Opinion and Commentary
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
From the Mail: Du30 and China: United versus illegal drugs
October 31, 2019, 2:00 pm
By Herman Tiu Laurel THE usual information warfare material emanating from the Western mainstream media against the Philippines found print again in one of the Philippine mainstream media outlets. In its October 9, 2019 issue the Philippine Star published a report authored by Patricia Lourdes… Read More
Ledesma: Earthquake revealed massive corruption
October 31, 2019, 1:52 pm
MOTHER nature has her way of expressing her contempt at man’s penchant for insatiable greed and corruption. The series of strong temblors that shook Mindanao revealed how contractors and government regulators disregarded building standards and quality of materials used in vital projects such as… Read More
Ledesma: Will Leni stop the drug war?
October 29, 2019, 11:36 pm
VICE President Leni Robredo should take a long vacation leave. It’s pathetic to see her being bludgeon by critics in social media and it is doubly sad because the criticism against her is true. And sadly too because she is the next in command, the second most powerful person in the country but… Read More
Ledesma: Our human frailties
October 24, 2019, 5:33 pm
THE peso and the stock market showed dramatic performance and the economy is seen to end with 6% growth. Young Filipino dabbling on science unlocked the challenged to convert noise pollution into electrical energy. Elsewhere in the globe, Egypt and Ethiopia lock horns over water that flows in the… Read More
Ledesma: Davao City tops in peace and economic growth
October 17, 2019, 2:25 pm
BUSES to replace rolling coffins salvaged and smuggled to Davao and underground cabling in city thoroughfares plus 14 insurgency free barangays in what used to be a CPP/NPA bastion -Paquibato District - are among the highlights in brief but the only-real-data-filled state of the city address of… Read More
Ledesma: Death wish, bad wish
October 9, 2019, 2:57 pm
BEWARE of what you wish and pray for. It could boomerang. Jim Paredes is so consumed with his hatred for Pres. Rodrigo Duterte, he plastered his face on Facebook angry at the man he cannot accept has at least 16-million fans who voted him to office instead of a wimp he had hoped will succeed… Read More
Ledesma: What’s happening in Davao del Norte
October 4, 2019, 2:13 pm
MINDANAO'S biggest dollar-earning agricultural industry is (cavendish) bananas. At an average of one employee for every 1-1/2 hectares, not counting the administrative staff, the industry accounts for the biggest number of labor force. Last year’s January to November export revenues contributed… Read More
Ledesma: Canine behavior of US politicians
September 30, 2019, 1:34 pm
THE problem that besets America is the overdose of hubris and severe prejudices of some of its political leaders against other nations. I like America and its people and this is the same reason why not a few Filipinos opted to live, work and visit the country every so often. America, after all,… Read More
Balanza: Day of the homeless poor
September 19, 2019, 1:38 pm
THERE is a day that the Pinoy homeless poor should celebrate: September 6, 2019. On that day, government agencies and various stakeholders with a heart and mission to provide a home to every Filipino homeless family congregated to map out a plan to strengthen the government's socialized housing… Read More
Ledesma: Modus Vivendi in DPWH
September 16, 2019, 3:43 pm
THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) should start blacklisting contractors who do not have the wherewithal to accomplish jobs at the shortest possible time. In Davao City, home of Pres. Rodrigo R. Duterte, DPWH does not seem to worry about the efficiency of contractors and the… Read More
Ledesma: Don’t starve our farmers
September 10, 2019, 10:39 am
DEAR Sec. William Dar sir. You do not solve the problem of rice farmers by asking the local government units to buy their palay (unmilled rice). Neither will you be able to solve their plight by extending them palliative monetary dole-outs. You should not pass the buck to the LGUs. That is not… Read More
Ledesma: What’s eating Lagman?
August 29, 2019, 8:45 pm
SUBLIME idiocy can surprisingly emerge from an idle mind. Sen Christopher “Bong” Go was busy going around the country setting up Malasakit Centers where it is most needed by people who are deprived of decent medical and financial assistance and out of the blue Albay Congressman Edcel Lagman… Read More
