An analysis of contemporary history would show that it is the norm for Philippine politics to move at an unhurried pace. The Aquino-led government installed by the first People Power Revolution, for example, had to wait for nearly a year after its assumption of authority before it could ratify its 1987 Constitution. In the 2010 presidential elections, it took Congress almost a month to declare an official winner, even with the help of a computerized and automated polling system.
It has been more than a decade since the last bid to impeach the highest-ranking official of one branch of the Philippine government. Whereas the executive branch melted in the spotlight in 2000 for former President Joseph Estrada’s alleged shenanigans, the judiciary now faces the blinding lights of media, as Chief Justice Renato Corona takes [...]
The entire Arroyo issue is as frenzied and complicated as it looked the night of November 15. Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband attempted to leave the country after a Supreme Court decision permitted her to travel, only to be stopped at immigration. That night, the general sentiment was split between two opposing camps: justice served, and justice denied.
From the discovery of the critical state of Greece’s public finances and the rapid contagion to most of the European sovereign debt market in 2010, the European Union (EU) now finds itself in a precarious situation: a Greek default has been narrowly avoided, but the reforms necessary to comprehensively address the European Debt Crisis still need to be put in place.
On September 6, the results of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings for 2011 were released. For the second year running, no Philippine university made it to the Top 300. With the University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University placing 332nd and 360th respectively, the cream of our country’s intellectual crop have plummeted down a steep decline—as far as QS is concerned, that is.
Conspicuously absent from the list of priority bills presented by President Noynoy Aquino to Congress during the last Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting was the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill. The Palace explained that more time would be needed to study the bill and address the concerns regarding its specific provisions.
The Ateneo Commission on Elections (Comelec) is starting to sound like a broken record. At the start of every election season, candidates are often at a loss as to what to do. Unclear instructions coupled with strict deadlines do not make for a good combination. Add to that the possibility of initially being disqualified despite passing all necessary documents, no thanks to Comelec’s faulty record-keeping.
“Ang budget po ang pinakamalinaw na pagsasabuhay ng ating tuwid na landas.” This was one of President Noynoy Aquino’s most sweeping statements in his recent State of the Nation Address (SONA), and it says quite a lot about the direction Aquino intends to lead us in for the next five years.
If there is one thing the world can thank a contemporary American politician for, it is probably the mainstreaming of the world’s environmental concerns. Indeed, following the immense success of his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, only climate change denialists would still attempt to argue with Al Gore’s decision to dabble in filmmaking.
Last February, as a major graded requirement for Theology 131 class, some students held a “Life and Love” Fair: a week-long event where various moral issues, among them the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill, were presented to the Loyola Schools community with the objective of promoting the pro-life stand of the Catholic Church. During the same [...]
The Philippines shocked the football world with their first ever semi-finals appearance in the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup. Without a stadium that passed AFF standards, the country was deemed unable to host the home leg. Then Philippine Football Federation (PFF) President Jose Mari Martinez decided to play the home leg at Indonesia instead [...]
Ateneo has gotten itself in hot water with regard to plagiarism—first with Manuel V. Pangilinan’s graduation speech fiasco, and then with Ateneo Law alumnus and Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo’s judicial decision— all within a span of six months. One is enough to stain any premier academic institution in the world, but two is a [...]
It’s not every day that you see a local celebrity stage an act of civil disobedience inside the Manila Cathedral. So when Carlos Celdran, known primarily for his walking tours inside Intramuros, did just that, the whole nation took notice. The move was a reaction to the Church’s consistent efforts to kill the Reproductive Health [...]
It has been over 50 days since President Aquino took office, and all roads lead to October 5. In many ways, Aquino is pushing for a “brighter” 2016. As we are ushered into the second half of his 100 days, October 5 marks the target date when a more detailed articulation of his promises on educational reform shall be released. No doubt, supporters, naysayers, and students alike have long since awaited to hear of the future educational landscape that our government envisions.
President Noynoy Aquino has already made it halfway through his first hundred days in office, but he has yet to speak conclusively on many issues that still hold the country hostage. He already had two big chances to do so: his Inaugural Address, and second, in his State of the Nation Address. For both occasions, [...]
THE ISSUE of the separation of Church and State has always been present in the country. While the Constitution grants government sovereignty, the Church often finds its ways to influence the State’s decisions. Let’s go back in time for a bit. The Reproductive Health Bill issue remains unresolved due to our congressmen’s fears of the [...]
The streets have cleared out, the purple ink has faded, and #halalan is no longer a trending topic in Twitter. Indeed, it’s not hard to forget how, just a few weeks ago, Filipinos from all walks of life came together as one to choose our destiny as a people. It’s really quite easy to get [...]
The love story started on February 14 when the Department of Health (DOH) gave out condoms–free with every purchase of flowers at the Dangwa Flower Market in Manila. As expected, the Church was among the first ones to cry foul. “It is vulgar, it is lewd, it is gross,” says Archbishop Oscar Cruz in an [...]
It was Thursday morning when Ian Agatep went to the Ateneo Commission on Elections (Comelec) voting station. “I was surprised to see that I had three opponents instead of just one,” said Ian Agatep, who was then running for second year SOM Central Board Representative. “[We found out] that Gio Alejo was omitted in the [...]
“We will not be endorsing any candidate for the 2010 elections.” Sanggunian President Gio Tingson himself gave this statement in an interview with The GUIDON last year. But just a few months after, it seems that his statement doesn’t ring true. For the past years, it has not been in Ateneo’s tradition to promote a [...]