PATHLESS TRAVELS

2020-10-162020-11-05

Benjie Mag…hunos-dili ka!

IN A GRUDGING WAY, I CALLED GEN. BENJIE MAGALONG as “Benjie Magaling” when, as CIDG chief, his findings as head of PNP Board of Inquiry on Mamasapano dared to tell the damning truth, which contradicted the official narrative being peddled by Noynoy, Purisima et al. about Oplan Exodus.

2020-04-232020-05-02

‘No classes until December’ shows black-and-white thinking

Since the Covid-19 pandemic and a nearly nationwide extended lockdown hit the Philippines, I’ve been repeatedly noticing a deep malaise of black-and-white, dogmatically rigid thinking, not just among the country’s elite ruling class but also among its middle classes and working masses–including quite a few among the enlightened progressives. More about this black-and-white thinking later, but for now, let me just focus on the “no classes until December” proposal or variants thereof–as if keeping the youth away from schools would automatically reduce the risks of getting infected with the Covid-19 virus.

2020-04-162020-04-30

Mass transport is still possible during the Covid-19 crisis

One of the worst kinds of ossified thinking in the present Lockdown Mindset, from which the Philippine government apparently cannot escape, is that the so-called Enhanced Community Quarantine cannot allow for mass transport vehicles to operate regularly because that would violate “social distancing” and defeat the very purpose of ECQ. To my surprise, even some progressives agree with this mindset. They apparently forgot that just before the NCR-wide lockdown on March 15 (which quickly turned into a Luzon-wide lockdown a day later), mass transport services were already starting to try and implement innovative ways to retool themselves to prevent rampant virus transmission inside public vehicles.