Category: General

by Sara O. Siguion-Reyna

(This article appeared in the Learning Section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer today. Sara is the daughter of filmmaker Carlitos Siguion-Reyna and movie/TV scriptwriter and actress Bibeth Orteza.)

I grew up on Mama’s stories of the anti-Marcos days and her activities: running in her clogs to flee truncheon-wielding Metrocom soldiers, bringing home the red flag of the Diliman Commune after a Makibaka march (she wanted it draped on the window, my grandmother turned it into a pillowcase) and, after Sept. 21, 1972, distributing underground newspapers, attending underground political discussions, doing this and that in the name of democracy.

Papa, light years away from his own “awakening,” got arrested one night for violating curfew. He would not tell the arresting policemen that he was the defense minister’s nephew, so he and his friends weeded the vacant lots of Camp Crame.

From GMA News:

The Philippines’ population rose at a faster rate than its Asian neighbors, increasing demand for food, especially rice, a staple consumed by Filipinos as well as half of the world’s people.

In a report, the government said that the number of Filipinos grew nearly 16 percent to 88.57 million as of August 2007 from 76.50 million in May 2000.

By 2009, with a projected population of 92.22 million, the Philippines will consume 9.75 million metric tons of rice, higher than the expected 9.56 million metric tons to be consumed by Filipinos this year.

I’d like to invite you to visit and link with Verafiles.org. Vera Files puts out in-depth articles on current issues. Vera is Latin for “true”.…

I just finished watching the movie, “The Bucket List” starring Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, and Sean Hayes (of Will and Grace).

It’s about two terminally- ill men in their fifties who formed a friendship while stuck in a hospital room.

The Bucket List was started by Carter Chambers (Freeman), a car mechanic, which is actually a list of things you want to do before “you kick the bucket”.

Malaya editorial

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PNOC to evaluate Ashmore offer to buy Petron

Ashmore offer a vote of confidence – GMA

Malacañang statement

A US investment fund, Ashmore, has bought Saudi Aramco’s 40 percent stake in Petron Corp. for P22.5 billion. The deal is nobody’s business but Ashmore and Aramco’s. Gloria Arroyo, however, would not leave a presumably purely commercial transaction well alone. She said the purchase validated the government’s privatization efforts and was a vote of confidence in Petron.

By Philip Pullella

Vatican City (Reuters) – Thou shall not pollute the Earth. Thou shall beware genetic manipulation. Modern times bring with them modern sins. So the Vatican has told the faithful that they should be aware of “new” sins such as causing environmental blight.

The guidance came at the weekend when Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti, the Vatican’s number two man in the sometimes murky area of sins and penance, spoke of modern evils.

From ABS-CBN online:

To encourage more people to testify versus corrupt practices, several key Senate resource persons in corruption inquiries have banded together to start a support group for whistleblowers like them.

Current and former Senate witnesses have put up the Whistleblowers’ Association (WBA), which they said will give emotional, legal, and financial support for whistleblowers like them, ABS-CBN News correspondent Timi Nubla reported.

Included in the group are volunteer witness Dante Madriaga in the controversial national broadband network deal probe, “jueteng payola” probe witness Sandra Cam, and “Hello, Garci” wiretapping witness Vidal Doble.

by Anthony Ian Cruz
Malaya

The Arroyo administration’s much-touted “highest economic growth” is “among the most inequitable” in the region, according to a new report of the Asian Development Bank which also said government corruption continues to hamper development in the country.

In an 83-page study “Philippines: Critical Development Constraints,” the ADB downplayed Malacañang’s declarations of an economic take-off, saying that “while growth has picked up in recent years, with the economy in 2007 posting its highest growth of 7.3 percent in the last three decades, both public and private investment remain sluggish and their share in gross domestic product has continued to decline, raising the question of whether the current economic momentum can be sustained.”