Category Archives: Reflections

Reflections are commentaries on the current issues and events of the day. They are analyzed from the vantage point of history, management, and socio-political science.

Like anything else that is published at IngmingAberia.com, they are by no means the last word to any issue. Instead, they are meant to provoke further discussion and hopefully facilitate consensus.

Reflections are like a smorgasbord of ideas. They can be many things to many people. They can be either affirmation of best practices, a critique of a perceived dysfunction, an invitation for discussions of an issue to continue, or a turn-key proposals for change.

“PDP Laban will not die”—Nene Pimentel

“PDP Laban will not die”—Nene Pimentel (Admin: this article was published by The Manila Times on July 21 & 28, 2021) In a disputed membership meeting of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP Laban) last weekend (16-17 July 2021) in Clark, Pampanga, that dislodged Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao from his post as its acting president,… Read More »

PDP Laban headed to a catfight?

Is PDP Laban headed to a catfight? When the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP Laban) emerged victorious in the last electoral war for president, supporters scrambled for their choice rewards. As in any war, winners divide among themselves the booty. In partisan politics, the spoils of war that are easily visible to the public… Read More »

Did Sinopharm forget that Duque exists?

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),… Read More »

The poor to the rescue, again?

(Published by The Manila Times on 6 May 2020) THE presidential adviser on entrepreneurship, Jose Maria “Joey” Concepcion 3rd, whipped up a social media fuss a few days ago. On April 29, 2020, in an online discussion dubbed “We Rise as One,” organized by the Shareholders’ Association of the Philippines, where he was one of… Read More »

The Balik-Probinsya Remix

(Published by The Manila Times on 29 April 2020) THE coronavirus pandemic has exposed the many faces of poverty, especially in urban areas. It also exposes what seems to be the limited knowledge the government has of poverty. Because of this deficiency, the solutions it proposes to address the problem are also suspect. News reports,… Read More »

Duque’s Tenacity

(Published by The Manila Times on 22 April 2020) HEALTH Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd is to gecko as Vulcaseal is to glue. He clings to his post with the tenacity of a skin disease (to borrow the words of Jose Rizal in Noli Me Tangere). That is the impression he projects if one is to… Read More »

Still Evolving, Science Gropes for Answers

(Also published by The Manila Times on 11 April 2020) A NEW study suggests that the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19)-causing virus can travel distances way beyond government’s spread-prevention physical distancing protocol of 1 meter. It shakes the grounding on which strategies to control the pandemic stands. An Agence France-Presse (AFP) report says, “the researchers, led… Read More »

More culture, less law

(Also published by The Manila Times on 18 March 2020.) MY neighborhood in an inner barangay (village) of Imus, Cavite has had progress in somehow easing the flow of vehicular traffic (consisting mostly of motorcycles, tricycles and private cars) by applying more self-discipline and relying less on traffic enforcers. I must hasten to mention that… Read More »