THE FIRST time I caught a glimpse of Latin American democracy in peril, it hadn’t even arrived. This was Brazil, in 1983, when the military government was stewarding what General Ernesto Geisel, president from 1974 to 1979, called a “slow, gradual and secure political opening.” Jobless protesters and union militants were in no mood to wait and, blessed by politicized Catholic bishops, capped three days of rage by rushing the governor’s palace in Sao Paulo. Police beat them back and the governor -- the first elected by popular vote since the 1960s -- threatened to call in federal troops. “The street violence is testing the opening to democracy,” President Joao Baptista Figueiredo, a retired general, warned. After two decades of military rule no one needed a translation.

I’VE LONG wondered what might be the most typical place in the world, and I believe I now have an answer. It is Cebu, the second largest city in the Philippines, from which I have just returned.

Kudos to McDonald’s Philippines for giving senior citizens, presumably retirees, a “second” chance. Golden Arches Development Corp. (which operates McDonald’s Philippines) has said it has signed agreements with the Manila and Pasay City governments for the employment of senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in McDonald’s branches in these cities.

“There is no art which one government sooner learns of another than that of draining money from the pockets of the people.” -- Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (1776), Book V, Chapter II, Part II

The performance evaluation has been the traditional way a superior gives feedback to staff. But as I have observed, this evaluation sheet is not the true representation of one’s work. It is either very subjective or objective depending on the situation or on the superior’s opinion. Yes, it is not only a tool to evaluate one’s performance but also a measure of one’s motivation and productivity. However, I find it odd that rank and file employees, even if they worked hard and persevered, may not get the credit for their work. We want to believe that our work speaks for itself. But then, in reality, someone else gets the credit.

Rising coffee consumption and the proliferation of coffee shops have little to do with nutrition or the alleviation of hunger. Coffee is seldom the main course, even when accompanied by chocolate chip cookies.

In 2010 there was a discussion on whether robots should be granted rights or what was termed as “robo-rights.” This stemmed from the consideration that robots may develop the ability to reproduce, develop artificial intelligence, and even possibly, create something independent of its inventor or developer.

We all live in a world that generally seems to be on the cusp of the next big thing. From bigger screens to smaller cameras, faster ways of transportation and communication, innovation has truly shaped our society, behavior and interactions.

The 2019 Southeast Asian Games being hosted by the Philippines have been a showcase of Pinoy sports achievements, showbusiness production excellence, and organizational incompetence all rolled into one portrait of a people who do not seem to know whether to feel proud or embarrassed about ourselves.

ON OCT. 31, Cebu City secured the title of being the country’s first UNESCO Creative City of Design, and the second UNESCO Creative City title went to Baguio City, a UNESCO Creative City of Crafts and Folk Art since 2017. With this recognition, Cebu joins Baguio in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), now numbering 246 cities around the world. These Creative Cities comprising the UCCN are differentiated into seven creative fields, namely: crafts and folk art, literature, film, music, gastronomy, media arts, and design. Together, they commit to placing creativity at the core of their sustainable urban development plans. Creativity as a strategic development pillar emerges from the city’s unique culture, as represented by its outstanding creative field. This creative field, foreseen to encourage viable cultural and creative industries, is to serve as a catalyst for the city’s creative economy, embedded in a more or less cohesive social environment as indicated by cooperation among civil society associations and groups with their citizen-members as cultural purveyors wherever they are in the public and private sectors.

Every year from Nov. 25 to Dec. 12, the Philippines observes an 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women (VAW). This annual 18-day campaign was inspired by the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, an international campaign coordinated by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership. First launched in 1991, the core 16 Days of Activism against VAW takes place every year beginning on Nov. 25 and ending on Dec. 10 which is an International Human Rights Day, hence, affirming that violence against women is a human rights violation.

The doctrines of joint operations and combined arms require synergies across all service branches, operating units, and the “total force” consisting of the regular forces and the reserves. That desired synergy requires many dynamic factors -- mindsets that drives attitudes and behavior, on and off the battlefield; leadership; training; equipage -- working in sync to make it happen. That’s what separates professionals from substandard forces.