Our Independence Day stirred intense patriotic feelings in me, and I am sure in many others as well. Even though I did not participate in memorial celebrations, I tried to catch as many of them on television. And in my own way in cyber space, I tried to share thoughts and images of freedom and our flag.
Filipino community leaders in Hong Kong leading the drive for Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) have been finding more apathy than enthusiasm for the political exercise these days. Unlike in 2004 when the OAV was initiated, where registration and voting were enthusiastic, there is a general disillusionment today among overseas Filipino workers. The “walang nagbago(nothing has changed)” attitude prevails, with migrant workers feeling that their concerns have not been met by the Aquino administration, which most of them had backed.
IF JUDGED by fervor and excitement, today’s Independence Day would certainly suffer a failing grade. Save for the most perfunctory of patriotic gestures, Filipinos are not expected to turn up for the usual National Day parade in Rizal Park. They won’t, because there will be no parade there: the main Independence Day rites will be at the Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan, where the Malolos Congress was held in 1898 to draft the constitution of the first republic in Asia and Africa.
After reading my column “February 1945,” Aurora Tech, a senior citizen of Pasig City, had this story to share. It is a simple account of three generations of her family, with members who died in the service of country.
Manny Pacquiao came back to the Philippines from the United States and lashed at those who believe that Juan Manuel Marquez won their third fight, telling them “magpaka-Pilipino kayo.”
This phrase was first used to refer to the millions of young Americans who volunteered to fight during World War II. More than half a million young American soldiers died in the battlefields of Europe, Hawaii, Japan and, yes, our Philippines. Theirs was called “the greatest generation” because they fought not only for the liberty [...]
I am Osama bin Laden, and I am sorry. I am sorry for all the inhuman acts I committed in my lifetime. To all the families to whom I have caused great and indescribable sorrow, I apologize. I hope that my death will make them forgive me, diminish their sorrow and help them move on [...]
