I returned a few days ago from a wonderful, restful vacation
– a report on which will be forthcoming – during which time I was able to
mentally reorganize and decide what I should focus on and how. And not a moment
too soon; while we were away, our phones were already lighting up with news of
the ongoing calamity being caused by the fascist seizure of power in the US (in
that instance, it concerned the shutdown of USAID, about which I will have more
to say later in the week), and things are going from bad, to worse, to
catastrophic, almost hour-by-hour since.
It is time to pick a side and fight. Do we embrace the
fascism, the discrimination, the corruption, the hate; or do we stand for
reason, compassion, fairness, and moral care? Choose for yourself, but know
this: If you do not choose the latter, we are now enemies.
Task and purpose. Every one of us who wish for a better
world, a world in which everyone can at least live with dignity, had better
figure those out and get to work. I’ve decided for myself, and I appreciate
having had the luxury of some moments of peace far from everyday chaos to allow
me to do that.
One small but important part of that package of actions for
me is to make better use of this space, so this post is the first installment
in what I intend to be a manageable schedule of regular updates. That will
proceed as follows: On Mondays, a post containing links and a brief summary of The
Manila Times editorials from the previous week; on Tuesdays, a similar post
of my previous week’s columns; and on Fridays, something original and exclusive
to this blog.
A brief explanation about The Manila Times
editorials: Among my several roles at the paper, I am a member of the Editorial
Board (there are about 10 of us), and I actually write three of the seven daily
editorials each week. The process is that proposed editorial topics are shared
in our private Editorial Board chat group; usually they are accepted without
disagreement, but debate does sometimes happen, and once a consensus is
acknowledged, whatever is written becomes the position of the paper on the
topic at hand. I’m not going to identify which ones are mine (most people can
tell, anyway), because I am not speaking for myself, but rather our learned
collective.
Monday, January 27, 2025: Impact of climate change on children overlooked
Tuesday, January 28, 2025: Battling the two-headed dragons of poverty and hunger
Wednesday, January 29, 2025: Trump discrimination-based aid cuts must be condemned
Thursday, January 30, 2025: Encouraging private sector participation in development – Meaning, in this case,
development that has traditionally been the responsibility of government and
development institutions, such as large-scale infrastructure with a social element,
healthcare, education, and environmental management.
Friday, January 31, 2025: China combines diplomacy and duplicity to dominate South China Sea
Saturday, February 1, 2025: Climate resilience is key to economic growth
Sunday, February 2, 2025: A timely partnership – This concerns the recent agreement between the
Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and TikTok to combat disinformation in the campaign
for the May, 2025 midterm elections here.
A note on the paywall: Much of our content,
particularly the opinion section, is accessible on a paid subscription basis,
or by single-article access purchase (usually P30, about the cost of buying the
actual paper). I make no apologies for this, nor will I go around the paywall
as a matter of routine; this is, after all, the biggest part of my livelihood,
as well as that of 300+ of my fellow workers.
However, I will be
happy to make exceptions for deserving readers. If you are a student, a member
of the clergy, or a non-profit researcher, and you would like to access
something behind our paywall, please feel free to ask, and I will assist you.
