Category Archives: Prof. Randy David

Prof. Randy David is a Filipino journalist, sociologist, and public intellectual. He is a professor emeritus of sociology at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

A longtime professor in the Department of Sociology of the University of the Philippines Diliman, David first came into widespread prominence in 1986, when he accepted an offer by the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation to host a public affairs talk show on IBC-13. The show, named Truth Forum, was notable as the only public affairs talk show during its time that was conducted in Filipino, rather than English. David later joined the newly re-established Associated Broadcasting Company as a newscaster and the host of a new talk show, Public Life with Randy David. After leaving the network in 1995, David hosted Public Life for GMA Network, and until 2003, Off the Record (with Katrina Legarda) for ABS-CBN, his last regular hosting stint to date. Since 1995, his newspaper column, Public Lives, has appeared every Sunday on the pages of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

On February 25, 2006, David was arrested in Santolan, Quezon City while celebrating the 20th anniversary of the first People Power Revolution. The reason for the arrest was the lack of permit to rally, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo having revoked all permits after she declared a state of national emergency just a few hours earlier. He was later released with all charges dropped. In May 2006, the Supreme Court declared that the arrests of David and his co-detainees were invalid.

David expressed interest in running for a congressional seat in Pampanga should Gloria Macapagal Arroyo run for Congresswoman in the 2010 general elections, a fight that has been dubbed by several Senators and mediamen as “David vs. Gloriath”. David later chose not to run, and Arroyo was elected to the seat in May 2010. (Source: Wikipedia)

IngmingAberia.com publishes Prof Randy David’s PDI column with his permission.

Regulating privatized expressways

Built in the late ’60s, what we today call expressways were originally known as “diversion roads.” They were meant to divert traffic from the national highways that traversed busy town centers. Funded by taxpayer money, the first such roads, one going North and one going South, proved convenient to long-distance travelers. They offered access to […]

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Chaos at the expressway toll booths

Until I can get an Autosweep RFID sticker for the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx), I have resolved to skip any trip south of Metro Manila. My weekend flights from pandemic house arrest will henceforth be entirely northward. I decided to prioritize securing the Easytrip RFID because I have always felt more at ease navigating the […]

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While waiting for the vaccine

Since the announcement two weeks ago by the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer that it has successfully tested a vaccine for COVID-19 that is both safe and efficacious, hopes for an end to the pandemic have risen. Pfizer reported an efficacy rate of more than 90 percent. A week later, Moderna, a smaller company, followed suit, claiming […]

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Five lessons from Typhoon ‘Ulysses’

Considering the frequency, range, and gravity of the natural disasters that visit our country every year, it is hard to imagine any other people that are as resilient (and as positive in disposition) as the Filipino nation. We are a nation that “eats” calamities for breakfast. We are used to them. They come, they leave […]

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American elections through Filipino eyes

Because the Philippine political system has been largely modeled after that of the United States, Filipinos have an abiding interest in knowing how the system is supposed to work. We have always looked to America for lessons on how to improve our own political processes so as to keep them aligned to the democratic ideal. […]

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The new Chinese migration to the Philippines

The rapid expansion of Philippine offshore gaming operators, better known as Pogos, under the Duterte administration, has brought into the country an unprecedented number of young Chinese workers from mainland China. No other nationality has maintained as pervasive a presence in the online gambling industry as the Chinese. Even as we never see the gamblers […]

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The uncertainties surrounding COVID-19

Just when everyone thought Europe had defeated the coronavirus, today — nine months after it first arrived in the continent — it is making a comeback as a dreaded second wave. According to a CNN report, the World Health Organization has warned that Europe’s daily death toll from the disease could rise five times higher […]

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The sociology of opinion surveys

As a sociologist, I am sometimes asked what I think of the approval ratings politicians and government officials get in opinion surveys. The interest, typically, is in the plausible reasons for the “very high” or “very low” ratings that are reported (particularly when these appear to defy expectations), and not so much on the conditions […]

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The US presidency, hubris, and the coronavirus

Having once moderated a presidential debate myself, I was curious to watch the debates between US President Donald Trump and former vice president Joe Biden. I expected that Chris Wallace, the moderator of the first debate, would not have an easy time controlling Trump. I wanted to see how he would handle a 90-minute verbal […]

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