“The words are not good for the secret meaning, everything always becomes a bit different, as soon as it is put into words, gets distorted a bit, a bit silly—yes, and this is also very good, and I like it a lot, I also very much agree with this, that this what is one man’s treasure and wisdom always sounds like foolishness to another person.” ― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha
The Mindanao problem is ultimately a POWER problem – the power of one group over another. It is a problem of colonization. The fact that there was a law called the Legislative Act 4197 or Quirino-Recto Colonization of Mindanao Act, which was enacted on 12 February 1935 is very telling. The Commonwealth considered the Act… Continue reading Federalism for All: Chance for lasting Peace
Last March 7 was the 105th anniversary of the Battle of Bud Dajo, the massacre of some 600 Moro men, women and children by the officers and men of the United States Armed Forces, with some (Christian) Filipino soldiers. In 1999, I wrote a newspaper article on this episode of Moro history to commemorate the… Continue reading Bud Dajo Massacre
On those three days and four nights of February in 1986, so many of us thought that finally, we would see the dawning of a truly free, progressive and prosperous Philippines. On February 25, 1986, the Filipino people (mostly those in Metro Manila) with the help of a military faction, installed Cory Aquino as the… Continue reading Remembering EDSA
Postprandial Musings, 2.0 