blackshama's commentary on Philippine issues

The Constitution is the Sovereign in a republic. While the people as a whole is where sovereignty resides, the constitution is where it is enshrined. In a Monarchy, all power resides in the King or Queen. In Great Britain, Elizabeth II is sovereign. Whatever Tony Blair does as Prime Minister, he is actually exercising the prerogative of the Queen. Britain does have a constitution, although it is not in one document. The Queen represents the reality of this constitution. Parliament with the Queen may be a dictator but convention prevents it from doing so. The Queen does not have much political power but she embodies unity by being above partisan interests. So the British do have liberty, even if at times they have less democracy than that of the Americans who may have much democracy, but less liberty. In the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is not sovereign even though as President she may possess much more power than Elizabeth II does. In our republic, the Constitution is sovereign...

I saw the latest Oliver Stone movie "World Trade Center" yesterday. The film is actually another of those war movies. The trailer preceding the main feature was Clint Eastwood's "Flags of our Fathers". This was so apropro. Five years into the War on Terror, America seems ready to deal with the 9-11 terrorist attacks on film. While other war movies deal with the fighting man (or woman) on the front (or home front) and the political context of the period, this movie does not. Stone takes great effort not to politicize the movie. This is unlike his other films such "JFK" (conspiracy and assasination) and "Born on the 4th of July" (Vietnam War and its aftermath) Perhaps the best part of the film is how the CGI and special effects of the twin towers' collapse was depicted and this gives a surreal effect. The viewer is brought back in time and at the WTC as it collapses. The movie deals with two Port Authority cops who were trapped inside the e...

In the past three months Manila has been hit with a bossa nova revival. This probably was ignited by Sergio Mendes' songs being reinterpreted by groups such as the "Black Eyed Peas". Of all the new artists that have been launched, Sitti seems to have caught the revival in stride. Her admirers say she is good but some critics say her voice hasn't reached that Astrud-like coolness. Well I'd say she is still quite young and her voice will reach that Astrudesque maturity in due time. Sitti is given a run for her money by Sofia, whose voice is more cool than hers. I really don't give much of a bother whose better than the other. What bothers me is that any song has been reinterpreted in bossa nova style! Record producers want to cash in on the bossa nova boom. Yuck. All the VST and Co. disco hits of the 1970s have been made into bossa nova. I heard a "Boyfriends" song reinterpreted. What's next? Probably they would reinterpret Ka Freddie Aguilar's...

For someone involved in the teaching business, this is the worse time of the year and it happens twice or even thrice (if you get to teach summer session) in a single year. The end-of-term has arrived! Here I have to deal with marking a heap of student essays, creative projects and all that! Marking exams is just an icing on the cake as the cliche goes. And this leads to some asking why I insist on giving essays and projects and not just stick with objective-type exams. It is a matter of trying to see what's inside a student's mind. Objective type exams can really only assess what the student has learned (or memorised) and if properly constructed may give a glimpse of how a student thinks. But this isn't enough, a teacher will have to find out how much a student has changed in a semester. The essays and projects also teach me how to become a much better writer. Not a few students are excellent. A teacher is only in the business of opening minds. Filling in minds is someth...

A letter writer to the Inquirer gave her reasons for why she decided to seek residency in the USA. You can read her letter . Migrating to another country is a personal decision and the reasons differ from one person to another. It is because of this that a Pinoy in the Philippines cannot fault anyone for desiring a better life. But one thing is certain to me, the agony of giving up Philippine nationality is a private one, similar to Jesus Christ's experience in Gethsemane. I know this for a fact because as a global Pinoy, I have spoken to many kabayans who have migrated and felt a great loss in giving up Filipino citizenship. But like some migrants our letter writer has fallen into the trap of criticizing the country she had given up. True the country may have progressed or regressed, but that is now the business of the citizens of that country. America may have regressed in so many ways after 9-11-2001, and non-Americans may give their opinion on what's wrong with Bush, Cong...

The University of the Philippines (UP) has released for downloading copies of House Bill 5008 (that has passed third reading) and Senate Bill 1833 that seek to amend the 98 year old UP Charter Act 1870 passed by the colonial legislature of the time, the Philippine Assembly. Nationalists rightly point out that the UP Charter has reference to the American Governor General. But this is not that relevant now for our identity as an independent nation with a Filipino National university. I always point out that the Australian Constiutution still refers to Queen Victoria of England. No Aussie in his/her right mind would think that he/she is still a subject of the Queen of England. Thus Queen Victoria in Australia and The American Governor General in the UP are of historic interest only. What is more essential is that the UP has outgrown the old charter that specifies that the university be located in Manila. UP today is found in other places in the Philippines. So there is a need for a new ch...

The recent murder of Philippine Independent Church (Aglipayan) bishop Alberto Ramento in his Tarlac cathedral-convent has sent a chill through the ecumenical community. The good bishop was once the Supreme Bishop of his church and was vocal for support of human rights and opposition to Mrs Gloria Arroyo's plan of changing the Philippine constitution. Police investigators say that the motive for the crime was robbery. Aglipayans, Catholics, Protestants and the Left believe that the motive was political. According to these parties, "They are killing bishops now" Bishop Ramento was not just an ordinary cleric. He was once the head of the Independent Church and headed a flock of 5 million people. If we use an analogy that refers to the most numerous church, it was if the most senior Catholic cleric, Cardinal Rosales of Manila was murdered in his cathedral. The murder was serious enough for the Catholic Bishops Conference to issue a statement of ecumenical concern and condemne...

Typhoon Xangsane (Milenyo) swept through Metro Manila last Sept 28 and downed heaps of trees and severing powerlines. This plunged the city into darkness and as of this time some parts of the city are still without power. The economic costs are now in the billions. Many businesses are still shut. Gas stations are still shut. A day after the storm I made a round of the trees in the UP Campus and observed that the introduced trees like acacias were downed but the indigenous trees like narra and dao are still standing. We have been promoting the planting of native trees for quite sometime and some people scoffed at our ideas. They said these trees don't grow fast, don't give much shade and were not pretty. Yes some of the native trees do not grow that fast, but slow growing trees tend to root much better. Trees that don't root well are easily toppled even by a tropical depression. Looks like we have been proven right! :) The typhoon also did deflate some politicians. For th...