Refugees

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo “They hope to tell the world about the boundless love that returned to the remaining boat people their inalienable human dignity. That boundless love is none other than the Philippines’ undiscriminating embrace.” That moving statement is in a document written on behalf of the Vietnamese boat people who had chosen to permanently settle in the Philippines. I shed Filipino tears when it was...

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Inquirer pundit wins Sarihay Media Award

MANILA, Philippines–Inquirer columnist Ma. Ceres P. Doyo was cited for Best Commentary or Editorial Article in the First Sarihay Media Awards for her column “El Niño Redux” (Opinion, 5/22/14) during ceremonies on April 24 at Luxent Hotel in Quezon City. Organized by the Foundation for the Philippine Environment, the Sarihay Media Awards recognize the role of media in promoting awareness and better understanding of environmental and sustainable...

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Here's to the Kalinga Brave!

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo “You ask if we own the land and mock us saying, ‘Where is your title?’ When we ask the meaning of your words you answer with taunting arrogance, ‘Where are the documents to prove that you own the land?’ Titles? Documents? Proof of ownership? Such arrogance to speak of owning the land when we instead are owned by it. How can you own that which will outlive you? Only the race owns the land...

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The 173rd

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo   She had a name, a face, a story, a family, a track record. She had a life. She did not want to become just a number. She is Melinda “Mei” Magsino, a former Inquirer correspondent based in Batangas who was gunned down by an unknown assailant at high noon last Monday. She was 40.   I did not know Mei personally but some editors in the Inquirer did. This tragedy, so close to home,...

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"Complicit silence'

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo “There can be no peace between nations if there is no peace between religions.” Thus said theologian Hans Kung decades ago. The subtext is that it is ironic that religion—any religion, in fact—preaches peace, and yet can itself be a big factor in the unpeace. Pope Francis, during Good Friday rites, condemned what he called the “complicit silence” while human beings, particularly Christians,...

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'Via dolorosa' for HRVCB and HRVV

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo Every day since November last year, the members of the Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board (HRVCB) and their paralegal team must have been on a “via dolorosa” as they began “the table-top evaluation” of all claims for reparation and recognition that victims had filed since May to November 2014. Going through tens of thousands of claims that contain stories of torture, rape, detention, oppression,...

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