by Reginald Tamayo
 
It is no longer safe to say the truth in this country.  Truth and truth-seekers are silenced.  Anyone who speaks and stands up for the truth finds himself voiceless for fear of reprisal. In fine, truth is suppressed out of fear. Truth is a costly possession in this country and is not easily obtained without sacrifice and hammering from those who hate the truth.
 
Seemingly this is the Philippines today, to a great degree.  Truth is elusive in this country and falsehood is popular.  Graft and corruption is normal …

COMMENTARY BY PERRY DIAZ
             If there’s anything that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo would pay for $1 billion, it would be a photo opportunity with President Barack Obama.   Just imagine a picture of the two presidents side by side with the flags of their respective countries in the background.  That would be awesome!  It would be worth billions of dollars in extreme makeover for Gloria.  
           It could change her image from an international pariah to a “partner” in the war against global recession and terror.  And perhaps — cross your fingers – it could even …

Is Obama a sex symbol? Read this interesting article by Judith Warner of the New York Times –Perry Diaz
Sometimes a President Is Just a President
By Judith Warner
New York Times
The other night I dreamt of Barack Obama. He was taking a shower right when I needed to get into the bathroom to shave my legs, and then he was being yelled at by my husband, Max, for smoking in the house. It was not clear whether Max was feeling protective of the president’s health or jealous because of the cigarette.
The other …

RP NO LONGER DEMOCRACY’S SHOWCASE
By MANUEL F. ALMARIO
To Filipinos who still believe that the Philippines is a “show window” of democracy in Asia, it may come as a shock to know that the world doesn’t seem to think so anymore. This is reflected in the article of Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Freeman Spogli Institute at Stanford University, USA, in influential Newsweek’s Special Edition 2009 (December 2008 to February 2009).
“In Nigeria, the Philippines and once again in Pakistan, democracy is floundering amid massive corruption, …

COMMENTARY BY PERRY DIAZ
As expected, President Gloria Arroyo failed to meet with President Barack Obama during the National Breakfast Prayer in Washington, DC.  Arroyo should know by now that Obama had been avoiding her for obvious reasons — she’s ‘bad news.’  Once again, Arroyo’s unscheduled ’spur of the moment’ junket to the US manifests her desperate attempt to connect with Obama at all cost.
With the scandal involving fraud and corruption in the bidding of construction projects funded by the World Bank, there are reasons why Obama shouldn’t touch Arroyo with a ten-foot …

COMMENTARY BY PERRY DIAZ
A few days ago, the Republican Party elected Michael Steele as their first African-American national chairman. That the good news. The bad news is: at about the same time, Carol Carter, a county Republican official, distributed an email mocking African-American victims of Hurricane Katrina. It seems to me that every time the Republican Party makes one step forward, it takes two steps back.
It doesn’t matter if an African-American is at the helm of the party as long as its base is still controlled by people who don’t …

COMMENTARY BY PERRY DIAZ
In a spur of the moment change in her itinerary, the junketing Philippine President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, is heading to the U.S. again for another chance to meet President Barack Obama.  Obama will be the guest speaker at the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 5, 2009, in Washington, DC.
Gloria had been trying to connect or meet with Obama since the U.S. presidential campaign. If I were Gloria, I would stay close to the men’s room during the event. I am pretty sure that Obama would be visting …

COMMENTARY BY PERRY DIAZ
The 2010 presidential race is heating with 11 presidentiables already identified. However, one presidentiable who has been overlooked is Gov. Ed Panlilio of Pampanga. Recently, Gov. Panlilio stated that he will run for President if God wills it. Well, his support is growing fast in the country and in the Filipino global community as well.
Another presidentiable who said that he might run is Bro. Eddie Velarde of the El Shaddai religious sect.
Recently, Chief Justice Reynato Puno has also been mentioned as another presidentiable. He is known to …

COMMENTARY FROM PERRY DIAZ
I find it very strange — and suspicious — that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered charges to be filed against PDEA officials when it was the Department of Justice who dismissed the case because it “lacked probable cause.” 
According to an Inquirer news report, “The PDEA said last week it received information about a P50-million bribe to state prosecutors that resulted in the dismissal of the case against Brodett, Joseph and Tecson early this month.”  The three named are referred  to as the “Alabang Boys. ”
Shouldn’t Gloria instead order an investigation on the alleged …

An age-old war for dominance and supremacy
By Wilhelmina Orozco
A new war is on between the Israelites and the Palestinians, an age-old war for dominance and supremacy. Why can’t these two people shake hands and be friends? Is it really difficult being a friend to an armed person? What makes arms drive people to kill and massacre communities? Why is there no respect for life at all?
There could be cold war, not anyone moving at all to help on anything. There could be ostracism of each other, or simply dislike without …