Archive (Page 10) • Notes on a Nation • Buttondown

sandiganbayan acquits revilla of plunder

December 8, 2018

Manila, 8 December—Former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., one of the senators charged with plunder in connection with a multi-billion scam helmed by...

courage to hope

December 1, 2018

Manila, 1 December—Sending this out early because UP has done the impossible—after clinching its first Final Four spot in 21 years, it overcame Adamson's...

do or die

November 25, 2018

Manila, 25 November—I was out celebrating a girl friend's birthday when the news came: UP won against Adamson in its first playoffs game in TWENTY-ONE YEARS....

in the beginning, there was russia

November 20, 2018

Manila, 20 November—I’m over a week late to this, but the New York Times’ Opinion section made this amazing video series tracing the beginnings of Russian...

something to see: francisco v. coching at ayala museum

November 19, 2018

Manila, 19 November—Todd Henry says it’s always good to go on a “stimulus dive” on weekends as a means of recharging one’s creativity, so that’s what we did...

sugar, butter, flour

November 18, 2018

Manila, 18 November—We caught the staging of musical "Waitress" over the weekend and it was so damn amazing. The stellar Joanna Ampil plays Jenna, head baker...

on reading to children

November 17, 2018

Manila, 17 November—Visited the old HQ to help emcee yesterday’s opening session of this year’s Read-Along Festival, which is now on its 8th astounding run....

on the philippine corporate SOGIE diversity and inclusiveness index 2018

November 12, 2018

Manila, 12 November—I finally got my hands on a copy of this report by the Philippine LGBT Chamber of Commerce, thanks to project coordinator Evan Tan....

the crawl

November 11, 2018

Manila, 11 November—Oh man, this week has been such a crawl to the weekend—you ever have those? Weeks where Mondays stretch forever, and you're already in a...

talk third telco to me

November 9, 2018

Manila, 9 November—The government has named a group helmed by a Duterte campaign donor and China as the country’s provisional third telco player. The...

will imelda marcos really go to jail?

November 9, 2018

Manila, 9 November—I must admit that when I first saw that former First Lady Imelda Marcos, widow of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, was trending on Twitter, I...

rhapsodies

November 4, 2018

Manila, 4 November—All Soul’s Day long weekend often meant going home to tend to our mother’s grave. Nothing looks as lonely as an unadorned grave on All...

haunts

October 29, 2018

Manila, 29 October—Halloween is just around the corner—if your feed is anything like mine, it is likely full of office halloween parties, dressed-up kids who...

gdi harry

October 22, 2018

Manila, 22 October—Whiplash this early? You bet. In a previous entry, I said That Former Spokesperson had already dropped his senatorial bid. Okay, I was...

the shallow

October 21, 2018

Manila, 21 October—This has been a full weekend, spent well with loved ones and family. The week has been batshit, so the past couple of days were spent...

the circus

October 16, 2018

Manila, 16 October—The first elections I covered with Research were actually midterm ones, in 2007. At the time, my main assignment was to storify embargoed...

my mother's tongue

October 14, 2018

Manila, 14 October—My mother and her siblings were born and raised around the Visayas, jumping from island to island between my grandfather's hometown of...

luck be a lady

October 11, 2018

Manila, 11 October—The Ultra Lotto 6/58 jackpot has hit a staggering P1 billion, and everybody has been in a betting frenzy. The odds of winning are 1 in...

stories my father told me

October 7, 2018

Manila, 7 October—Among my many ongoing personal projects is one I share with my dad, who is helping his batch from the Navy put together a class yearbook of...

illness & desperation

October 6, 2018

Manila, 6 October—This week’s announcement of the September inflation figure, which was the highest in 9 years at 6.7%, was heralded by desperate theatrics...