“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
President Benigno S. Aquino 3rd and his former running mate and now Interior and Local Governments Secretary Mar Roxas kept on saying that in their "system", the LGUs (local government units) are the first line of defense (in disaster risk reduction programs). It's a logical strategy. But having a strategy or policy written up doesn't… Continue reading Climate Change and the Aquino Government
This is one of my articles published in the now defunct The Philippine Post newspaper. I posted this on my websites. But since the advent of Web 2.0 and the popularity of blogs, I have abandoned my websites. I am posting this in this blog, for posterity's sake. I added a list of the languages,… Continue reading Growing Up In A Multilingual Household
It has been twenty-five years since that fateful three days and four nights of February when so many of us thought that finally, we would see the dawning of a truly free, progressive and prosperous Philippines. Twenty-five years ago, the Filipino people (mostly those in Metro Manila) with the help of a military faction, installed… Continue reading Remembering EDSA on its Silver Anniversary
The Philippine Supreme Court (SC), in a very daring move, reversed the Court of Appeals and Regional Trial Court decisions and acquitted the accused, Hubert Webb et al, for the murder and rape of Carmela Vizconde and the murder of her mother and sister. This does not prove that there is justice in the Philippines.… Continue reading VIZCONDE – WEBB CASE: INJUSTICE FOR ALL
Below is a report I made for Vera Files. It is published at Yahoo(click) and at Vera Files (click) Police file raps vs Cotabato bus bombing suspects By Yahoo! Southeast Asia Editors – October 26th, 2010 By Jamal Ashley Abbas VERA Files For Yahoo! Southeast Asia Police today filed multiple, frustrated and attempted murder complaints with… Continue reading Bus Bombing in Cotabato
Postprandial Musings, 2.0 