The Manila Times Opinion

05/09/2026

INFLICTED BY ISRAEL

05/09/2026

NEW YORK — In what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has heralded as an Economic D-Day, the United States is threatening to tighten the noose around Iran with sanctions on countries that continue to trade with it. But far from compelling others to join its efforts to isolate the Islamic republic, the Trump administration’s mounting blunders are hastening the transition to a post-American world order.

NEW YORK — In what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has heralded as an Economic D-Day, the United States is threatening to tighten the noose around Iran with sanctions on countries that continue to trade with it. But far from compelling others to join its efforts to isolate the Islamic republic, t...

05/09/2026

SIONIL, or Francisco Sionil Jose, or Frankie, or to the younger ones, Manong, was born in Rosales, Pangasinan, and died at the age of 97, which explains why each time I informed him about the death of writers less than 85 years old, he would always wonder why they died so young.

05/09/2026

THE 33rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting, to be held in Shenzhen, China, on Nov. 18 and 19, 2026, will bring together leaders of the APEC’s 21 economies amid profound economic, technological and geopolitical uncertainty. Under the theme “Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together,” China’s APEC year emphasizes openness, innovation and cooperation, with the November summit culminating a year of ministerial, senior official and sectoral engagements.

05/09/2026

ACCORDING to former United States Navy Indo-Pacific Command Cdr. Philip Scot Davidson, the reunification of Taiwan would be accomplished by China in 2027, the centennial of both the Communist Party of China and the People’s Liberation Army. This view has since been known as the Davidson Window. The admiral had taken care to clarify that he did not mean the actual breakout of hostilities but rather the status reached by China of being ready for such a breakout anytime it desired.

ACCORDING to former United States Navy Indo-Pacific Command Cdr. Philip Scot Davidson, the reunification of Taiwan would be accomplished by China in 2027, the centennial of both the Communist Party of China and the People’s Liberation Army. This view has since been known as the Davidson Window. Th...

05/09/2026

Second of a series

05/09/2026

“HURRY up, son! We have to get going!” the 75-year-old provincial governor said.

05/09/2026

THE North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) turned into a flooded parking lot this past week. Travel time on stretches normally covered in under an hour ballooned to as long as six hours, with motorists reporting nonmoving traffic that, at its peak, stretched roughly 9 to 10 kilometers through the San Simon, Pampanga, area (GMA News, Live Traffic Updates, Sept. 2, 2026). The proximate cause was flooding brought by the southwest monsoon, or habagat, which submerged portions of the tollway near the Tulaoc and San Simon interchanges, and forced the NLEX Corp. to shut down lanes and divert traffic for days.

THE North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) turned into a flooded parking lot this past week. Travel time on stretches normally covered in under an hour ballooned to as long as six hours, with motorists reporting nonmoving traffic that, at its peak, stretched roughly 9 to 10 kilometers through the San Simon,....

04/09/2026

EXPLODING Galaxies is a new publishing house that aims to reprint the classics of Philippine literature. First off the bat is Wilfrido Nolledo’s “But for the Lovers,” which he began when he was a writing fellow at the famous Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Nolledo’s “Canticle for Dark Lovers,” a collection of stories, has also been published, along with Linda Ty-Casper’s historical novel “The Three-Cornered Sun” and Erwin Castillo’s “The Firewalkers.” The late Doreen Fernandez wrote two iconic books on food, “Palayok: Philippine Food Through Time,” “On Site, In the Pot” and “Sarap: Essays on Philippine Food”; they both also got reprinted last year.

EXPLODING Galaxies is a new publishing house that aims to reprint the classics of Philippine literature. First off the bat is Wilfrido Nolledo’s “But for the Lovers,” which he began when he was a writing fellow at the famous Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Nolledo’s “Canticle for Dark Lovers,”...

04/09/2026

SEN. Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri said during the impeachment proceedings: “At sa totoo lang, Mr. Presiding Officer, pagod na pagod na ako. Twelve hours a day po tayo dito. From 9 to 9, nandito po tayo.” There is nothing wrong with admitting exhaustion. Senators are human, and 12-hour proceedings can be physically and mentally draining.