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...
A SOJOURNER’S VIEW: Repentance in the context of historical injustices
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 03 March) -- March 6 of the year 2019 is Ash Wednesday. As most Catholics know, this day marks the beginning of the Lenten Period, the liturgical year of the Christian Churches lasting 40 days.
PEACETALK: I am not from a powerful family, not from a political clan, but...
(MindaNews / 02 March) -- I would like to request the person responsible to the alleged "mistake" committed to have the decency to officially write me directly as when I was requested to submit my notarized PDS (personal data sheet) for my nomination to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), there were personalities who contacted and called me.
ALPSIDE DOWNED: When subways trump airports
BERN, Switzerland (MindaNews/01 March) – With a little time on my hands, I made online investigations on an infrastructure project of the Duterte administration...
TURNING POINT: Cocaine Invasion
NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews/28 February) – President Duterte announced recently that the Colombian drug cartels are already in the country. This is apparently evidenced ...
A SOJOURNER’S VIEW: On the road to Miarayon
MIARAYON, Talakag, Bukidnon (MindaNews/28 February) – Through the last fifty years of my life, I have traveled extensively across the breadth and length of...
TURNING POINT: To be Safe and Beautiful: The Best Legacy Yet to Happen
NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews / 27 Feb) – If the effort is brought to a successful end and sustained, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte may...
PEACETALK: Iisa tayo, kaya ipakita natin sa lahat kung ano ang kayang gawin ng...
Ngayong araw po ang pormal nating turnover. Ibababa ang bandila ng lumang Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao; sa muling pagtaas nito, kikilalanin na tayo bilang Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
PEACETALK: We should put personal interest behind and work for the common good of...
As we witness today’s official hand over of the leadership of the new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, let me emphasize the significance of unity in diversity.
CRUCIBLE: BOL and Self-determination (1)
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 24 February) – Self-determination, a subject close to many hearts among conscious Moro youth and professionals, has elicited many questions. The most crucial, I believe, are these two: what drives the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to barter its revolutionary struggle with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) through transition process, decommissioning, and normalization? Would it advance or stifle the Moro quest for self-determination?
COMMENTARY: What lies ahead for the BTA?
The BOL is essentially an overhaul of the current regional autonomy framework and without a doubt the transition will be extremely challenging. Needless to say, the newly organized Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) faces a gruelling path ahead.
SOMEONE ELSE’S WINDOWS: Bad prescription
MindaNews / 20 Feb 2019 – Article 90 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by RA 4661, provides that libel shall prescribe in...
SOMEONE ELSE’S WINDOWS: Cyber libel doesn’t exist
MindaNews/February 18, 2019 – The arrest of Rappler executive Maria Ressa for cyber libel charges has triggered a heated debate on whether the Philippine...
A SOJOURNER’S VIEW: Where art thou Mindanao concerned artists?
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 17 Feb) -- Since EDSA I, as a way to acknowledge the major contribution of concerned artists in dismantling the Marcos dictatorship, February - when the EDSA event is commemorated - is also the country’s Arts’ Month.
HABAGATNONG HINAGAWHAW: Puwerteng Kuana!
Ay, mao nang akò nang gikuan
ug akong giingon anà pagkuan
kay kanang kuan man god kuan man,
sa ako man god nga pagkuan-kuan
nakakuan ko nga mao gyod nay kuan.
TURNING POINT: Press Freedom in the Balance
NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews / 16 February) -- The press is a necessity in the working of a democracy. It is an institution external to the government that secures check and balance in governance to protect the interest and welfare of the people.
ALPSIDE DOWNED: Ni Hao in Nice
BERN, Switzerland (MindaNews / 12 February) -- While waiting for our host while newly arrived on a recent trip to Nice, we had an encounter in the street with a local Frenchman. A car screeched to a halt and reversed a bit, the driver rolled down his side window and shouted out, “Ni Hao!” Then he drove away with a grin and another screech.
MARGINALIA: Four enduring challenges to revolutionary-to-ruler transition
YANGON, Myanmar (MindaNews /11 February) – It’s exactly 20 years back. 1998. February 11. 3:12 am.
“In a few moments, we will land in Mehrabad International Airport,” an IranAir flight attendant in navy blue hijab assured with a smile the drowsy passengers to a seven-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tehran. A score of fellow students from Mindanao and I were fetched by a minibus at the airport and transported to Qazvin, a city over 100 kilometers away. After taking a sumptuous breakfast in Karaj in the suburb of the capital, we arrived in Imam Khomeini International University where we had to learn within six months the language of Gulistan, Divan-e Hafiz, and Shahnameh.
BEYOND THE FOUR WALLS: Another look at ʾBumbleBeeʾ
MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews /10 February) -- ʺWow, it was fun. I can watch it again?ʺ said a male teenager to a companion after watching...
TURNING POINT: A Convoluted Plebiscite
NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews/6 February) – A barangay desirous and votes to become part of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) does not...
PEACETALK: Can the MILF carry the momentum in North Cotabato?
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 05 February) -- Can the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) carry the momentum in North Cotabato after the overwhelming victory...
SOMEONE ELSE’S WINDOWS: A test for the Dimaporos
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/05 February) – In 2001, the towns of Balo-i, Munai, Nunungan, Pantar, Tagoloan and Tangkal in Lanao del Norte voted “yes” to...
PEACETALK: Clarion Call For Unity
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews /02 February) -- The recent bombing in Sulu is definitely perpetrated by a breed of people who are followers of the...
PEACETALK: In the conflictive pastoral situation of the Archdiocese of Cotabato, the Shepherd has...
(Homily of Cardinal Orlando B. Quevedo, OMI during the Installation of Abp. Angelito R. Lampon, O.M.I. as Archbishop of Cotabato, at the Immaculate Conception...
HABAGATNONG HINAGAWHAW: Kuwento-Kuwento
Ang pagkakaintindi ko
kaya nag-martial law
at kaya pinalawig pa ito
ay para safe and secure tayo.
Tama ba ako?
O guniguni ko lang ito?
Ano raw?
May sumabog na naman?
Ay,...
WAYWARD AND FANCIFUL: Randy on my mind
ILIGAN CITY (MindaNews/ 31 Jan) – Death came like a thief in the night up north.
And don’t we all wish that? – That, when...
TURNING POINT: Rethinking the War on Terror
NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews/ 30 January) – The state security forces ought to rethink its strategy in fighting terrorism to avoid the repeat of...
COMMENTARY: Why Filipinos resist Charter Change
The 1987 Constitution is considered one of the most enduring constitutions in the world because it has stood for almost 32 years without any...
Prayer for Peace in Jolo
Let there be PEACE in Jolo;
Let there be Peace
between Muslims and Christians;
Let there be Peace
between our two communities
God protects All beleivers from evildoers
God leads...
TURNING POINT: Criminally Responsible
NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews/ 25 January) – It is likely that a law will soon be passed by Congress lowering the age of criminal...
A SOJOURNER’S VIEW: Ordinary Lives, Lived Extraordinarily
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 20 January) -- No one takes a second look at a woman carrying an umbrella. But a man with an...
COMMENT: Cotabato City: YES or NO to BOL?
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 19 January) – A January 17, 2019 MinDaNews photo by Mamman Dejeto (No to BOL inclusion. No to Fake...
PEACETALK: YES kami sa Kapayapaan, at YES kami sa Bangsamoro Organic Law
(Speech of Hadja Bainon G. Karon, chair of the MNLF Bangsamoro women at the Peace Assembly for the ratification of Republic Act 11054 or...
PEACETALK: The BOL is not a perfect law but it is the best now...
(Speech delivered at the Peace Assembly for the ratification of Republic Act 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex...
PEACETALK: Ang nakasalalay sa ating mga kamay sa January 21 ay .. ang kinabukasan...
(Speech of Datu Roonie Q. Sinsuat, Speaker of the Regional Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao at the BOL Grand Rally...
PEACETALK: Our united efforts and sacrifices to forge a long-lasting and just peace are...
(Message of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana at the Bangsamoro Organic Law Grand Rally on 15 January 2019 at the municipal gymnasium in Buluan, Maguindanao...
MOORISH AND MOORING IN TAWI-TAWI REEFS: The Sea Owns Us, We Belong To Sulu...
Ampa in ini hi Bianting Lee
Umalup lelleng ha elbiti
Minsan pungluh lelleng pipti
Hinangun niya salih kindi.
(Listen, as with Bianting Lee/ He boldly meets the tanks...
PEACETALK: Of plebiscite, local politics, and democracy
COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 18 January) -- Even as the plebiscite for the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) nears, we still can’t...
COMMENT: Burden of Two Cities
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/15 January) – The cities of Isabela and Cotabato are odd. They live in the House they were born in; have...
TURNING POINT: Changing Change
NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews/15 January) – If we want to achieve meaningful and lasting change, we must change the way we change.
If we want...
How to cook your mother (A family recipe)
A slice of life
Lots of breath
Splash with wonder
And rum
Mix in bowl of bone and flesh
Grind with chores
Til smooth
Don't forget vanilla
So men will wanna
Eat ya
With...
ALPSIDE DOWNED: Fantasyland
BERN (MindaNews /12 January) -- To someone just back from vacation in the Philippines, we use this queer remark: “Welcome back to reality!”.
We call...
A SOJOURNER’S VIEW: FILM REVIEWS: The Nanny/Yaya Story
Many Filipinos who enjoy watching films that do not insult their intelligence are sighing with relief now that the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF)...
COMMENT: At Stake in BOL Plebiscite
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/ 09 Jan) -- What is at stake at the Bangsamoro Organic Law plebiscite on January 21 and February 6?
Not the...