“You were more than nine pounds when you went out of my womb. You almost broke my pelvic bones. But I have exhausted myself during the delivery for you to experience the world. And I don’t ask anything in return,” my mom said [in non-verbatim] during one of our rare talks.
The film Joker has played into the agenda of people of various political stripes. Conservatives have stoked up fears of it instigating mayhem on the streets, there are liberal voices who criticize its depiction of mental illness or its supposed glamorization of “incel” tendencies. Each assessment can be examined by the individual watcher if they are so inclined. But what I want to address here is whether it is the progressive masterpiece that some claim it to be. I think it is not.
Earlier this week, an online community page named “Lapu-Lapu” maliciously vilified me and our news site Davao Today as “fake news and NPA sympathizer”. Such accusation and vilification against me and Davao Today is purely baseless.
Dengue cases in the Philippines had already risen to more than 229,736, and according to the Department of Health (DOH) from January 1 to August 17 this year, deaths resulting from Dengue had already hit 958.
Every day, we are challenged by rhetorical questions: who can sleep at night after listening to stories of a widow who just want to end her life due to poverty, or an internally displaced person who lost his mom due to their unlivable situation after the Marawi siege, while the President spits insults to divert the attention of the listeners to his language and charismatic leadership?