By Ade S. Fajardo Sometime ago, the committee on national defense of the Commission on Appointments discussed the ad interim appointments and nominations of generals and other senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Among those appointees was Colonel Jacquelyn Cloma. Her husband is a great-grandson of Cloma fishing magnate Tomas Cloma, who …
OPINION
Save SK from trapo
By Herman M. Lagon The easiest applause line in politics is often the most dangerous one. Say “abolish the SK,” and many exhausted citizens will nod before the coffee cools. They have seen the lazy stereotypes: the endless basketball leagues, the beauty pageants with tarpaulins louder than the programs, the chairperson who learns the art …
US-Iran peace talks end without agreement
The US and Iran failed to reach an agreement to end their war despite lengthy talks that concluded yesterday in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, jeopardizing a fragile ceasefire. Each side blamed the other for the failure of the 21-hour-long negotiations to end fighting that has killed thousands and sent global oil prices soaring since it …
Chickening out, Floyd style
By Herman M. Lagon There is something quietly telling about a boxer who says, almost casually, that a highly anticipated rematch is “not actually a fight.” It sounds different when it comes from Floyd Mayweather Jr., a master of control and “running” protector of his 50-0 record. So when his planned September 19 rematch with …
Divine Mercy Sunday
By Fr. Roy Cimagala The Second Sunday of Easter or the Octave of Easter is designated as Divine Mercy Sunday. The Ordo describes it as “a perennial invitation to the Christian world to face, with confidence in divine benevolence, the difficulties and trials that humankind will experience in the years to come.” This devotion to …
Life with AI causing human brain ‘fry’
Heavy users of artificial intelligence (AI) report being overwhelmed by trying to keep up with and on top of the technology designed to make their lives easier. Too many lines of code to analyze, armies of AI assistants to wrangle, and lengthy prompts to draft are among the laments by hard-core AI adopters. Consultants at …
Justice beyond borders: Why the ICC hearings matter to every Filipino
By Ignacio R. Bunye The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) hearings on the Duterte administration’s war on drugs have once again thrust the Philippines into the global spotlight. At the heart of the proceedings lies a fundamental question: Can a leader’s words be divorced from the actions they inspire? Defense lawyers argue that President Duterte’s fiery …
Trumping truth
By Herman M. Lagon This letter did not begin with me. A lawyer friend posted a “Dear Uncle” letter on Facebook late one night. It was light on the surface, but there was fatigue underneath — another claim, another near-ending war. I read it and felt that quiet nudge. This was not just distant politics …
Trump faces questions on Iran deal
Donald Trump claimed “total” victory after a ceasefire with Iran. But critics say the deal is a fresh example of their maxim that the tough-talking US president always “chickens out.” In the space of 12 nerve-wracking hours, Trump went from warning that a “whole civilization will die” to hailing that agreement as a big day …
Celebrities who dare speak
By Herman M. Lagon Sometimes it begins quietly — a joke that exposes bias, a post that corrects a lie, a knee taken in silence. Entertainment may be the stage, but the light often turns into something that reaches places power forgets. In those moments, stars stop performing. They become megaphones for those with none, …