The Moment You Realize Nothing Is Moving There comes a point when you realize you are writing the same story over and over again. Different headline.Different politician.Same damn outcome. For a while I wrote a lot about Philippine politics. Corruption, dynasties, performative outrage, the usual cycle of promises followed by disappointment. At first it felt necessary. Maybe even useful. Writing
Tag: Philippines politics
This week I just started reading The Dictator’s Handbook by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith, and I am only up to Chapter 2, Coming to Power. That is already enough to make me question my book choices. Some people unwind with novels. Others read productivity manuals. I apparently relax by reading a cold, clinical explanation of why bad
Short answer: no.Long answer: hell no—but let’s talk about why it feels like we should. Congress in the Philippines isn’t a store where you can return defective products. If it were, customer service would be the busiest branch in the country, right after DFA passport renewal. You voted for them—or didn’t, because you were busy posting #IStandWithWhatever on Facebook instead
Let’s have an honest conversation. One that might make your parents squint, your titas raise an eyebrow, and your lolos whisper “baka komunista ‘yan.” Here goes:No, the Marcos era wasn’t heaven.It wasn’t a “golden age.”It wasn’t “the time when everything was cheap and peaceful.”It was a dictatorship, wrapped in propaganda, built on fear, and funded by your future. “But Everything
Welcome to the Philippines, where the karaoke is loud, the food is glorious, and apparently, historical amnesia is a national sport. Let’s talk about the Marcoses. Yes, those Marcoses. The ones who ran the country like it was a family-owned pawnshop, declared Martial Law like it was a weekend promo, and then fled the country with billions in “souvenirs.” And