The new gatekeepers of information

Randy David - @inquirerdotnet 12/12/2021

Every morning, as I begin my day with a cup of coffee, I take a quick glance at the three freshly-delivered newspapers on the dining table. Scanning the headlines, I always wonder how editors decide which news…

Charisma and Rodrigo Duterte

Randy David - @inquirerdotnet 11/28/2021

President Duterte may go down in our nation’s history as one whose presidency was marked by the grandest promises and the most glaring failures. Yet, opinion surveys suggest that he may end his term with the highest…

A clash of rationalities

Randy David - @inquirerdotnet 11/07/2021

Laws prohibiting the buying and selling of votes have been with us for a long time. Yet we have probably not heard of anyone who has ever been convicted of this electoral offense. That’s because it’s not…

Strongman rule vs. strong institutions

Randy David - @inquirerdotnet 10/03/2021

The sharpest way to frame the May 2022 presidential election is to portray it as a contest between strongman rule and governance by strong institutions. Not since the February 1986 snap election, which pitted the widow Cory…

Reclaiming the power to choose our leaders

Randy David - @inquirerdotnet 09/26/2021

The country’s biggest carnival is in town. Despite a surging pandemic, all eyes are focused on the arrival of the main stars that will perform in the May 2022 presidential elections. Hardly anyone bothers to ask why…

Two faces of despotism

Randy David - @inquirerdotnet 09/19/2021

When Ferdinand Marcos proclaimed martial law on Sept. 21, 1972 (the actual date of implementation was Sept. 23), he had only about a year left before the end of his second and final term. But by declaring…

Those other days of September

Randy David - @inquirerdotnet 09/12/2021

Before Sept. 11 was abbreviated to “9/11,” to refer to the coordinated terrorist attacks launched by the al-Qaida terror group against the United States of America in 2001, the date had been associated in the Philippines with…

The making of a tyrant

Randy David - @inquirerdotnet 09/05/2021

When Rodrigo Duterte was elected to the presidency in 2016, he thereby assumed the powers inherent in the nation’s highest office. Those powers were not granted to him in his personal capacity. They belong to the state,…

Politicking in the midst of a pandemic

Randy David - @inquirerdotnet 08/29/2021

There ought to be a proper place and time for partisan political talk. No president in his right mind should use his weekly meetings with his COVID-19 team to talk about his political plans when he finishes…

Lessons from Afghanistan

Randy David - @inquirerdotnet 08/22/2021

One wonders which is worse for a developing country with no economic or military muscle: to be consigned to the margins of global affairs, or to serve as a recurrent battleground of rival world powers. Throughout its…

Probing OCTA

Randy David - @inquirerdotnet 08/08/2021

I’m trying to comprehend the rationale for the resolution filed last week by members of the House of Representatives, seeking to probe “in aid of legislation” the credentials, affiliations, and activities of a group of academics collectively…

Hidilyn’s battle: Woman vs. machine

Randy David - @inquirerdotnet 08/01/2021

In a recent interview with ABS-CBN News, Hidilyn Diaz, the 30-year-old Filipina weightlifter who won the country’s first-ever Olympic gold, summed up her feelings thus: “I couldn’t believe I did it… at last I beat China.” She…

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