Justice Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar has admitted that local law enforcement and other state agencies “do not have accurate statistics on sexual tourism [in the Philippines] and related cases.” He made this admission in the wake of the furor caused by US Ambassador Harry Thomas’ claim before a judicial conference on human trafficking recently that [...]
Abu Sayyaf group members dwindled to 379 last June from a peak of 1,270 four years back. Armed Forces headcount shows 46 ASG leaders were run to the ground. All had bounties on their heads. The Supreme Court, this week, confirmed life sentences for 17 ASG members for razing a Basilan hospital and abducting three [...]
“NAKURYENTE” (rough translation: they got scammed… or victimized by a hoax). That’s the kindest explanation one can give for the seeming misapprehension of the facts in regard to the acquisition of fire trucks—one set of eight through bidding, and another set of 76 through official development assistance (ODA) from the Austrian government. One such misapprehension [...]
Last week’s annual conference of the World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR), hosted by the University of Amsterdam, was memorable for us from Social Weather Stations. Tourists will find that prostitution is legal; the formally-named Red Light District is well-marked on street signs. Starter kits for growing cannabis are on sale in the flower [...]
In the corporate world, a company that is moribund, a laggard, and unable to deal with competition and manages to just coast along is bound to eventually collapse. In such a situation, the company could survive by undertaking a complete or significant makeover, re-engineering itself by whatever means possible to cope with competition. Oftentimes, this [...]
October has been marked Filipino-American Heritage (or History) Month in the United States since 1988 and is especially celebrated in Hawaii and California where a large number of Fil-Ams reside. The earliest documented proof of the first wave of Filipinos landing on the shores of California comes from “Filipinos in California” (1982) by Lorraine Jabocs [...]
Last night I was in the largest lake in the region. The fine July breeze hit my face like a greeting of some sort, as if it were asking me how I was. The lights of the Metro twinkled at the end of the horizon, their reflections on the water dancing like the thoughts in [...]
The capture of “Lolong,” the 6.4-meter-long crocodile, has focused national and international attention on the Agusan Marsh. It is not difficult to imagine the entry of brackish water crocodiles into the marsh in earlier times, when sea levels were higher. Humans have hunted the reptiles for leather and meat, specifically from the 1960s until 1994 [...]
There was once a noble knight who pledged his undying love and loyalty to a fair maiden. She in turn gave herself to him in marriage and loved him with all her heart. But in time, the knight was seduced by a powerful queen. He abandoned his wife and joined the queen and her minions [...]
This is in reference to the front-page article in the Sept. 25 issue of the Inquirer (“PCSO stops fund ‘abuse’”), which quoted former PCSO chair Manoling Morato as saying that “only one institution is being given PCSO aid.” He said this was the Welcome House of the Good Shepherd Sisters “whose head is a nun, [...]
The recent boxing encounter between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Victor Ortiz proved one thing—that the former is a ruthless and cunning fighter. Mayweather showed his “capacity” to look for an unguarded moment of his opponent, and next thing everyone knew, his opponent was out. I will not go into the details, nor will I question [...]
