Tag: Greg Macabenta
Go home and plant kamote
IN grade school in Tacloban, Leyte, what we pupils dreaded most was to be told by the teachers, “Bobo…better go home and plant kamote!”
His loyalty to party ended where loyalty to country began
IN DEATH Sen. John McCain was honored by colleagues whom he disagreed with, even fought with and who considered him a disloyal maverick during his long tenure as a politician.
You seldom suffer alone
IF anyone were to tell a foreigner that the Philippines is a poor country and Filipinos can hardly afford three meals a day, he’d never believe it if he were to see the eating and drinking places in Manila. They are all full.
The problem with federalism — It’s the politicians, stupid!
IF the structure of the Philippine government is supposed to have been patterned after that of the United States, why wasn’t the federal system of America also applied to the Philippines?
Where does loyalty to country begin?
One of President Manuel L. Quezon’s immortal quotables was, “My loyalty to my party ends where my loyalty to my country begins.” Sadly, both in the Philippines and in the United States, these are “famous lost words” — lost in the struggle for political survival.
Revisiting Baguio City
Baguio City is one of the genuine tourism treasures of the Philippines. But for those of us who haven’t been to the City of Pines for years (especially those living overseas), the horror stories told about Baguio are enough to discourage any plans to make a trip.
Iglesia ni Duterte
It should now be clear to those who have to deal with him that President Rodrigo Duterte is not inclined to listen to anybody but himself. Even his own daughter, Mayor Sara Duterte of Davao City has advised people not to pay too much attention to what her father says about religion and God.
Trump and Nixon: A case of déjà vu?
On Feb. 21, 1972, President Richard Nixon made a historic trip to China, thus reestablishing ties with the Communist regime -- ties that had been broken since Mao Tse-tung and his forces took over the Chinese mainland in 1949.
Passport racket at the DFA
Remember the classic retort of a mid-level government appointee of then newly installed President Joseph “Erap” Estrada when asked why he was engaging in graft so early in the administration’s tenure?
Suggested New Year’s Resolutions
The election of President Rodrigo Duterte raised hopes of a clean, corruption-free government that was also progressive and dynamic (unlike the passive and pass-the-buck...
Trump’s Russia, Duterte’s China
Siegfried and Roy had a long-running and very successful act at the Mirage Casino in Las Vegas. The act featured two white tigers that...
