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Is it church meddling or duty to right a wrong?
BASED on her reading of the encyclical "Deus Caritas Est" given her by Pope Benedict XVI, President Arroyo has accused Msgr. Deogracias Iñiguez of violating church doctrine, if not also the constitutional provision on the separation of church and state when he filed his impeachment complaint against her.
United States of America celebrates its 230th Anniversary
IT was in 1763, according to official accounts of the independence struggle of the United States that American colonists who were erstwhile loyal British subjects invoked the principles enunciated in the 13th century English document, the Magna Carta, that no one is above the law. In that year, when the English King sought to make the colonies share the cost of the Seven Years’ War England had just fought and won, the American colonists protested by invoking their rights as free men and loyal subjects. After a decade of repeated efforts on the part of the colonists to defend their rights, they resorted to armed conflict and, eventually, separation from the motherland.
Bush reaffirms ties with Europe
THE US decision to participate in direct talks with Iran (It's up to Iran now Bulletin 6/22/06) apparently signaled a fresh effort to reestablish strong ties with Europe, in President Bush’s second administration. The unilateral decision about invading Iraq had driven a wedge between the US and many of its former allies and friends in Europe, contributing to a wave of anti-Americanism which the President is now seeking to mend. His quick trip to Vienna and Budapest last month was apparently designed to show "a united front" between the 25-member European Union nations and the United States, and also, as is Bush’s style, applaud democracy where he finds it. In this case it was a salute to Hungary, where he took part in the commemoration of the anti-Soviet uprising in 1956.
Nida’s 5-year-old case
FANS of Nida Blanca, by the tens of thousands, are all wondering if the actress’ old mother would still be present at the reading of sentence convicting all accused, especially the alleged mastermind who remains free as a bird in the US.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas celebrates its 13th Anniversary
ESTABLISHED in 1993, close to a month after the enactment into law of Republic Act 7653, the new Central Bank Law, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) continues the task of serving as the primary monetary authority that was originally performed 106 years ago by the Bureau of Treasury, the agency organized by the First Philippine Commission via Act No. 52. In over a hundred years, the supervision of the financial sector was transferred a number of times, first to the Bureau of Banking and then to the Central Bank of the Philippines, established by Republic Act No. 265 in 1948.
SC applies int'l law to al-Qaeda
WASHINGTON — Of all the steps the Supreme Court could have taken to undercut President George W. Bush’s legal position on his administration’s fight against terrorism, applying international law to al-Qaeda probably would have been the worst.
The calming of the storm at sea
Matthew 8:23-27
Cotabato charm
IN the past two weeks, I have made lightning trips to Negros Occidental, Cebu, Mountain Province, South Cotabato and Maguindanao, by land and by air, visiting various municipalities and cities found within those provinces. Cagayan Valley, Batangas and Bulacan were in my original itinerary but the pitiful state of our infrastructure did not allow me to drop by Tuguegarao from Bontoc and still make it for lunch at Taal the next day, and leave for South Cotabato the day after. I have been cris-crossing so relentlessly someone actually asked if I had a private helicopter. At the rate I am going, I definitely need at least free access to one. However, had I gone on wings, I would have missed the visual splendor offered on that vertiginously sinuous road to Bontoc (where I had two flat tires and was rescued by the Governor) and the silky smooth highway to Koronadal, via General Santos City and the charming municipalities of Tupi, Polomolok and Candol. I would not have spotted those sudden waterfalls in the Mountain Province nor marveled at the amazing cloud wall billowing from earth to embrace the gentle mountain range leading to Cotabato City. Neither would I have heard the crickets (kuliglig) of Koronadal, crooning hypnotically at sunset, just like they used to in the San Juan of my childhood.
Unresolved contradiction
IN a typically supportive comment, the country’s Catholic hierarchy the other day called the action taken by Caloocan City Bishop Deogracias Iniguez in filing an impeachment complaint against President Gloria Arroyo a heroic deed.
Civil disobedience
THE just(ice) secretary is probably right to warn former Vice President Teofisto Guingona that his "civil disobedience" may be seditious. It will be recalled that Henry David Thoreau (who coined the term though not its substance, as non-violent resistance to authority had a long history before the hermit of Walden Pond) was imprisoned for not paying the poll tax as an act of civil disobedience. The only problem is that Guingona had done nothing more than join the new impeachment move against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. So it must be his use of the term that raised the justice secretary’s hackles.
Procrastination is RP malaise
PROCRASTINATION for whatever reason is a Philippine malaise that is the root cause of our stagnating economy and political morass.
A super ‘Superman’
YOU can rave all you want over the special effects that make "Superman Returns" the most exciting, most entertainment-ful movie of the season, but at the heart of this epic $ 250-million production is simply the greatest story ever told. With a love triangle to boot.
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