As the chief architect of our country’s foreign policy, the president plays a crucial role in representing the country on the global stage. Aside from being an embodiment of the country’s values and identity, he is also expected to engage with foreign leaders while viewing international affairs from a broad strategic perspective. One way to do this is through diplomatic trips. As international relations and diplomacy play an increasingly important role in a “borderless world”, Presidents, particularly from developing nations, undertake foreign trips to advance their country’s interests. But ju ..read more

It was the 22nd of February 1986. We are looking at hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life gathering and marching along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). Soon enough, barricades were set up, armored tanks were mounted by protesters, & nuns and other religious leaders linked arms and formed human chains against the government troops. Fueled by the promise of bringing about a new era of freedom, peace, and equality for all Filipinos, the People Power Revolution (or EDSA 1) became a pivotal moment in the country’s history.  EDSA 1 saw the peaceful and bloodless overth ..read more

Approaches to Power Analysis Many political philosophers have tried to define power—what it means and what it entails. Nevertheless, there is a general understanding that power has an essence and this essence is precisely what theorists have been debating about for the past century. Here, we will be focusing on Michel Foucault’s notion of power. To firmly grasp the approach of Foucault, let us first examine how his predecessors defined power.  For Max Weber, state power consists of a “monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force.” In this sense, he sees power taking the form of unifie ..read more

Brazil’s 2022 Presidential Election is one of the most polarizing and divisive elections in recent history. It stirred some of the biggest controversies between political rivals and top two frontrunners, incumbent and far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro and left wing former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known mononymously as Lula. The stakes are high between the two political giants as the future of Brazil’s democracy hangs in balance. The two rounds of election became increasingly ugly as supporters of both camps traded insults on social media and jabs during campaigns. Bolsonaro was accus ..read more

Have you ever felt the need to change the style of clothes you want to wear because it’s “too revealing” and you’re afraid of being catcalled as soon as you walk out of your house, or worse, shamed by your own parents, relatives or boyfriends? Do you casually carry a bottle of pepper spray or any self-defense weapons for fears that a stranger would grope you out of nowhere? Have you been called ridiculous names and disparaging slurs like “baklang salot”, “pokpok” etc.? Has anyone ever threatened your life on the basis of your gender identity or sexual orientation?  Are you, like many wome ..read more

Throughout the course of time, we have seen how the state of nature progressed into thriving civilizations. Our ancestors, quite literally, crawled so we could run. We owe this to the simple fact that humans are political animals. We use and convey political ideas in practically any social activity, whether we are aware of it or not.  During the time when survival was the only language known to man, instincts played a fundamental role in the expression of early political life. Gradually, our ancestors were able to fashion tools for survival—the likes of which continue to steer modern life ..read more

Lessons have been learned and it is costly for the Liberal Party.  The defeat of the once ruling Liberal Party has completed a cycle: 2016 presidential elections, 2019 midterm elections, and 2022 presidential elections that decimated the might of one of the oldest political parties in the country. The descension in the leadership of former Sen. Kiko Pangilinan as Party President, and ex-VP Leni Robredo as titular head and its Chair, creates a vacuum in the leadership of the opposition party. But the Liberal Party is, arguably, not out of talent. The next LP President is Cong. Edcel Lagman ..read more

Memes and their Shifting Meanings The term “meme”, while it has contemporary connotations, was coined way before the internet was made available to the public. Introduced by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene (1976), memes were defined as a unit of culture in the form of, but not limited to, an idea, phrase, gossip, story, etc—basically anything that carries symbolic meaning or represents any phenomenon. Dawkins further likened memes with genes as they can also reproduce and mutate through communication. The term may have meant something a little bit diff ..read more

Facts On June 11, 2004, Catherine was hired as an Accounting Specialist at One Network Bank, Inc. On May 1, 2006, One Network Bank, Inc. implemented an exogamy policy. October 3, 2009, Catherine married her co-worker, Audie Angelo A. Cagampan, a loan specialist. November 4, 2009, the couple requested permission from One Network Bank Pres. Alex V. Buenaventura. Myrna S. Viado, head of human resources, denied and terminated Catherine’s employment. February 1, 2010, Catherine sought reconsideration. She filed a complaint for illegal dismissal against One Network Bank, Inc. October 29, 2010, the L ..read more

Politics Defined  Our ideas on politics, or any concepts for that matter, are usually shaped by our experiences—by what we have seen or heard. In a multifaceted world, what can be seen or heard is heavily influenced by power structures, or at least, our access to them. These power structures are the physical embodiment of politics—from actual towers, systems of thought control, and up to representatives in the congress.  This, perhaps, explains why we tend to associate politics with pejorative notions i.e., crooked, power-thirsty, and self-interested politicians. 200 years ago, Samue ..read more