As President Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency comes to its penultimate moments, support for him has not faltered. Recent approval ratings and preferential surveys for the top executive seats show favor for his administration, the Filipino admiration over him as strong as ever. With less than 50 days before the filing of certificates of candidacy, many politicians […]
“You played well—for a girl.” This was not what I had wanted to hear after a 90-minute game under the scorching heat. It wasn’t the kind of praise that any athlete would have wanted to hear. Dangling at the end of the remark was an unwelcome yet familiar phrase. It glared and blared at me, […]
In politics, nothing is permanent except greed. Last September 8, the Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi-led faction of PDP-Laban officially endorsed Sen. Bong Go and President Rodrigo Duterte for the presidential and vice presidential spots. The rationale behind having an incumbent president and his former top aide turned senator run for the top executive positions, Cusi […]
The administration’s focus toward eradicating the coronavirus seems to bank on the idea of vaccination and herd immunity. It is quite ironic then that the vaccination program in the Philippines is slow, confusing, and unorganized. The fault can be attributed to many factors, such as the scarcity of the vaccines, logistics, and other things that may be out of the administration’s control.
Growing up, I never really fit in. Having spent 13 years at an all-boys Catholic school, there were parts of myself that I hid—some of my own volition, others in fear of being ostracized for who I was. At home, I hid as well—pressured by the expectations of being an only son and by the […]
It was the ad from hell. A supercut of all the lockdown measures in the past year is read by a booming voice from the television as a young woman grows noticeably worried. As the minute-and-a-half video barrels on, dark circles began to appear under her eyes. Angry acne spots emerge, and body hair sprouts. […]
As the Philippines once again enters different community quarantine levels, various problems in several sectors are exacerbated and worsened. At this point, it would seem as if ECQ, MECQ, GCQ, and MGCQ are all just a bunch of letters that the government declared to impose lockdown measures. The country’s lackluster response and inefficient governance have […]
On July 26, President Rodrigo Duterte delivered his final State of the Nation Address—but that was hardly the most momentous thing that happened that day. About an hour later, an ocean away, Lupang Hinirang blared through the Tokyo International Forum for the first time in Olympic history. Hidilyn Diaz, with her hand over her brow […]
As a computer engineering student, I have always been interested in software, hardware, and everything in between. The only way to understand how things work is to deconstruct them and see the genius behind everything. To do that, I had to go away from the proprietary, closed nature of products from companies like Apple and […]
A crisis is a lot of things. It is a time of distress that disrupts routine, a crucial circumstance that could change the future. It is a test of minds, grit, and will. It is a uniting moment—a situation that often needs alliances to solve the matter at hand. It is all of us bracing […]