LANDSCAPE Gemma Cruz Araneta As two political dynasties, each with a pervasive air of privilege, act out a tragic-comic zarzuela, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) averts its eye and points a moral compass towards pivotal issues concerning the nation’s future. Last week, the...
LANDSCAPE Gemma Cruz Araneta He was only 32, a month older than my daughter, Fatimah, who was also born in 1966. Teodoro Brawner Baguilat, Jr. is a Tuwali Ifugao with Gaddang blood. He was elected councilor of Kiangan in 1992 at the tender age of 26 and after serving a three-year term, he ran for...
LANDSCAPE Gemma Cruz Araneta These days, the query — what have you done for the country? (Ano bang nagawa mo para sa bayan?) — is a galling trick question intended to mock and discredit. The malicious interrogator does not want you to state how you perform your civic duties, on the contrary, he...
LANDSCAPE Gemma Cruz Araneta Pundits, pubic intellectuals, political analysts and media practitioners have spoken and written about the decay of our national institutions. This seemingly unstoppable process threatens the very existence of the Philippines. Our country used to be called the...
LANDSCAPE Gemma Cruz Araneta Political winds now ravaging the cyber super highway are like typhoon signals that warn us of an impending electoral tsunami. Most of the presidential wannabees from various regions of this archipelago are already hymning praises to themselves. Social media is...
LANDSCAPE Gemma Cruz-Araneta As this writing (Sept. 15), I am commemorating two events close to my heart. The first was the inauguration of the Malolos Congress in 1898, in Malolos. The second is my 56th wedding anniversary. My husband, Antonio Araneta, and I chose that significant date to...
LANDSCAPE Gemma Cruz Araneta When Pres. Joe Biden decided to extricate the United States of America from Afghanistan, he said it was to end the “forever war” in that distant land. He does not want to send more American soldiers to their death. After 20 years of military intervention and...
LANDSCAPE Gemma Cruz Araneta What is happening in the USA is definitely none of my business, but allow me to give my two cents worth about President Joe Biden’s decision to terminate the 20-year US occupation and war in Afghanistan. He said: “I am the President of the United States of America,...
LANDSCAPE Gemma Cruz Araneta “La Solidaridad,” that valiant fortnightly of the Propaganda Movement bid its readers farewell on November 15, 1895. Its maiden issue was dated February 15, 1889, and against all odds, it survived for almost seven years. Graciano Lopez Jaena was its first editor,...
LANDSCAPE Gemma Cruz Araneta In the days of Lapu Lapu, the “ umalohokan” (town crier) was the main source of breaking news. As soon as town’s people heard his gongs and horns, they quickly gathered around him to hear the latest which could be new laws of their datus, instructions of barangay...
LANDSCAPE Gemma Cruz Araneta How ironic; the current unemployment rate in the USA is 10 percent, very high for American standards, but at the same time, there is a labor shortage. In agriculture, specifically in the fresh produce sector American farmers have to depend on migrant labor. It is...
LANDSCAPE Gemma Cruz Araneta He wrote in English to the editor of the “Hong Kong Telegraph,” but did not sign his real name. “Yours faithfully, Philippino,” was how he ended. Curiously, the date line was Manila, February 1, 1892, although he was still in Hong Kong. His second homecoming...
