Just a week ago, I spent a memorable evening at the Yuchengco Museum in Makati City. More than one hundred friends and colleagues showed up for the launching of “Liberal Times in the Philippines”. For me, the event in the noble surroundings and the generous speeches (by Marites Vitug of Newsbreak magazine and fellow blogger […]

I have always enjoyed travelling in the Philippine province. With less than two weeks left before we take off for good, I hopped onto a plane this Monday morning for what may be called a 24-hour-blitz to Tacloban City, the capital of Leyte. Quite strangely, throughout my four years stay, I had missed to go […]

These days, the electronic media in Taiwan seem to know only one topic: the campaign of veteran democracy advocate Shih Ming-teh aimed at bringing down President Chen, Shui-bian. For Chen’s opponents, this Saturday was the big day. At last, a huge rally or sit-in demonstration (as it has been dubbed by the organizers) kicked […]

Instead of going out and enjoying the countryside during my last few weeks in the Philippines, I spent three long days in a small room in the Asian Institute of Management in Makati City moderating a workshop on “Local Government and Liberal Politics.” At the beginning, I encouraged the participants to set up a […]

I had mentioned my invitation to Media in Focus, the weekly discussion on ANC, my favorite Philippine TV-station (because it is all in English). I wanted to - and should have - posted a comment on the discussions with fellow bloggers John Nery and Connie Veneracion, but then the thought of having to get up […]

Cruising through Zamboanga City in a tricycle, a sign on a two-story building caught my attention:”Sultanate of Sulu and Northern Borneo“. I told the driver to stop and asked my way to the entrance on the side, where a ladder led to the second floor. There, a small group of men and women sat and […]

It’s not that often that I get to appear on TV. MEDIA IN FOCUS, a weekly discussion on media matters hosted by CheChe Lazaro asked me to share “my insights” on new media on ANC tonight at 6:00 p.m. For me, this is a welcome opportunity to promote the very liberal concept of citizens’ journalism […]

For me as a confessing non Pro-Blogger, the frequency of my postings has become a major problem. Keeping the site updated regularly (and this in my modest terms would mean two to three posts per week), has proven particularly difficult in circumstances I am out of my normal routine - extended business trips, holidays or […]

As a liberal, I have my favorites in the Upper Chamber. Although from this partisan angle one would say Senator Eduardo Angara belongs to the wrong political party, I find some of his advocacies to the point and, therefore, relevant. I was reminded of this reading today’s issue of the Manila Standard Today, which features […]

I came across a very interesting article in today’s issue of the International Herald Tribune, my preferred daily morning literature (next to the Philippine Daily Inquirer which, for some reasons, I find rather dull recently). In this front-page feature entitled “France’s mysterious embrace of blogs”, author Thomas Crampton referred to the French “obsession” with blogging. […]