The chorus of blame and shame has been on full blast in the aftermath of last week’s hostage drama. Police officials, the media, the President, his Cabinet officials, an entire government, indeed a whole country is enduring the resulting outrage over how a dismissed police officer managed to hold tourists from Hong Kong hostage in their bus and local security forces are unable to contain and diffuse the lethal situation as it escalated and eventually resulted in nine deaths.

Every 21st day of August, the day of Ninoy Aquino's martyrdom, I find time to reflect on the history of this country and on how it has shaped my own life choices. Last Saturday was no exception when once again history and biography converged for me.

Dean Tony shares his reflections on the Filipino experience of connectedness, using the recent appointment of Atty. and Prof. Meilou Sereno as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court as starting point.

I have been working on climate change for nearly 20 years now. In 1991, when the issue seemed to be obscure and maybe even exaggerated in its importance, I chose to write a dissertation on this issue and became, both in the Philippines and internationally, a pioneering lawyer and scholar in the field.

Will Aquino's Truth Commission succeed? Such a commission, by its very nature, is problematic.

Our country must face up to many truths -- some of which the people had clamored for, in the name of good governance and clean government.