When I was 25
Aug 31My daughter, an only child, celebrated her 25th birthday last Friday. We had a luxurious buffet lunch at Sofitel Hotel, a treat that stretched the limits of our bankbook, but it was her special day. Estelle brought along her boyfriend, Ulysses, while I was with my best friend and partner, Fort. Imaginary diets shelved, we changed plates as frequently as we changed topics of conversation. Every...
A good start
Aug 23In a few days, the Aquino administration will turn a month old, with old and new faces in the Cabinet. The President’s State of the Nation Address will mark the tone of the next 100 days. Given the state of public finances, it would be somber yet hopeful, with stress on transparency, truth and justice – a government more accessible and accountable to the common man. Obviously, much thought...
A confused and confusing law
Aug 18There is that old tired saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But what if something broken ended up in a worse state after an attempt to fix it? Well, if it were a broken-down car rendered even more useless in a repair shop, I bet the owner would be red-faced and screaming for a refund. But what if the object in question is not a car but an existing law? Case in point: Amendments to...
Crossing the digital bridge
Aug 16?More than half of my day is spend in front of a computer. In choosing where to have coffee or a fine meal, a Wi-Fi Free Zone sticker posted on the door instantly transforms a restaurant to a gourmet workplace. It is unnatural for me to have a status feed on Facebook lay dormant or unchanged for more than 48 hours, unless I am by some wicked twist of fate, marooned in a remote area where...
Milking-cow syndrome
Aug 10Overseas Filipino workers, estimated at 9 million worldwide, are sadly, blissfully unaware of the latent political power embedded in its sheer size and collective purchasing power. Repeated failures to organize and support a party-list representative to Congress or even a staunch ally to the Senate have made it vulnerable to what I now call the “milking-cow syndrome.” Recently, the...
The dialogue to fight human trafficking has begun
Aug 03To be an advocate of any cause is not easy. You have to keep track of everything and anything related to your advocacy, while defining the principles and positions that you wish to stake your life and reputation on. In my case, it was easy. The passion for my cause – fighting for the rights of our local and overseas workers – was embedded early enough in my DNA. I do admire men and women...
