Eureka! I have found it! Why the Philippines is this way!

It is right there in plain sight, for all of us to see. For the smartest minds of the Philippines to read and gloss over without even thinking about what it means. Consider all that we’ve talked about here over the years. What are the main drags on Philippine success? The culture of impunity that routes … Continue reading →

A Filipino ACLU and lawyering in the Philippines

  by Lance Corporal X Part I: The forces against justice Around the time I was in the Philippines, the Mamasapano fiasco was then Dinagat. Or more precisely Cebu, since the murders, shoot-outs had already happened, PNP and AFP working together captured their man. I’ll let you dig into the Ecleo story if you wish (“22 … Continue reading →

Open Discussion: “Our Philippines”

Let me drop this blog off as the starting point to an open discussion forum for those wishing to partake of their usual dose of Society wit and wisdom from now through the first two weeks of May. I’ll be traveling with my family and don’t expect to stop by. Now, you can pick any topic … Continue reading →

Mary Jane Veloso, neediness, and the Sevilla resignation

A “three-fer”, or three subjects for today: Mary Jane Veloso A Filipina who was evidently taken advantage of by relatives to smuggle drugs into Indonesia, and was caught, is on death row and scheduled to be executed by firing squad in about a week. The case is obviously tragic, at an individual level, and the individual … Continue reading →

“Free the Philippines! Join the Liberation Party!”

That’s the rallying cry I imagine would attach to a group of middle class and enlightened upper class Filipino citizens who believe the nation is not yet free in the fullest, richest sense. How is the Philippines not free? Enrichment opportunities are bound in ways that favor the entitled. The poor are bound by lack of … Continue reading →