Change the conversation
tonyo The President is the highest and single most-powerful official in our system of government. We may have co-equal branches of government, but the President is on top, both as Head…
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Plot twist
It is as if we’re in 2009 again, when false prophets were pitching the idea of an immaculate, God-given, and incorruptible savior who could lead the country to the Promised…
Dear Congress, #betterinternet now!
Here are my prepared remarks and presentation for the meeting of the House Committee on Information and Communication Technology, held on May 20, 2015: Honorable chair and members, good afternoon.…
Kentex fire: Who knew making slippers is a “killer job”?
Most of us have slippers, some even have more than one pair. They are mainstays in our homes. We wear them all year round, and we bring them when going…
#MaryJaneLives: Setting the record straight — and 10 action points
The execution was stopped and Mary Jane Veloso is alive today. This is the happy outcome after countless people in the Philippines, in Indonesia, and across the world never gave…
BS Aquino’s platform vs reality: ‘Weighed but found wanting’
Prologue: President BS Aquino’s 2010 platform of government, titled “A Social Contract with the Filipino People”, badly needs updating to keep up with the times and with reality. Thus: Our…
‘Binola nya ako’ and the discourse of trolls
If we want to know where the Internet trolls get pointers on how to make the most unintelligent, most rotten and black as pozo negro commentary, look no further than…
A future without BS
Come to think of it, the single, most compelling argument in favor of President BS Aquino’s resignation is this: We will get rid of the biggest stumbling block and most…
Feb. 25 unity statement: We demand truth and accountability
Here is the unity statement signed by individuals and organizations inviting everyone to an interfaith prayer and symbolic human chain on Feb. 25, 3-6 pm, starting from Camp Crame EDSA…
Real change vs loose change
Quite interestingly, diehard supporters of President BS Aquino ushered in the commemoration of the 29th anniversary of 1986 People Power uprising by rehashing the discredited “Marcos pa rin!” battlecry into…
PH citizen media: A quick overview
CEBU – Global Voices is now holding its Citizen Media Summit 2015 here at the Cebu Provincial Capitol, with 300 delegates from 70 countries. At a plenary panel this morning,…
#PapalVisitPH: Livestreams of Pope Francis in the Philippines
If you’re abroad or cannot go personally to any of the Papal events where Pope Francis is set to go as part of his state and pastoral visit, one option…
#PapalVisitPH: Jittery Aquino gov’t vs. joyful public
The BS Aquino administration is in many ways botching the single-biggest chance to tell the world that “its more fun in the Philippines. The last time a pope visited the…
MRT-LRT fare hike: The Bayan Muna petition
Bayan Muna lawmakers Neri Javier Colmenares and Carlos Isagani Zarate today (Jan. 6) filed a new petition at the Supreme Court seeking to stop the MRT-LRT fare increases. I’m proud…
Workers, students hardest hit by MRT-LRT fare hikes
As commuter groups Train Riders Network (TREN) and Riles Laan sa Sambayanan (RILES), multisectoral alliance Bayan and Bayan Muna partylist lawmakers prepare to bring the issue before the Supreme Court,…
#ReliefPH ops have started for #RubyPH (Hagupit)
Soon after its first landfall, supertyphoon #RubyPH (international name: Hagupit) made an impact on Eastern Samar, one of the Philippines’ poorest provinces. According to People Surge, the organization of survivors…
Take 5 as BlogWatch turns 5
Conventional wisdom today would say that an assembly of bloggers is like cats and dogs put together in one tiny space. We are said to be too feisty and too…
#RememberHaiyan Diaries: The new normal after Yolanda
As international NGOs and funding agencies rush to provide more and more temporary and “transitional” shelters across Samar, Leyte and the regional hub Tacloban City, the people are living a…
Blogging Nation: Focus on PH
Blogging has become very big in the Philippines — so many communities, achievements, opportunities, challenges. Here is my presentation I shared at a workshop at 4M Forum Jakarta, held on…
#NeverAgain: They’re just waiting for us to forget
Once upon a time, a President described himself as the best and most indispensable. He said no one else, except himself, could be trusted to continue his “good work.” He…
UP’s shame: Florencio Abad School of Economics
In separate statements, 23 professors of the the University of the Philippines’ School of Economics and the UPSE Student Council this week brought shame to the University by rejecting its…
Past, present and future
“The President should resign,” declared a manifesto signed by a growing number of citizens from across the country. Damage control is in overdrive: But even after addressing the nation on…