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Opinion

Transparency starts within

When Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s alleged gift scandal came out, everybody was pissed. The senators who received millions in “new allocations” for their projects, among other things, did not want the public to see them as thieves. Some even went as far as lashing back at Senator Allan Peter Cayetano and Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago…

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Opinion

Ink blots and melodies ignited by the Purple and Gold

We all have our own sets of idols who had humble beginnings, and nothing could be more inspiring than the stories of many of the teams in the world of sports.   Arguably one of the most famous sports, basketball and many players have captured the eyes and hears of the many fans worldwide. One…

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Opinion

No idling matter

Last February 9, following orders, more than 100 armed followers of self-professed Sultan JamalulKiram III from Sulu, an island province located in the southwestern Philippines landed on the Malaysian state of Sabah to claim a land that has been disputed in the international courts for several decades.   According to news reports, the sultanate’s followers…

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Opinion

Just business

This month, DLSU bade farewell to our University canteen for 35 years, Zaide Food Corp. Whether it was for economic reason or otherwise, the circumstances surrounding the canteen’s departure from service deserve a second look from the University community that it has been a part of for so long. A quick survey would reveal the…

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Opinion

Freedom is a responsibility

From February 22 to 25, 1986, more than two million civilians, activists, soldiers, politicians, and religious groups banded together along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) to peacefully protest against the rampant corruption and abuses committed during the Marcos Regime. The movement has since been referred to as a triumph of democracy and of the…

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Opinion

Intricacies of uncertainties

When I first stepped into the University, my instincts told me that I was entering a safe ground. Throughout my stay at DLSU I never lost anything important inside campus. In fact, I left my shoes twice on the eighth floor of the Enrique Razon Sports Complex and came back to find that they were…

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Opinion

Inquisition

Carlos Celdran unknowingly or knowingly announced the start of an inquisition two years ago after the decision of the court last January 28, 2013, which found him guilty of violating Article 133 of the Revised Penal Code for supposedly offending religious feelings—a law that has been in the books since 1930. Based on the Manila…

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Opinion

The real world

During the onset of University Mission Week, one of my management professors and I were discussing whether our University’s graduates, who are formed to integrate the Lasallian principles of faith, service, and communion in their work, mix ethics well into the world they are supposed to improve after graduation. My professor was telling me about…

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Opinion

More pork does not mean more help

Last December 19, President Aquino signed Republic Act 10351, otherwise known as the Sin Tax Reform bill, which would increase excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco products and would give the government billions in tax revenue to be split between the two products, 40-60. Tax increases would, however, be incremental, and would hence raise even…

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Opinion

The enemy of my enemy is my friend

Last term I was lucky enough to have a member of a dwindling population of La Salle graduates—Lasallites—as a professor. My professor, a known leftist (as many would consider themselves) during the Marcos regime, talked a lot about the “old days” when the De La Salle brothers would work together within and around the system…