Points of View & Perspectives

July, 2015

  • 19 July

    GOP against Iran deal, with or without reading it

    By David Espo / The Associated Press Washington—Republicans fall into two camps when it comes to United States President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. 

  • 19 July

    Hillary Clinton spends $18 million, hires hundreds

    Washington—Hillary Rodham Clinton spent more than $18 million hiring hundreds of employees in the first three months of her presidential campaign, creating a national operation that vastly outpaces her rivals in both parties. She has the money for it, having raised more than $46 million for the Democratic primary contest.

  • 19 July

    WHO salutes Phl for ‘sin tax’ success, but rues failure of other countries

    By Teresa Cerojano / The Associated Press Taxing cigarettes up to 75 percent of their retail price is among the most effective ways to reduce tobacco use, but too few governments levy high enough taxes, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) global report. The WHO’s 2015 report on the global tobacco epidemic was released in Manila to salute the …

  • 12 July

    The Filipino ‘bobotante’

    For some, the fact that we picked Benigno Aquino III over Joseph Estrada, an actor and convicted—albeit pardoned—plunderer, in 2010 is indicative of our growing political maturity. If we consider it mature to pick white or black. Indeed, both political personas are miles apart, the difference, then akin to day versus night.

  • 12 July

    A slumbering rain god

    Drought in British Columbia and other parts of Canada, but especially in Vancouver, which Filipinos have given the moniker “Vanc-ulan,” with obvious reference to its being rainy, in the past few weeks, has blazed the headlines.

  • 12 July

    Will Bongbong run for president?

    The only son and namesake of former President Ferdinand Marcos is being mentioned as a possible alternative candidate in next year’s presidential elections. He is up for reelection as senator and is perceived as a sure winner.

  • 12 July

    China allays war fears over territorial row

    China has sought to allay fears in the Philippines of a possible armed conflict over the growing tensions related to the territorial dispute in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).

  • 6 July

    Qualities of the next president

    In our advocacy for voter education, one of the default tasks is to identify the leadership qualities we want. Oftentimes, those are dictated by the qualities of the incumbent, rather than what we might consider the ideal. And whether we are conscious of it or not, in our highly charged political arena, the tendency is to seek the opposite or …

  • 6 July

    Lessons from Divo

    Divo gazes at me, his marble eyes translucent as still water with no obvious thought in them. I am scooping teaspoons of his tuna meal from a can, crooning, “Wait, Divo. Good boy.” When I scrape bits of the meal stuck in the can, he knows I’m about ready to take his plate to his feeding corner.

  • 6 July

    Binay battles the Ombudsman

    Vice President Jejomar Binay’s accusation of “selective justice” against the Aquino administration flies in the face of recent directives by the Office of the Ombudsman involving various personalities of different political stripes.