HOTSPOT Tonyo Cruz I have been asked a couple of times at forums or on Twitter Spaces and Clubhouse, how we columnists come out with commentary on the issues. There are a lot of ways how we go about it, perhaps many times more than the number of columnists. Coming from my experience, I could say I...
HOTSPOT Tonyo Cruz Former foreign secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. missed the chance to be the last Philippine ambassador to the United Kingdom to present his credentials to Queen Elizabeth II. He would have to do it with the new monarch King Charles III. That ceremony would most likely be delayed...
HOTSPOT Tonyo Cruz Last weekend’s column about a certain director’s unwitting self-admission about the importance of facts and evidence went viral, with no small help from his arrogance, hubris and the apparent penchant for riding on the names of others. I’m not mentioning his name here, out...
HOTSPOT Tonyo Cruz I leave it to critics, cineastes, artists and film lovers to give their knowledgeable reviews of the martial law period film “Katips.” It would also be only a matter of time for us to know how many trophies it would receive from other award-giving bodies, to add to its seven...
HOTSPOT Tonyo Cruz As a kid, I found first day of school was almost always a happy, exciting time. Except, of course, for the truly first day at kindergarten or Grade 1, which not a few cry about. But for the rest of our student days, most of us would look forward to rejoining friends, discovering...
HOTSPOT Tonyo Cruz There are perhaps only four remaining institutions or social forces that could be considered unmistakable champions of Filipino and Philippine languages, and it is quite tragic that the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino has reportedly targeted one of them. All three branches of...
HOTSPOT Tonyo Cruz Whether our friends agree or not, at the core of the arguments against more widespread use and study of Filipino and Philippine languages is overweening colonial mentality. They won’t admit it, but they have embraced the lie that our languages are inferior, incapable of...
HOTSPOT Tonyo Cruz Alongside news of the Abra earthquake, rising prices, mass transport woes and other national issues, our journalists have reported about newcomer Senator Robin Padilla complaining about the tough time he’s having in the Senate plenary debates. It is easy to poke fun at Padilla...
HOTSPOT Tonyo Cruz On May 13, Vice President Leni Robredo declared a “fight against disinformation,” and called on supporters to help make Angat Buhay the biggest volunteer network in history. Conscious that supporters are stricken with grief or anger, Robredo said: “Ang paghilom ay hindi...
HOTSPOT Tonyo Cruz Before leaving office, the Duterte administration took a final swipe at independent and critical media outlets and cause-oriented organizations. On June 8, the National Telecommunications Commission ordered the blocking of their websites, on the basis of a letter from the...
HOTSPOT Tonyo Cruz In his inaugural speech, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. politely praised and thanked his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte. Surely, Marcos owes a lot to Duterte for paving the way for his family’s triumphant return to Malacanang Palace, starting with the 2016 burial of the remains of the...
HOTSPOT Tonyo Cruz Had the cynics prevailed, there would be no Pride events this year. This year’s Pride events in the Philippines come at a most challenging time: A new Marcos is set to become president while the outgoing leader presides over a period of escalating prices of petroleum and basic...
