Silicon Gulf

The Philippine Star today carries the headline: "$2-M Extortion Raps vs Nani to be pursued." (No link provided as the Philippine Star is notorious for dropping their pages quickly.) Ho-hum, color me unimpressed. We all know how this will end up: as with Erap and the Magdalo 9, in conviction...and pardon. I'll bet Hernando Perez won't spend more than a week before Arroyo exercises another

He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded

As a break from the day-to-day routine, the family decided to dine at Hanoi Vietnamese Restaurant last night. The eighth of the month is buffet night, and being one of the better food spots in Davao, it attracted quite a sizeable clientele. At P395 per person, it's a little pricey but well worth it considering the variety and quality of the offerings: barbecued pork, mixed vegetables, spare

"Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division." --Jesus Christ (Luke 12:51) A few days into the second round of the ZTE-NBN scandal, the recurring mantra from deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo was "version of the truth." Which was a silly thing to say, of course: logically speaking, there is only one truth (and that is precisely why it is the truth).

As I stepped out of a bank, what should I find but a long line of around 500 marchers solemnly trudging the length of CM Recto. It was an odd combination, the placards that they held and the lead multicab truck intoning: "Dili sayon mosunod ni Kristo...."What to do? Join the crowd, of course.In keeping with the Lenten season, the marchers have turned this walk into a Way of the Cross, with

Just came from the Ateneo de Davao's forum with Joey de Venecia. The forum was well-attended, mostly by Ateneo students and a smattering of faculty and outsiders. He did not, in essence, say anything new with regard to his testimony concerning Abalos. Thus far, the narrative is consistent, the most salient part being the meeting in Shenzhen. What was new to me was his announcement of his

EDSA Day 2008 came and went with much more poignancy than usual, shadowed as it was by continuing unresolved scandals. On the one hand, there were more ardent calls to rediscover the spirit of People Power as a means to resolve the present crisis; and on the other, a general weariness that disdainfully asks: "What for?" Indeed, what for? Twenty-two years after we ousted one dictator, it feels

Romulo Neri has agreed to return to the Senate this Friday but there are three questions that the senators may not ask of him (thanks to DJB for the original link): Did the President follow the NBN contract up with you?Did the President tell you to prioritize ZTE?Did the President tell you to approve it? Such a condition poses a setback, but it is not, I believe, an insurmountable one. It really

My report on Black American literature for my class in English and American Literature. As I was writing this, I noticed some parallels with the continuing quest for recognition -- or I should say, "the mainstream" -- in Philippine literature. Black American writers, by virtue of their culture and geography, have a leg up; but there's much we can learn from them. My conclusion, though -- "to

Pity Dante Madriaga. Although his testimony appears more substantive and damning than Jun Lozada's, Jun Lozada seems to have taken all the thunder. First, the Senate isn't even sure it believes him. Then, no one bothers with security preparations for him or his family. How will this cavalier attitude bode, I wonder, for new potential witnesses? To add insult to injury, now it seems that not