Tag: Oscar P. Lagman

US President Donald Trump’s approval of the Fiscal Year 2020 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill which included a provision prohibiting the entry of Philippine government officials found to be involved in the “wrongful imprisonment” of Sen. Leila de Lima drew various comments from key Philippine officials. Here are some of them.

In my column of June 11, I asked: Are the current aspirants for Speaker of the House of Representatives of the 18^th Congress men of gravitas? Are they presidential timber like a number of previous speakers? Or are they lightweights who can be pushed over the top like Pantaleon Alvarez, who is again an aspirant for the Speakership?

During episodes of DZMM’s series on senatorial candidates, the station’s field reporters asked ordinary folks in the streets who they would vote for senator. Many said they would vote for candidates who can provide jobs or access to housing while many others said they would choose candidates who can enforce the law. A few said they would choose candidates who can “fix” things if and when they find themselves in conflict with the law.

On Oct. 17, 2018, House of Representatives Speaker Gloria Arroyo spoke before the delegates to the 139^th International Parliamentary Union (IPU) General Assembly at the Centre for International Conference Geneve in Geneva, Switzerland. Mrs. Arroyo was head of the Philippine delegation to the IPU assembly.

If Bongbong Marcos had hoped to present a revised version of the story of the martial law years by conducting that scripted video interview of Juan Ponce Enrile, he instead provoked an across-the-board retelling of what really happened during that dark period in our history.

It rained every day from September 1 to 19, 1972, placing Metro Manila and Central Luzon under water. Hundreds of lives were lost and crops worth millions were destroyed. The impact of the devastation on the economy wrought havoc on the already beleaguered Ferdinand Marcos presidency.

When Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo sent to Congress a position paper opposing an administration proposal to lower the minimum age of criminal liability, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said that Cabinet members who do not agree with the President’s policies or directives must resign. He said, “I just reminded the secretaries that they are the alter ego of the President. Now, if they don’t agree with the President, they might as well tender their resignation. Because as Cabinet secretaries, you cannot contradict the views of the President,”

Ms. Gloria Arroyo said she has never entertained the idea even if she is in her last 11 months as representative of Pampanga’s second district.

As this is being written (hours before the State of the Nation Address), a massive protest rally is being mounted to denounce President Rodrigo Duterte for failing to fulfill his campaign promise to put an end to contractualization and “endo.”

Laban Gilas Pilipinas! Puso! That is the fighting motto of the Philippine basketball team. Though the odds be great or small, but with heart so strong, Gilas Pilipinas will fight to win over all.

The many feature articles that appeared in various publications last week in commemoration of Jose Rizal’s 157^th birth anniversary brought to mind the series of articles he wrote in La Solidaridad from 1889 to 1890 on the Philippines 100 years from then. We quote passages from the articles which have significance to our times.

Many pundits liken the impeachment of Maria Lourdes Sereno to the impeachment of Renato Corona. Except for the fact that the respondent in the...

In response to Senator Leila de Lima’s resolution calling for an inquiry in aid of legislation into how government agencies can perform their mandate...

Senator Richard Gordon and Former Customs commissioner Nicanor Faeldon engaged in power play during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on alleged corruption in...

The line above is from William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet where Hamlet’s mother says it in reference to the protestation of a lady that she...

Before the year 2017 ended, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the Duterte administration will apply the lessons learned from previous experience to make the...

In the spirit of Christmas I will engulf you with the twisted yet funny web of comedic utterances of the resident jesters of DU...

I was extremely surprised at the appointment of Maria Lourdes Sereno to the Supreme Court by President Benigno S. C. Aquino III in 2010....

In a speech before an anti-corruption summit in Pasay City last week, President Rodrigo Duterte said that establishing a revolutionary government at this time...

In view of the presence of 21 heads of state in the country, I will refrain from commenting on any sensitive issue pertaining to...

Thousands of Filipinos went out to the streets last Sept. 21 in what may be considered the biggest demonstration of dissent to President Rodrigo...

I wrote in this column on Sept. 11, 1990: “Today some boisterous activities will remind us that it is the birth anniversary of Ferdinand Marcos....

To Take A Stand Oscar P. Lagman, Jr. I wrote in this space last May 30 that martial law throughout the country is coming. This expectation...