Speeches Articles

Democracy and Charisma: A Dangerous Liaison

Democracy in the Era of Charismatic Politics in India and the Philippines Talk delivered to audiences in Canberra, Perth, and Melbourne during a book promotion tour, November 26-December 10, 2019. The title of my talk is “Democracy in the Era of Charismatic Politics...
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EDSA, Neoliberalism, and Globalization

(Delivered at Coalesce Conference, sponsored by Ateneo Lex, Ateneo de Manila, March 18, 2017.) Most of you had not yet seen the light of day when the EDSA Uprising took place in February 1986. To my generation, this event was a memorable step in the Philippines...
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Valedictory Speech

Mr. Speaker, dear colleagues: I stand before you today to give some parting words on the occasion of my resigning from this august body, which will be effective on As you all probably know by now, I am resigning from the House because I can no longer support my...
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Civil Society?s Choice at the G8 Summit: The Road of Genoa or the Road of Gleneagles?

Speech at the opening plenary of the People’s Summit, Sapporo Convention Center, Hokkaido, Japan, July 6, 2008.

The Group of Eight came into being in 1975 as the G7 at a time that the world was embroiled in deep economic crisis, much like today.  Its main aim was to coordinate the macroeconomic policies of the rich countries at a time of stagflation as well as to forge a common strategy vis-a-vis the developing world, which had loosened its political and economic dependency on the First World during the heady days of decolonization, national liberation struggles, and the emergence of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as an economic power.

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Managing the Oil Crisis

Jun 18, 2008 |

We ought not to be completely helpless, however. What is so shocking about the current state of affairs is that our...