Out of my mind

Every once in a while although it does seem to be happening more often now, something horribly awful happens in one part of the world that shakes up the whole of humanity and sets us into a major soul-searching effort. We sit in front of our television sets with mouths wide agape, shake our heads and bewail the utter senselessness of it all. But eventually, when media has milked all the juicy bits out of the tragedy, we settle into our old routines and get on with our lives. And everything seems forgotten and the world seems a better place again. Until the next horrible event comes along, of course, at which point we go through the whole exercise again. I didn’t write about the Virginia Tech killings which took place a couple of weeks ago because I wanted to do so when all the dust has settled and the blaming and wailing has subsided. I know that it will take some more time before all, or at least most of the pieces of the puzzle could be assembled and a more enlightened analysis of th...

This is my column today at the op-ed section of the Manila Standard Today. AS of this writing, the annual celebration of Labor Day will still be on May 1, which falls on a Tuesday this year. This can change anytime before May 1, of course. This year’s Labor Day celebration can still be switched to April 30 or May 4, depending on the mood of the President or the people around her. To non-Filipinos, having moveable holidays do not make sense. Labor Day is celebrated all over the world on May 1. How can it be celebrated on another day? But alas, we live in a country where history and meaning take a backseat to convenience and pragmatism. When the celebration of a national holiday falls in the middle of the week, we have gotten into this habit of moving it to a Friday or a Monday to allow employees a longer weekend. By doing so, we diminish the significance of the occasions, weaken the collective soul of our nation and dilute further whatever remains of the social glue that binds our cultu...

This was my column yesterday. I did not have the privilege of meeting Julia Campbell, the US Peace Corps volunteer who met a tragic death while taking a stroll at the Banaue rice terraces. But like many other Filipinos, I am deeply saddened by the tragedy that befell her. It is extremely horrifying that something gruesome and senseless could happen to a foreigner in Batad, a place inhabited by Igorots who are known to be peace-loving people and therefore generally renowned to be safe. I know a number of hikers and backpackers who have traversed the same path that Julia took and they attest that the area has not been known to be dangerous. So why did it happen to her? I guess no one can fathom the evil that lie in some people’s hearts. It is so sad that Julia was in the same place at the same time with someone with unspeakable evil in his heart. What magnifies the impact of the tragedy, transforming it into an enormous cause for shame and embarrassment for us Filipinos, is the fact that...

Ang init talaga!!! I know, I know, I am not alone in this predicament. Everyone in the Philippines is suffering from this infernal heat and I cannot bear to imagine what it is like in other countries that are closer to the equator. I understand that in certain places wildfires have occured because dried grass just suddenly ignited. I also know that in some countries scores of people are suffering from heatstroke. I empathize with everyone who is suffering as well. The problem is that I am extremely sensitive to heat. I get migraines, nausea, skin rashes, and hypertension. And although I think it is pushing it a little too far, my gastritis has also been acting up in the last two weeks, and well, the litany goes on and on. Expectedly, my blood pressure has been on a rollercoaster ride in the last two weeks. I would have extremely low blood pressure in the mornings (at one point this week, 90/70) which then begins a perilous a climb around noontime. I know "high" is a...

This is my column today at the op-ed section of the Manila Standard Today. Yes, it mentions Ang Ladlad yet again. So the trolls, the crazies and the homophobics are forewarned - save your energy, go somewhere else because there is no chance I am going to post your hate messages in this blog. There are at least three factors that feed on each other to create uproar: Doubt, urgency, and anxiety. All three are present—in large quantities—in the current imbroglio over the continuing refusal of the Commission on Elections to release the names of the nominees of the various groups given party-list accreditation. According to the Comelec, there is no need to do so because what is voted upon in the party-list election is the party, not the nominees. Commissioner Resurreccion Borra has a point. The party-list system is not supposed to be identified with individual candidates and personages but with platforms, causes, and advocacies. Thank you for the lecture, sir, but we already know that. Whi...

This is my column today at the op-ed section of the Manila Standard Today. One of the factors making the coming elections so unlike others we’ve had in the past is that this time around, the battle to win minds and hearts is being waged primarily through media. Candidates still go through the motions of making token appearances at public markets and slum areas, kissing babies, shaking hands and speaking at public rallies. But we all know that fewer and fewer people are turning up at these rallies even if a celebrity is brought along to work the crowd. If it is any consolation to more enlightened citizens out there, it does seem that celebrity status is no longer a critical factor in elections today. It does seem that even the matinee idol status of Richard Gomez and Cesar Montano will not translate into votes this time around. In Manila, for example, three celebrities are slugging it out in the vice mayoralty race: Cita Astals, Isko Moreno and Robert Ortega. The candidate clearly leadi...

What follows was written about three weeks ago and was meant to be a column, but I somehow forgot about it. I just realized I wrote something about Oreta that I didn't get to include in my column when I watched her justify on television survey results that rank her as the politician most people mistrust. And what are we supposed to make of the public apology of senatorial candidate Tessie Aquino-Oreta? I don’t mean to sound callous and heartless in the face of such seeming humility. Unfortunately, it is the campaign season and her apology is packaged as a campaign material – so I think many among us can be forgiven for being unable to see sincerity in the act. Nevertheless, that apology begs a number of questions. First, if she has remained in the opposition and continued to be in the good graces of her erstwhile benefactor, the former President Joseph Estrada, would she still make that apology? Second, why did she wait this long to issue that apology? If she is truly sorry for do...