A Business Graduate's Reviewing History Blog

It's been some time since Miriam Palma Defensor-Santiago died. True, she can be temperamental but she really has a lot of good  reasons to be angry. The impeachment of the late Renato Corona was one example. I could remember seething in anger seeing Atty. Vitaliano N. Aguirre II when he covered his ears. Some say she went overboard. Maybe, she did and I think Aguire II didn't deserve to be detained in contrast to instant admonition. I believe that no caucus was needed and making Aguire II get out of the courtroom was more than enough punishment for minor disrespect . She may have clashed with the late Fidel V. Ramos but I can't get enough of her feisty behavior--something I feel the Philippines needs to become a truly disciplined country.  Some may say that MDS is very maldita or a very mean woman. I did pass through a teacher who was like her. Sure, I didn't get good grades, she could go overboard, but I'm still thankful to that economics teacher. I'd say I...

As I continue to seek to improve Chinese education in the Philippines, I remember a mishap that happened 22 years ago. A Chinese singing contest was held in a Chinese school. Since the teachers were part-time from another school, somebody submitted a class journalism report on the Chinese singing contest last 2001. It might be a long time already. However, I do get amused just thinking about it even if I've already reconciled with the offender. The person had a certain proficiency in Chinese. Pinyin wasn't taught at that time. The Chinese classes were where the teachers from the other schools would introduce themselves by their Chinese names without telling us their real names . The Chinese classes were so focused on memorization instead of understanding. Since Chinese classes were treated rather casually (and I've been guilty of that)--Chinese teachers were the victims of students name-calling them .  In the Philippines, Chinese teachers are referred to as siansi in Hokkie...

Today is September 21 and it's often remembered as the dark era of history. It's because the late Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. declared martial law. Some people demonize martial law without knowing what it means. Even worse, some people who demonize martial law also say that the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines is "the best in the world". What they don't realize is that martial law can be done, when required, such as when former Philippine president, Atty. Rodrigo R. Duterte declared it during the Marawi siege. Also, martial law is part of the provisions of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines : Section 18 . The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines and whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion. In case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, he may, for a period not exceeding sixty days, suspend the privilege of...

One of the greatest injustices that happened is how Francisco Juan G. Larrañaga aka Paco was unfairly arrested with six others. There were already several witnesses that could testify that Paco was in Quezon City . I'm amazed that some people would still believe the faulty Supreme Court Decision, this person who only goes by "Nam Nam" even says that the log book and the photos may have been tampered with. Yet, there were more than 30 witnesses who knew that Paco was in Manila when the crime happened. Just watching Give Up Tomorrow made my blood boil at how faulty the justice system could get.  It's amazing how these vital pieces of evidence were ignored soon after Paco's arrest on September 15, 1997: The pictures of Paco and his friends were dismissed because "they could've been tampered with". Never mind that the judge didn't order the evidence examined. Plane ticket schedules were also ignored. I love the way that Solita Collas-Monsod described...

A diagram found on Facebook, apparently owned by the late Miguel "Juan" Del Gallego y Ripoll I have updated my review of the documentary Give Up Tomorrow more than once. The late Charles Edward P. Celdran even called it a trial by publicity. I could remember the shocked face I made when was told that Francisco Juan G. Larrañaga was innocent . What amazed me is that my friend (I will not mention his name) was also with Paco on that night . Cebu City Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin N. Garcia was among the many witnesses who testified that Paco was in school. There's no denying that Paco himself had previous cases. But the basis of making Paco a suspect can be very loose. There was his alleged kidnapping of a certain Rochelle Virtucio. It's possible that Rochelle never saw the faces of the real perpetrators of the kidnapping attempt. How in the world was Paco suddenly identified as the suspect? It's probably because Paco had a bad reputation it was easy to pin the crime do...

Getty Images It's crazy how reporting a comment with the word "Hitler" can get anyone banned. For example, this is what I found on Quora : They should be allowed. there are quotes of his that are not in praise of hitler but showing how he thought so that people are critical of their current leaders . For example, here’s a quote by him “ How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think.” This is a perfect example of why Hitler quotes should be allowed; to show how dictators think and how people should be critical. Yes, he started a giant war and murdered people but censoring what he said will only help the next dictator start more wars and murder more people because people forgot about Hitler . This is why the First Amendment is so important: it’s about communication and freedom so that we all make better decisions in the future. I just told someone that Adolf Hitler seized the means of production and I got a strike. Like what? I wonder what ...

When I started doing some research on Chinese food, I got curious about the food of Communist Chinese revolutionaries. I guess it's time to cook with Communism. I tasted Yang Hero at Ayala Central Bloc IT Park. The soup sizes were rather huge so I just went for the rice bowl. It was a full house and I got to taste the food of the revolutionaries. I went for a smoked pork belly rice bowl which I believe was one of Chairman Mao's favorite foods. Mao himself had Sichuan braised pork which is spicier than the Filipino version of humba. Humba is derived from hóngshāoròu which the latter is spicier. I was laughing when I read this interesting piece of information about Mao's love for spicy food as written by Otto Braun :   The shrewd peasant organizer had a mean, even “spiteful” streak. “For example, for a long time I could not accustom myself to the strongly spiced food, such as hot fried peppers, which is traditional to southern China, especially in Hunan, Mao’s birthplace.” Th...