OUR MARAWI: Crying with Marawi
"I was roused by the call from the minarets that broke the predawn silence. Not just one. Not just two. But a symphony from...
MERANAO SPOKEN WORD: Call Me Homeless
I used to say to my friends living in the big cities.
That I live in a small city. Away from the tall
buildings and wide...
ALPSIDE DOWNED: Civil courage
BERN, Switzerland (MindaNews / 23 May) – Civil courage. The phrase leaped at me while I was reading a light-hearted online article on “How...
KISSAH AND DAWAT: Bangsamoro is Integral to Filipino Heritage
ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/22 May) – This month is etched in our minds because of the midterm national and local elections, with winners proclaimed by...
CALL TO ACTION: The Problem of the Island Commuters to Jolo, etc.
ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews / 21 May) -- The problem of commuters taking the boat to Jolo etc. has reached alarming proportion that ordinary commuters are finding it difficult to buy tickets to Jolo, Siasi, Bongao, Sitangkai and are forced to buy from scalpers who buy boat tickets to resell it at the wharf for a higher price.
TURNING POINT: Game Over
We have been under a democracy for over half a century. Our democracy, however, has been warped and punctured by a value system that glorifies and ennobles autocracy, plutocracy and indecency, thus the democratic system stalls and is getting us nowhere. It looks like the system fails us in choosing our leaders and in imposing social discipline. It seems democracy as a system of governance is not fit for us.
MINDAVIEWS: Can my vote make a difference?
Can my vote make a difference? This is the question that those who will be voting this coming elections often ask. The answer is: yes, of course. It may be one vote but when added together will either plunge this nation deeper into a crisis or shed light amidst the darkness.
RIVERMAN’S VISTA: The other elections on Monday
As it is, the national elections are a highly emotional affair. We are seeing that now with so much at stake. But while outside the gaze of national media, the heat is more palpable and intense in the local elections where political rivalries are more direct and personal.
TURNING POINT: Voting Wisely
In this mid-term election,
a wise voteIs one that
Puts a brake to excessive taxation that raises the prices of basic commodities, which has worsened the plight of the poor;
Sa imong pagpanaw, Joel: A tribute for a dear friend, brother and comrade
I have known Joel Virador since the early 1980s. He was then working with the Citizens Council for Justice and Peace (CCJP). Our paths...
KISSAH AND DAWAT: Pagkita’ bulan: Moon-sighting in the Bangsamoro
ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/07 May) – May 6 was declared the commencement of fasting (Arabic ‘sawm’, plural ‘siyam’) in the month of Ramadhan of the...
MORO IN EXILE: The Killings in Cotabato City
We haven't paid attention to the almost daily shootings in Cotabato until finally the victim is someone we know/knew. And then we start paying...
KISSAH AND DAWAT: Pagbutu, pagpini’ pagnakura’ (Voting, choosing leaders)
In pagbutu kapatut (To vote is a right)
In butuhun subay patut. (Therefore, vote correctly)
Mahalga’ in kapatutan (Rights are invaluable)
Subay siya halgaan. (Therefore, it should be valued)
KISSAH AND DAWAT: Mustering modern management practices for Bangsamoro transition
ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews / 04 May 2019) – We have the desire to see the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) succeed and...
A SOJOURNER’S VIEW: Review: On This Side Of The World
On This Side Of The World is a masterpiece and one hopes it can draw Filipinos and non-Filipinos - on this side of the planet as well as the other side - wherever the play is mounted.
PEACETALK: May God rain on us all in Mindanao the great blessing of Islam: ...
Through your faithful observance of Holy Ramadan, may God rain on us all in Mindanao the great blessing of Islam: Salaam, Peace, lasting Peace!
Just the Facts: Foreign Funding Isn’t the Problem
Bobi Tiglao used to understand that. And used to think it was a good thing.
A long time ago, when we were young and foolish, Malou Mangahas and I were booted out of The Manila Chronicle for standing up for Bobi Tiglao.
A SOJOURNER’S VIEW: Springtime in the Big Apple
BROOKLYN, New York (MindaNews/02 May) – Springtime seems to be the apt season to refer to New York City as the Big Apple for...
KISSA AND DAWAT: Impetus for Moro’s traditional sports and games
ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews / 30 April) – The Palarong Pambansa is in progress in Davao City. The BARMM delegation is performing well with news...
PEACETALK: Winning the Peace in Mindanao
(Welcome Address delivered by Fr. Joel Tabora, SJ, President of the Ateneo de Davao University during the “Winning the Peace, Multistakeholders’ Dialogue on the...
COMMENCEMENT SPEECH: Live a life of truth and substance, have the moral courage to...
First: LIVE A LIFE OF TRUTH AND SUBSTANCE.
We are given this enormous life. We should love it as best we can, and we must honor it by living in the service of others. There is no better way life to live than this; a life of truth and substance equals to a testament of love and commitment to this country.
A SOJOURNER’S VIEW: Elections As Showbiz
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/25 April) – Writing from Kiev in the Ukraine, Simon Shuster (whose article for Time magazine appeared in the 8 April 2019...
LATE BLOOMS: Sri Lanka, Easter Sunday 2019
When I had
wrapped my head
round the words
I had read,
I ran out of words.
HABAGATNONG HINAGAWHAW: Máoy
Naa koy kaila
nga kon mahubog na
haskan gyod tawong maoya.
Pero maingon ta
nga normal ra nâ siya
nga mawad-ag taróng pensada
gumikan sa alak nga naghinobra.
Pero ang akong...
TURNING POINT: Jesus Lost the Election
NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews/17 April) – And it came to pass that the people were presented to choose between Barabbas, and Jesus. The crowd...
BATANG MINDANAW: Decadence of Kaamulan
This is the biggest irony, and the one I am—we are—most angry about. Why are we allowing these people to taint the festivities with their ass-kissing when they couldn’t even care less about the Lumad struggle? This administration does not care about the Lumads. How many times has the President said he will bomb Lumad schools, I have lost count. Too much Lumad blood has been shed.
CRUCIBLE: Give the Tausug youth the right education, the right environment, the right tools...
Give the Tausug youth the right education, the right environment, the right tools of understanding, they would excel like others. If many of their forebears could be so determined in waging what they believe as their sacred struggle; in time of peace, Tausug youth must be capable in excelling even more.
TURNING POINT: Vulgarity: a New Filipino Virtue?
NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews / 11 Apr) – Discipline is teaching – to inculcate in learners behavior that is universally desirable and to eschew...
COMMENCEMENT SPEECH: Conquer Ignorance and Injustice, Defend the Beauty and Dignity of Our Own...
Today, as you graduate, and commence a new life of greater usefulness and purpose, remind yourself—
To serve God, though others call him stupid.
To serve Humanity, though others think the poor, the wounded, the excluded, are less than fully human.
And to serve God and Humanity by standing up for our culture and our language. There is where we live. It is under attack; to defend it, we must go home again.
TURNING POINT: Nanlaban Kasi
NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews/8 April) – “Nanlaban Kasi (He fought back, that’s why)” is the police top tune to explain a dead suspect in...
KISSA AND DAWAT: ‘Chopped heads’ and citizenship
ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/8 April) – This year is our 4-year old son's first awareness about election. Initially, he saw volunteers posting campaign posters, he...
KISSA AND DAWAT: La Convivencia: Beyond election fever
ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews / 4 Apr) – Local election fever is high and many politicos will do many things to scout and win vote,...
MARGINALIA: Swearing by the Qur’an
MAKATI CITY (MindaNews /01 April) – “Matalik den i pawakan a malini lemambuyug” Bapa Gharib, the ever-smiling sage of Tangguapo, texted me as I was sipping my favorite Myanmar teamix this morning. Literally, it roughly means “Any Asil (a fighting cock locally called ‘pawakan’) that habitually runs while fighting shall be caged [now].”
TURNING POINT: Overcoming the Plastic Curse: The 5 Rs
NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews/1 April) – We may be able to diminish the volume of plastic wastes in the environment if we manage to...
TO THE POINT: Candid Notes
The “new beginning” – moral governance – is the biggest challenge for the BTA. The first step is for the BTA members to plant firmly the foundation. The second is for the BTA to indoctrinate the Bangsamoros to appreciate moral governance and to rally behind the BTA. The third is
TURNING POINT: Withdrawal Method
NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews / 28 March) – The argument peddled by defenders of the regime is that the International Criminal Court cannot run...
BEYOND THE BEND: Proper use of IGR mechanisms is vital to the success of...
It cannot be emphasized enough that for the newly organized Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) the path ahead is extremely challenging. Right up there in...
ALPSIDE DOWNED: Plastic sucks
BERN, Switzerland (MindaNews/27 March) – Again, it took the horrific images of what man-made wastes are doing to nature to shock us into thinking...
COMMENT: The Duterte-Misuari Puzzle
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/27 March) – Really puzzling! This Duterte-Misuari puzzle!
President Duterte coddles and is beholden to Misuari. Evident! The erstwhile top Moro rebel...
MOORISH AND MOORING IN TAWI-TAWI REEFS: Kadday Bongao, Pondohan Sitangkai, and Tawi-Tawi’s Rising Tides
by Mucha-Shim L. Quiling
(with Rizam Habibon - MSU-TCTO, BS History graduating student 2019)
TAWI-TAWI (MindaNews / 26 March) -- My first excursion into Tawi-Tawi’s capital...
SOMEONE ELSE’S WINDOWS: Recycling is good but…
MindaNews/25 March – Campaigns calling for the recycling of non-biodegradable items like plastic have become commonplace. It has in fact become a fad to...
MARGINALIA: Gambar’s new revolution in the offing?
MAKATI CITY (MindaNews /24 March) – “Baka pupunta si Chief Minister sa Gambar barangay assembly (Perhaps the Chief Minister will attend the barangay assembly in Gambar),” my roommate excitedly told me last Tuesday night after receiving a text message.
TURNING POINT: Overcoming the Plastics Curse: Back to Tradition
NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews / 23 March) -- Time was when the fish we bought in the market were strung in rattan or abaca strings. Vegetables and all other items were put together in a rattan and bamboo basket or in woven palm-leaves bag (bayong) in carrying them home. Dry goods from stores were brought home in paper bags or inside personal cotton knapsacks.
KISSA AND DAWAT: The Bangsamoro saga from A to B
ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/19 March) – Cliché as it may sound, the words of Greek philosopher Heraclitus, “nothing permanent except change”, still rings true today...
HABAGATNONG HINAGAWHAW: Buwan Nga Dagtom
Ang buwan nga dagtom
mipatuhop sa iyang landong
sa iyang landong nga naglugitom
mipatuhop ang buwan nga dagtom
nganhà sa mga galamhang giharian
galamhan nga giharian
sa daw nagbukál nga...
A MORO IN EXILE: See you in a week or two (The Tragedy of...
I have been thinking why the news of the plane crash in Ethiopia and the deaths of aid workers among the passengers hit me so hard.
MARGINALIA: Four enduring challenges to revolutionary-to-ruler transition
MAKATI CITY (MindaNews /14 March) – In addition to (1) simplicity or simple living, there are three other enduring challenges, among others, facing Islamic Republic of Iran’s revolutionary-to-ruler transition: (2) openness to criticism, (3) loyalty vs. competence, and (4) blaming the enemy.
A MORO IN EXILE: What is the beef with the BIFF?
(MindaNews / 13 March) -- Five years ago, my last mission in Mindanao before going on deployment in East Africa was to organize protection accompaniment for the return of thousands of civilians from several villages in Central Mindanao.
TURNING POINT: Electing Visionaries not Clowns to Defeat Corruption
NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews/12 March) – Corruption, how to defeat it, ought to be the central issue in this election. Useless are all plans...
TURNING POINT: The Narrowing Gender Gap
NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews/8 March) – March 8 is declared by the United Nations as the International Women’s Day. The historic basis was March...