Opinion and Commentary
Ledesma: Intimidating Digong
January 15, 2020, 12:54 pm
HAD it not been for the tinderbox situational condition in Iran and the fury of Taal the classic quotes by Leni Robredo would have hugged the headlines and be another example of absurdity and incoherence that had been the hallmark of the Vice President of the Philippines. I could have just… Read More
From the Mail: Peace talks, anyone?
January 7, 2020, 2:37 pm
By Hermogenes C. Esperon, Jr. MY objections on the peace talks are neither because I am on the hit list of the NPA nor because the New People’s Army (NPA) had attacked an Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) detachment or Municipal Hall where the armed forces or police officers are posted. In… Read More
Ledesma: A war we can win
January 7, 2020, 11:41 am
IT'S a good thing that the discord between the USA and the Philippines is only on account of a member of the Philippine Senate that had been indicted for her involvement in big-time drug trade inside a state penitentiary who the American legislators want to be freed. The other character is a tax… Read More
Ledesma: A sheer act of arrogance
December 27, 2019, 12:21 pm
LUCERNE, Switzerland -- For a country that purports to be the foremost proponent of democracy, it does not stand to reason why the United States of America has the temerity to intrude into the sovereignty of other democratic countries like the Philippines which is about the longest surviving… Read More
Ledesma: Joma's last card
December 25, 2019, 6:12 pm
OUR Armed Forces should learn from the history of war, peace negotiations and treachery. In fact, we need not go far. In the many instances of bilateral truce ostensibly to allow talks to follow, there had been scores of treacherous attacks. Rebellion has become a euphemism to terrorism and our… Read More
Ledesma: The stories behind 87% approval rating of Duterte
December 23, 2019, 10:49 am
MONTREUX, Switzerland -- I was busy taking snapshots of the idyllic city by the lake and posting these on Facebook for my family group when I saw an item that bannered Pulse Asia last quarter approval rating of Pres. Rodrigo R. Duterte zooming to an all-time-high at 87%. Three hours earlier I saw… Read More
Ledesma: Sen Bong Go, the Action Man
December 19, 2019, 3:09 pm
POLITICIANS have varied agenda and persuasion. Others got into politics not knowing what to do. Most have a gift of gab others just vocal cords. We see them among those who have stuck in politics like barnacles for they have made it their industry or to protect their industry or their benefactors'… Read More
From the Mail: Joma's exclusive franchise
December 19, 2019, 10:00 am
By Victoria Patria SO, it is very clear now. If Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chair Jose Maria "Joma" Sison is just 'simply a senior political consultant'' of the National Democratic Front (NDF), as he would like to insist about his role in the peace process of the government… Read More
From the Mail: Peace from the concrete standpoint, viewpoint of the people
December 15, 2019, 11:28 pm
By Victoria Patria 1. Peace is indeed beyond simply the absence of war. Attaining true peace by way of implementing social justice is the most sustainable means of gaining peace for our people and our motherland. Social justice is both a legal mandate and moral obligation of our government to the… Read More
Ledesma: Of U2’s Bono, truth and fiction
December 12, 2019, 2:50 pm
PAUL David Hewson, alias “Bono” is an Irish celebrity who made millions trying to sell poverty and human rights by sugar-coating this with emotional blackmail in his concerts worldwide. He is the front act of U2 a rock band. I must admit that I like the message of the few songs I heard which… Read More
Ledesma: Battling the oligarchy
December 6, 2019, 7:45 pm
PISSED by the verdict of Singapore-based Arbitration Court that directed the Philippine government to compensate the MWSS concessionaires billions of pesos for alleged losses they incurred, an irate President Rodrigo Duterte issued a stern warning he will charge Maynilad and Manila Water top… Read More
From the Mail: HK Yellow wins like EDSA
December 2, 2019, 2:42 pm
MOST people around the world that took notice of the recent elections in Hong Kong were surprised by the “landslide” win of the Yellow movement in Hong Kong. I call that movement Yellow because it is very similar to the Yellow movement that instigated and triumphed the 1986 “color… Read More
Ledesma: Proud watching SEAG in the boondocks of Mindanao
December 2, 2019, 2:16 pm
THE President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, did a little dancing ala “budots” to the cadence of songs, drums, and gongs while the Sultan of Brunei, His Majesty Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, clapped in awe amid the euphoria that defined the magnificent opening ceremonies of the 30th SEA Games.… Read More
Ledesma: Washing dirty linen in a cauldron
November 27, 2019, 9:33 am
WE senior citizens have a penchant for folkloric tales which many of us believe as much as we do the Chinese Fengshui. Oh yes, despite our avowed claim to be a Christian nation and this is true to Roman Catholics of various shades and protestants of various denominations. No wonder why… Read More
From the Mail: China, US in Duterte’s anti-drug war
November 18, 2019, 12:19 pm
By Mario Ferdinand Pasion THE surprise offer of President Rodrigo R. Duterte to Vice-President Leonora Robredo to sit in the government’s anti-drug war command after her months of lambasting the administration’s campaign perplexed the public, experts and ordinary folks, no end.… Read More
Ledesma: Free shabu, hugs, and kisses
November 15, 2019, 11:52 am
VICE President Leni Robredo enjoys the limelight that the media give her. The exposure, however, reveals her naiveté and ignorance about the menace of drugs, the networks of drug syndicates and how seriously we were pushed into being a narco-state by the tolerant Aquino administration. As a drug… Read More
Ledesma: My country a war zone?
November 12, 2019, 11:54 am
IT'S mid-November and Christmas season in the Philippines is in the air. Despite natural calamities that hit us, the survivalist Filipinos will find the way to celebrate the season. And yes, in disaster-hit towns and cities in Cotabato and Davao del Sur provinces, kind hearted men and women… Read More
From the Mail: China’s Mindanao quake aid
November 7, 2019, 11:50 am
By Ferdie Pasion JUST three days after the 6.6-magnitude 29 October Tulunan, Cotabato earthquake the Chinese Embassy in Manila announced its donation of 3 million RMB (or about PHP22 million) donation to the Philippine government to help victims of the earthquakes that have hit Mindanao this past… Read More
Ledesma: Unlike earthquakes, fates of Yoly and Leni predictable
November 6, 2019, 11:50 am
THE earth seemed to have calmed in Mindanao and rescue and relief operations are in full blast. There is an unprecedented outpouring of support and compassion that flood the many places in Cotabato and Davao del Sur provinces hit by a series of devastating temblors. But amidst the uneasy calm… Read More
From the Mail: Inherent right
November 4, 2019, 10:50 am
By Leopoldo Barrida THE state has the INHERENT RIGHT and JUST OPTION to protect and preserve its institutions, the government which is its central element, and itself for its own SURVIVAL, for its own people. Those who are undermining the state authority either by way of direct armed and… Read More
