Comments on: Our society: looking back

By: Marcelo

Marcelo — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:49:05 +0000

Hello!

Sorry for joining this thread late, but alas and alack, there’s not enough time in a day for all we want to do!

Just a quick comment. Lapulapu, whoever and whatever he was, has come down to us…and rightly so…as a hero, but his ancient pre-Hispanic Filipino opponent, Humabon, has been portrayed as a heel.

I suppose this reflects some deep-seated Pinoy sense of fairplay, etc.

But let’s reconsider.

Humabon had to “welcome” a pesky foreign interloper, babbling about some strange religion and faraway sovereign, knowing next to nothing of the stranger’s background.

When the stranger offered to help Humabon militarily gainst some uppity vassal, Humabon agreed.

Humabon agreed, again, when the stranger brashly offered to make the first attack without any assistance from his newfound native allies.

We know what happened next.

Humabon then tidied things up by slaughtering all foreign survivors he could get his hands on (at a feast he hosted for them, if I am not mistaken).

For this, we Pinoys look askance at Humabon.

But, somewhere up there, Odysseus, Sun-tzu, Caesar Augustus, Kautilya, Ibn Khaldun, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Ricehlieu, Talleyrand, Metternich, Canning, Cavour and Bismarck are smiling.

By: leytenian

leytenian — Mon, 26 May 2008 13:43:16 +0000

It is very obvious that our educational system needs revision in terms of educating publics regarding bill of rights. Additional classroom hours must be implemented. Education is the key and the Youth is our foundation to progress..

By: Traveler on Foot

Traveler on Foot — Sun, 25 May 2008 07:39:35 +0000

Dear Mr. Quezon,

I would like to thank you for giving feedback to the article I posted on Traveler on Foot last May 12, 2008 which I inadvertently referred to as The Kingdom of Sapa and the Maytime Fiesta in Old Sta.

After further research, I found out that Santa Ana de Sapa was the name given to present day Sta. Ana when the Spanish friars establish the mission in the area. That area is part of the upper river kingdom called Namayan (or Lamayan). Thus, IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m changing the title of the said article to Kingdom of Namayan and the Maytime Fiesta in Old Santa Ana.

I would like to thank you for the feedback that prompted me to make the necessary updates regarding the said article.

My apologies.

By: UP n student

UP n student — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:23:43 +0000

I confess that during my student days, and I suspect it remains the case for today’s Pinas high-school and college kids……. my understanding of Bill of Rights is more from American Constitution thinking(“we hold these truths to be self-evident”) than from the 1987 Constitution or its prior versions.

I also draw a zero with regards what my Catholic religious instructors have said (or what the Bible may contain) about “bill of rights” for citizens.

By: mlq3

mlq3 — Fri, 23 May 2008 05:19:42 +0000

bencard, i don’t think kids are even taught their rights, or obligations. my experience during the debate on charter change was that college students only had hazy notions at best as to how their government worked, not a clear idea of what the constitution contained or the logic behind the constitution’s provisions, the purpose of the bill of rights and what those rights required was tabula rasa to the vast majority.

By: Bencard

Bencard — Fri, 23 May 2008 03:14:49 +0000

and cvj, i was referring to today’s kids, not forty years ago. the way you talk, you seem to belong to that kind i was talking about.

By: Bencard

Bencard — Fri, 23 May 2008 02:16:21 +0000

cvj, don’t use my use my thought to sneak in your rant. make your own, will you, smart boy?

By: cvj

cvj — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:30:12 +0000

sorry, ‘her daughter’ should be his daughter.

By: cvj

cvj — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:29:42 +0000

in fairness to the kids though, most of their elders are not raising them right. – Bencard

Yeah i don’t think Diosdado Macapagal raised her daughter right.

By: Bencard

Bencard — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:08:56 +0000

brianb, i think you forgot that for every “karapatan” in a democrcy, there is “responsibilidad”. you can’t teach one and not the other. the problem with most of today’s kids is that while they are so focused on their rights, they are largely oblivious to their obligations. thus what we have is a society of whiners, bellyachers, out for instant gratification without paying their dues. at the first sign of trouble, blame the parents, the government, the society, or the world. in fairness to the kids though, most of their elders are not raising them right.