Manolo Quezon is #TheExplainer Podcast

This is the audio long read version of my article, published in Spot.PH on February 14, 2020. I have been following the Marcos restoration effort for over a decade and a half; and it seemed to me that in reviewing a documentary on Imelda, an earlier one had to be brought into the picture, because both documentaries book-end that restoration effort.

Originally published in Spot.PH on September 11, 2017, the centenary of Marcos' birth. The blurb for it stated, "We are far from being able to take stock of his life." Which is true. F. Sionil Jose sent me a note to compliment me on this piece, which I appreciated very much, since he was old enough to have known Marcos personally. This article was the product of three stories told me by contemporaries of Marcos.

This audio long read is a recording of my two-part series, "Marcos in retrospect," which came out in my Philippine Daily Inquirer column on September 17 and 20, 2007. September 11, the birth anniversary of Ferdinand Marcos, kicks in an annual opportunity to reflect on his life and time, followed, as it is, by the (real) anniversary of Martial Law, September 23, and his death anniversary on September 28. 

The era when presidential candidates slugged it out for their party's endorsement in a national convention are almost beyond living memory. In 1992, when Fidel V. Ramos pledged to participate in his party's convention, only to bolt his party when he lost, he killed the chances for political party conventions to matter in picking presidential candidates. One of his advisers, Antonio Carpio, is now a Convenor of 1Sambayanan which is trying to unify the opposition on a different model from party conventions: the Convenors Group of 1984-85. This two-episode series looks at both models and why both have ended up failures. This is Part 2, focusing on convenors' groups --and political impresarios.

The era when presidential candidates slugged it out for their party's endorsement in a national convention are almost beyond living memory. In 1992, when Fidel V. Ramos pledged to participate in his party's convention, only to bolt his party when he lost, he killed the chances for political party conventions to matter in picking presidential candidates. One of his advisers, Antonio Carpio, is now a Convenor of 1Sambayanan which is trying to unify the opposition on a different model from party conventions: the Convenors Group of 1984-85. This two-episode series looks at both models and why both have ended up failures. This is Part 1, focusing on political party conventions.

This audio long read is a recording of my The Explainer commentary broadcast on ANC on August 22, 2017. August 21 is an annual opportunity to reflect on the assassination of Ninoy Aquino; in 2017, it also invited a reflection the killing of a until-then anonymous youngster named Kian delos Santos.

This is Audio Long Read No. 4. Originally published in Spot.PH on October 21, 2016 as "Enter the Dragon." Written on the occasion of President Rodrigo Duterte's state visit to the People's Republic of China, the generosity and friendliness of his reception was in marked contrast to the modest, stiff, and cold reception President Benigno S. Aquino received in 2011. I was part of his official delegation at the time.

This is the third and last of three Audio Long Reads to mark the 40th day since the passing of former President Benigno S. Aquino III.

This is Audio Long Read No. 3. Originally published in Spot.PH on June 26, 2021 as "The Impossible Dreamer." It serves as my obituary on the passing of former President Benigno S. Aquino III, whom I worked for, from 2010 to 2016.

This is the second of three Audio Long Reads to mark the 40th day since the passing of former President Benigno S. Aquino III.

This is Audio Long Read No. 2. Originally published in Rogue Magazine in March, 2015, as "The Mourning After." This was soon after the Mamasapano clash, and a historic backlash against then-President Benigno S. Aquino III for not attending the arrival honors for the bodies of the slain SAF commandos. In this piece, I inquired into his reasons for not going, and what they said about him, his era and upbringing, and a nation that underwent a kind of traumatic divorce from the President and his family. 

This is the first of three Audio Long Reads to mark the 40th day since the passing of former President Benigno S. Aquino III.

Audio Long Read #1: On July 6, 2021, the Philippine Daily Inquirer came out with a special focus section on the coming elections which includes this overview, by me, on the trends and realities of our national elections that we tend to overlook or not pay enough attention to. This is the first Audio Long Read of one of my articles. It was recorded during a stormy afternoon, as you'll hear from time to time in the background.