HOTSPOT I’m as stunned as many others by what transpired at a press conference this week at Plaridel town in Bulacan. I’m just happy and relieved that Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro are alive and free. Others like missing University of the Philippines students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan...
HOTSPOT Did you see the video from the National Bureau of Investigation about the successful use of an ID photo showing a monkey to register a SIM card? Did you read about a senator’s suggestion that a citizen should only be able to register only one SIM card and be made to pay for extra ones? In...
HOTSPOT As I write this, the songs “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carrey and “Christmas in our Hearts” by Jose Mari Chan are back on the airwaves and through streaming, to herald the start of the world’s longest Christmas season. From our country to everyone else’s, we...
HOTSPOT While many appear to be worried or panicking about prospects for change in the 2025 midterm elections and even the 2028 presidential elections, we’re not seeing any concerted effort around the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) happening on Oct. 30, 2023. Each of our...
HOTSPOT The recently-released “Digital 2023 July Global Statshot Report,” published by global agencies We Are Social and Meltwater and with help from scores of 10 partners, reveal how fast and how deep the media landscape has changed. Many of the report’s findings should be interesting to...
HOTSPOT A big downpour might have marred and shortened the University of the Philippines Diliman’s commencement exercises last July 30, but nothing can detract from the sheer achievement of the Class of 2023. A record 2,243 out of UP Diliman’s 3,359 baccalaureate graduates received Latin...
HOTSPOT Decades ago, the terms were “payola” and “attack-collect, defend-collect.” Now, there are new, more powerful players in the shaping of public opinion who researchers say use the terms “retainer” and “pay per post.” Hats off to researchers Fatima Gaw, Jon Benedik A. Bunquin,...
HOTSPOT Baby River Nasino would have turned three on July 1 this year. But sadly, she only lived a little over three months. Who could forget Baby River’s funeral? The police dispatched dozens of close-in uniformed escorts to guard Reina Mae Nasino who was made to wear a full-body PPE. They did...
HOTSPOT In July last year, our Tito Ollie called me in the middle of his Manila visit and we quietly made plans to surprise Mama weeks ahead of her 73rd birthday. Despite a delay, the advanced birthday surprise pushed through at a mall in Bulacan. Mama, of course, was happy to see her youngest...
HOTSPOT There’s a raging debate online about living wages and the minimum ₱30,000 starting salary sought and expected by Gen Zs. The young ones are raising anew why the Philippines refuses to give decent pay to workers. They are revolted by the idea that while the national inflation rate, the...
HOTSPOT “Eat Bulaga” is supposed to turn 44 this July 2023. But there’s a whole lot of trouble that could finally end the country’s longest-running noontime show. For the faction of its producer TAPE Inc., the show will go on GMA, with a new cast and crew. Their initial forays have garnered...
HOTSPOT There’s a country whose economy grew by 60.2 percent, with Gross Domestic Product rising from $222.27 billion in 2012 to $356.7 billion in 2022 The businesses of this country experienced happy times from 2012 to 2019, with net incomes or profits growing by 72 percent from $35.8 billion to...
