In an altered state of consciousness?

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo Was he hexed, or did he have too much MSG? President Duterte’s hosts in China must have been hot under the collar for his unabashed display of eagerness to offer alliance to a bullying nation, and to prove it by dumping—in so many words—a longtime Philippine ally, the United States. He was practically doing cartwheels. The Philippines’ head of state, standing on the world stage, announced...

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Privately run prisons

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo   Yes, there are privately-run prisons in the United States. They will soon see the end of their days. The idea has been tried, and it didn’t work. Might the idea have worked in the Philippines’ biggest, the New Bilibid Prisons, which the inmates practically run like it were their private fiefdom? But I am getting ahead of myself.   Not quite as out-of-the-box as Bob Dylan’s 2016...

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Cursing our mothers

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo   The current joke now is that the Philippines should also be known as the “Republic of P.I.” Not for Philippine Islands, as our country was called during the American colonial era, but for “p***** ina,” the favorite cuss words of President Duterte who cannot go without them in his rambling speeches.   Translated into English, the phrase means “child of a whore” or...

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No to a house of pervs

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo   Let me inaugurate our new format with the statement of the Women Writers in Media Now (Women), titled “Slut-shaming is an assault on all women” and issued on Oct. 1. Our statement came out in the Inquirer’s Letters section on Oct. 3, but it merits being read again and again. Last I looked, it was “trending” in social media.   Thank you to those who identified with the cause and...

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STATEMENT OF WOMEN WRITERS IN MEDIA NOW (WOMEN)

SLUT-SHAMING IS AN ASSAULT ON ALL WOMEN    We, the WOMEN WRITERS IN MEDIA NOW, are outraged.    The intent of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, supported by the Secretary of Justice, to show during a House hearing the video, purportedly of a woman senator having sex, is vile, sexist, if not outright misogynistic. It is meant to defile a human being, who is, by right, entitled to respect, privacy, and dignity.   This behavior of our national leaders is a disgrace. It violates the right of every...

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