A day after Christmas, on 26 December 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte revealed in his weekly briefing that some soldiers have been vaccinated against COVID-19. That revelation, including his mention of Sinopharm, a Chinese state-owned corporation that controls over a thousand subsidiaries and 6 publicly-listed companies (including China Traditional Chinese Medicine and Beijing Tiantan Biological Products), […]
Category: Inkdrops
Inkdrops are works brought to light by a student of life. They explore possibilities, essaying visions that bear on the future of human existence, in accord with the laws of nature and of creation. They are loud thoughts in the form of minted words that, like a drop of ink, as Lord Byron says, may make a million think.
Inkdrops are products of free-ranged creative writing, limited only by ignorance, but not by fear of flying and falling. While the form of its media is to entertain as a way of attracting attention, the ultimate goal is to inform. Every pitch, should there be one, is a call to action.
Content includes position papers, essays, short stories, case studies, and the like, that form part of a larger advocacy for an inclusive, just, peace-loving, and law-abiding society.
The NPA as terrorist
The New People’s Army (NPA), the armed component of the Communist Party of the Philippines, is behind innumerable instances of atrocities and human rights violations. Pushed to the corner by inequities and state-sanctioned terrorism, it has, over the years, evolved to become a terrorist itself. But let no one forget the genesis of the madness […]
On breaking down 4.5 minutes of Duterte-speak, Ingming Aberia, on August 25, 2020 at 4:02 pm
I RECEIVED unflattering feedback (always seems to happen whenever I write something that disagrees with, or is critical of, what government officials say or do) in the comments section of my column last week, which took an excerpt of President Rodrigo Duterte’s address about war on drugs on Monday evening, Aug. 17, 2020. In that, […]
Sorting the good news from the sad, racosta, on August 29, 2020 at 9:20 pm
Amid the sad news dimming our horizon — like the worrying rise in the ABSOLUTE NUMBER of coronavirus infections, the shocking plunder of PhilHealth funds, the deadly Jolo blasts, and the President’s revelation of his doctors’ advice that his Barrett’s esophagus may worsen to Stage One cancer—I welcome some shiny good news, among them: First, […]
Road culture in the new normal, racosta, on August 29, 2020 at 9:25 pm
While we have stayed indoors, the coronavirus pandemic has been transforming the landscape of our shared spaces in ways we never expected. Nowhere is this more palpable than in our roads. Road traffic everywhere has its distinct pace, rhythm, and rules. No one knows this better than the tourist who must navigate the streets of […]
The middleman, Ingming Aberia, on September 1, 2020 at 4:02 pm
Policymakers are almost one in saying that to help rice farmers get better compensated for their labor, the middleman has to be eliminated and the farmers allowed to sell products (palay) directly to consumers. The latest to think aloud about this advocacy is Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, whose words, like those of President Rodrigo, […]
Yes, elevate ruling to UN but not now, racosta, on September 5, 2020 at 9:20 pm
To the question of whether we should elevate the arbitral ruling upholding our maritime rights to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for enforcement, my answer is “Yes, but not now, not during this regime.” Why “Yes”? Because the UNGA is the best forum to help us enforce the ruling. Should the UNGA side with […]
Reinventing education in a pandemic era, racosta, on September 5, 2020 at 9:25 pm
The COVID-19 pandemic struck just when our students, fresh from the Christmas break, were settling back into their classrooms. They viewed the disruption of classes it triggered with a mix of annoyance and relief. They expected classes to resume within a month at most. Little did they expect that this pause would upend not just […]