In the context of a presidency that continually sounds the call for a stop to the wangwang of corruption as a primary and most pressing concern, the designation of Lt. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan as the new director of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) is, to say the least, off course. And very disappointing because it [...]
Memory is so burdensome to many of us that moving on and not looking back has become a kind of value in itself. The argument is that responding to present challenges is demanding enough, we should not compound it by dredging the past. This attitude, so prevalent in our culture, typically rides on the religious [...]
In the wake of the July 1990 Luzon earthquake, psychiatrists and psychologists, along with social workers, were sent to Cabanatuan, one of the areas hardest hit by the temblor, to offer debriefing and stress counseling services to the survivors. “We were not exactly welcomed,” recalls Dr. Lourdes L. Ignacio, a psychiatrist and current president of [...]
Two readers, probably lawyers, dared me to demonstrate my thesis last Sunday that, absent grave abuse of discretion, the judiciary should refrain from deciding economic and business issues that are best left to the political branches of government, especially the Executive Department. After all, our people look up to the President, ably assisted by his [...]
The story is told about a doctor who asked his secretary: “Where is the next patient?” “Oh, I sent him home,” said the secretary. When he asked why, her response was: “Because he said he wasn’t feeling well.” * * * In today’s Gospel (Mt. 14, 13-21) we hear of Jesus being disturbed by the [...]
Divorce talk sucks. Everything about it smacks of failure. The door to hell on earth opens wide. Destroyed families, traumatized children, defaulted commitment, devastated parents and relatives. Sociologically, divorce weakens society’s moral fibers. Psychologically divorce promotes skepticism among the youth. The jargons of divorce mean self-destruction. Psychological incapacity is the euphemism for total disaster. It [...]
The facts are clear. In terms of key economic and social indicators, the Philippines was ahead of Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam 40 years ago. Today, we are behind and face the dismal prospect of falling even farther behind in the next few years. And a major part of the reason is that in contrast to the Philippines, the three carried out successful population management programs. As a result, all three are now enjoying the dividends of effective family planning: rapid economic growth, decreasing poverty and a better quality of life.
Five days after President Aquino’s State of the Nation Address before Congress, who else at this point has not offered his or her two cents’ worth on the speech? Nearly everyone with an agenda or cause has taken to faulting the President’s report for failing to mention this or that subject. Sen. Pia Cayetano said [...]
FLIP THROUGH the four-volume audit of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Maguindanao. They are case-studies of “utak wangwang,” a phrase President Aquino minted in his recent State of the Nation Address. In his first SONA, P-Noy lashed at the powerful who blasted sirens to shove the weak aside. This time, he deployed wangwang [...]
“Wangwang mentality” or “wang-wang culture” (WWC for short) will be remembered as one of the more inspired catch-phrases coined during the P-Noy administration, and I give it full credit for this coup. Certainly it is more catchy than “considering oneself above the law,” and it immediately evokes one of the least desirable characteristics of this [...]
THE MOST notable finding in the new SWS ratings of public satisfaction released this week, in my view, is that the present administration—as distinguished from the President as a single official—is the best-liked of all administrations ever since the ratings began in 1989. The June 2011 net +46 satisfaction in the personal performance of President [...]
