Opinion and Commentary
Ledesma: The HnP election juggernaut
February 13 2019, 8:44 pm
THE senatorial and Party-List race has begun and for the Hugpong Ng Pagbabago (HnP), the starting point is in vote-rich Pampanga. It is a show of force, a second chapter in the emerging Regional Party that in the first canto of its foray in national politics cut short the term of the third most… Read More
Ledesma: Sen. Bong Go? Why not?
February 9 2019, 3:35 pm
BONG Go, the special assistant to the President and now a senatorial candidate, recently landed in the 5-6 slot in the SWS survey. Promptly, as if on cue, he was a subject of unkind and cruel vilification aimed at, how else but, dislodging him from the comfortable lead and picture him as nothing… Read More
From the Mail: Dengvaxia mob
February 6 2019, 1:26 pm
By Undersecretary Lorraine T. Badoy THE Dengvaxia issue has taken on a life of its own so that, in order to clarify and hopefully, to calm and erase confusion, I have thought it best to write a list. Just so we’re clear as day. 1. Does the Dengvaxia issue fall under the PCOO’s purview? Just… Read More
Ledesma: Davao City’s Bulk Water Project
February 5 2019, 12:37 pm
DAVAO City is providentially endowed with great and unique resources: fertile soil, rivers and streams, forest reserves where lies the recharge areas of its rich aquifers. Much of its watershed areas had been raped by loggers who made fortunes out of the mahoganies that they cut and exported. Many… Read More
Ledesma: Weakness and apathy invite aggression
January 29 2019, 1:39 pm
THE deadly blast in Jolo of Mt. Carmel Cathedral ushered gory memories of similar vicious bombing incidents of San Pedro Cathedral in Davao City. These dastardly and bestial attacks especially on the house of worship are condemned by both Christian and Islamic religions and can only be carried out… Read More
Ledesma: Even the heavens rebuke Andaya
January 24 2019, 1:05 pm
EX-majority Floor Leader Rolando Andaya’s attempt at dramatics is a foolishly childish adventurism that it only invited speculations why he cannot come to terms with Budget Sec. Ben Diokno on the figures which he claimed were insertions made by the latter. He assailed the idea of having… Read More
Ledesma: Dirty tricks on Cusi, et. al., won’t wash
January 21 2019, 3:46 pm
NOT too long ago, I wrote a piece about the headline of a Manila-based tabloid “Abante” and its website which facetiously assailed the integrity of Energy Sec. Al Cusi, PNOC Pres. Reuben Lista and TRANSCO Pres. Melvin Matibag. I was initially curious about the issues they raised against… Read More
Ledesma: De Lima’s glass detention cell
January 15 2019, 12:36 pm
SENATOR Leila de Lima is a marvel. Despite her being confined in a detention cell for charges involving drug-related issues she gets an enviable media mileage which other legislators can only salivate for. Not even ex-Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who was illegally detained, had the same luxury.… Read More
Ledesma: Political morons
January 8 2019, 1:35 pm
I OFTEN wondered why and what have we done as a nation that we are given this scourge – a Lower Chamber in Congress where political morons and hungry hyenas thrive and fight over our tax that they cannot agree how much to allocate for what and for whom without thinking in single and possessive… Read More
Ledesma: Joma’s incurable phantasmagoria
January 3 2019, 5:22 pm
I DO not know why Jose Ma. Sison still makes it to the front pages despite the fact that his statements proceed from plain hallucination. His recent declaration is that for the year 2019, the CPP/NPA main agenda is to oust Pres. Rodrigo Duterte. Funny and pathetic because since day one of his trip… Read More
Ledesma: The honor rolls and the dropouts
December 31 2018, 12:13 pm
I ALWAYS do a final accounting of how characters especially decision makers and institutions influence our lives for the last 365 days. This is sort of a simple math and will try my best not to overdo or under-rate for after all, this is not about figures so trust me I will not do a booboo like… Read More
Ledesma: My Davao City and what looms ahead
December 27 2018, 12:53 pm
THE horrendous traffic experienced by both motorists and pedestrian in Davao City last week gave us a preview of what will happen in this southern capital in the next couple of years. For now, however, some measures can be enforced to mitigate the problem which actually arose from the various… Read More
From the Mail: A culture of negativity
December 24 2018, 7:27 pm
By Atty. Abraham A. Agamata THE last quarter of 2018 saw significant gains for the Philippines in terms of protecting media workers. Last October, the Philippines was named by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) as one of the countries with an improved status in its 2018 Global Impunity… Read More
From the Mail: Soft launch of PH-Korea Society to boost economic ties
December 22 2018, 1:31 pm
By Ben Cal The strong diplomatic ties between the Philippines and South Korea will get a boost following the soft launch of the Philippines-Korea Society at the Makati Shangri-la on Thursday. “The Philippines-Korea Society will definitely provide a great venue to discuss and exchange information… Read More
Ledesma: The good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful
December 20 2018, 3:10 pm
WE are about to end the year and here’s a broad perspective from your letter writer from the boondocks of Mindanao. This is strictly personal and I will not begrudge anyone from flagellating me should they disagree. After all, contrary to the martyr of the western press, Maria Ressa, anywhere in… Read More
Ledesma: The wrath of Mindanao
December 17 2018, 1:29 pm
THOSE senators opposed to the extension of martial law in Mindanao should ponder now on their “bright opinions” which simplistically state that there is absolutely no basis at all to justify its continued enforcement in the region. Hardly had the resonance of the speeches of opposition… Read More
Ledesma: What's the fuss about Tax Evasion?
December 11 2018, 2:26 pm
THE United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, David Kaye, has a litany of credentials which could account for his hubris in calling the attention of sovereign nations for what he suspects go beyond the norm and standard expected of civilized nations. Kaye has become too swell… Read More
Ledesma: Fun run in Davao
December 10 2018, 11:55 am
ELECTIONS are months away but in Davao del Norte intense under currents are felt in not a few towns with the epicenter in District 1, the main battle ground that pits incumbent Gov. Anthony “AGR” del Rosario and ex-speaker Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez in the congressional derby. As we all… Read More
From the Mail: Japanese invasion on PH 77 years ago recalled
December 8 2018, 4:18 pm
By Ben Cal MANILA -- Exactly 77 years ago today, Dec. 8, Japanese forces invaded the Philippines in a sneak attack on military installations in Luzon, 10 hours after Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was bombed, triggering World War II in the Pacific. American and Filipino forces were completely caught by… Read More
From the Mail: Which is which, Caloocan or Kalookan?
December 6 2018, 2:45 pm
By Severino Samonte MANILA -- What or which is the correct and proper spelling of the name of the 56-year-old Caloocan/Kalookan City in northern Metro Manila? Observant people, even those on a first visit to the city, will surely notice the varying spellings of the city’s name such as with two… Read More
