign Intervention” »
The death of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr is being commemorated today the 21st of August. The fact that this event, which happened 28 years ago today, is so revered illustrates a fundamental problematic aspect of the Filipino Condition. The issues that the Philippines faces in its journey through time — presumably towards that much aspired-for…
What is the million-dollar question that has been haunting most Filipinos everywhere in the world? No, it’s got nothing to do with the Philippine football team, the Azkals or boxer, Manny Pacquiao. It has a lot to do with the difference in behavior of Filipinos here and abroad. It’s a question that keeps popping up…
Read More “Why is it so hard for Filipinos to just obey the law?” »
Ill-equipped, ill-trained, ill-prepared, and ill-thought-out. These are words that can easily describe anything to do with the Philippines across the board — from its politicians, to its law-enforcement officers, to its Media, and ultimately to the very people they serve (and are consequently reflections of). The propensity to fail consistently is ingrained into the very…
Read More “The Mendoza bus hostage massacre: Remembering the victims of a preventable tragedy” »