Category Archives: Oliver Geronilla's Column

The Self-respect of Nations: The Philippines and China

by W. Scott Thompson and Oliver Geronilla   Somewhere in the first of Trollope’s 6-volume set Palliser Novels, “the Prime Minister,”  the Duke of Omnium, also the premier, tells his usually silly wife that—and we paraphrase—nations are like people:  they elicit (the) respect from outside … Continue reading

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In Not So Recent Memory

by Oliver Geronilla Taking a stroll down memory lane always makes me smile. I smile for all the things I did in the past—both good and bad. March and April are special months. They are the months when graduations are … Continue reading

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Whistling in the Dark

  By Oliver Geronilla   From where I am, I can sense that Bulan politics is so still you could hear a pin drop. The pledge to be transparent, the enthusiasm to inform and be informed have all vanished into … Continue reading

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Turning Weaknesses into Strengths

  By W. Scott Thompson and Oliver Geronilla    We have always hated people giving advice.  It usually stems from their own insecurities or their desire to look stronger and wiser than we are.  But what if you ask for … Continue reading

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Sports and Politics

 By Oliver Geronilla I join BO in congratulating Mayor Helen De Castro for winning another term as Bulan’s chief executive. This “resounding mandate,” as Mr. Gilana astutely phrased it, will give her ample time to collaborate with Bulan’s crème de … Continue reading

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Still Tongue Makes a Wise Head

  By Oliver Geronilla   Politicians and their apologists have never failed to amaze me. From their empty rhetoric to their convoluted orchestration of truth down to their infuriating chutzpah, everything seems to bring me to a fleeting rapture of … Continue reading

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Playing Politics

  By Oliver Geronilla   Ask the children around you what they know about Bulan politics. I’m dead certain that you’d get the same answer that my childhood friends and I used to give: it’s all about the bigwigs plus … Continue reading

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Doing Things Right and Doing the Right Thing

    By Oliver Geronilla    Most of the columns that I write for dailies and the articles that I turn in here at BO dwell on empirical matters that reflect our current state of affairs including, of course, my … Continue reading

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Have A Way With Words

  by  Oliver Geronilla   The power to communicate effectively and wisely sets us apart from our primitive roots, but it’s the ability to understand and respond pragmatically and strategically that clearly makes us truly civilized. Last year, BO readers … Continue reading

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Wise Guys Vs. Wise Men

  By Oliver Geronilla   Times have indeed changed! Gone were the days when rumor-mongering, yellow journalism, and character assassination were confined to the walls of beauty salons, roadside eateries, and other similar places where rancor and candor filled the bucolic … Continue reading

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Slings and Arrows (random thoughts)

  by Oliver Geronilla   I don’t live in cloud-cuckoo land; so, I won’t pretend that black is white. For the nonce, let me do a double take at the scintillating points raised in some of the articles here. Quite … Continue reading

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VFA: a Lick and a Promise?

  By W. Scott Thompson and Oliver Geronilla*   “Well, because he looked like a wild boar,” the American serviceman explained his shooting of a Pinoy at Subic Bay forty years ago; was there anything more insensitive he might have … Continue reading

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Madame John Quincy Adams?

  By W. Scott Thompson and Oliver Geronilla*   The sixth American president, like GMA, was the child of a previous president: John Quincy Adams was son to second president John Adams. After he lost his bid for reelection in … Continue reading

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