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Today, as I write this, Pope Francis has completed the first leg of his papal visit to Southeast Asia. The visit has been termed the apostolic journey of His Holiness to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore. This 12-day journey is considered unique because the four countries he will visit are non-Catholic, except for Timor-Leste.
There is an ongoing debate on how the Philippines should react in the increasingly aggressive and combative reaction to the Philippines’ insistence on asserting its ownership over the Philippine Sea. China started by using its Coast Guard ships to block Filipino fishermen and the resupply ship. Now it has moved on to the next stage of using water cannon, most recently against the BRP Teresa Magbanua.
The Paris Olympic Games has not yet ended but it is already the most successful one for the Philippines. Sports is a highly competitive activity and success is measured in the number of victories. I have been watching the Olympic Games despite the time difference between Paris and the Philippines. It is very refreshing to witness how the country has become unified by the medals that have been won and are expected to be won by our athletes.
Does it really matter for the Philippines and the world whether the next US president is Kamala Harris or Donald Trump? The answer of course is from the global point of view – yes, it matters a lot. Trump is a confirmed isolationist who has threatened to unilaterally withdraw the United States from NATO. Harris has pledged to continue America’s role of providing leadership to NATO.
Health care in the country has become an important concern, especially with an ageing baby boomer population and longer life spans. A welcome development has been the ease and convenience of telemedicine and telehealth services – something that ideally should be more accessible for everyone no matter the income level.
Pope Francis made the news some time ago when he announced that LGBTQ people should be welcomed in the Roman Catholic Church and even allowed priests to bless same-sex couples.
Geopolitics is the study of the effects of the Earth’s geography on politics and international relations. For example, the conflict between China and the Philippines is primarily dictated by geography in the sense that both countries border the South China Sea. In terms of geopolitics, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine from hindsight was inevitable.
The popular Ambeth Ocampo is known as a public historian and the editorial page columnist of the longest running column on history. An author of numerous bestselling titles from Rizal Without the Overcoat to Cabinet of Curiosities: History of Philippine Artifacts, his latest is a slim book that is of special interest to me with Kapampangan roots as my mother, herself an excellent cook, Josefina Sicangco Cruz hailed from Angeles. It was nostalgic and mouthwatering reading, Ocampo’s most recent title, Manyaman: Food in Pampango Culture, Anvil Publishing, 2024. (“Manyaman” means “masarap,” delicious.)