Journal
Five Decades Later, and the Audience is Still the Product
“If you’re not paying for the product, you’re not the customer – you’re the product being sold.” This idea is at the heart of the concept known as audience as the product. It’s an old quote, that is often brought up when talking about advertising. One of the earliest instances of this idea is in this 1973 short video by artists Richard Serra and Carlota Fay Schoolman called Television Delivers People. The video is a critique on popular media as a control tactic, for the benefit of “the mass corporations and those in power”. It’s interesting, because the two artists actually bought some airtime to broadcast this almost 7-minute piece, playing it on the medium it actually criticizes. The video is just text scrolling on
Beyond Theft: The Quiet Corruption of White Elephant Public Spending
Not all corruption involves under-the-table cash envelopes or missing funds. Some of it hides in plain sight – in government projects that are fully-funded, proudly inaugurated, and loudly celebrated. Yet, these projects quietly fail to deliver real value to the public. Economists call these White Elephants. For the purpose of this discussion on public spending and governance, we will use the Merriam-Webster definition of a “property requiring much care and expense and yielding little profit.” According to this extensive blog entry, the term originated from actual white elephants in Southeast Asia. While normal elephants served as beasts of burden, white elephants were sacred to Buddhists—so rare and valuable that only kings could own them. The problem? Elephants are costly to maintain, and a sacred white
My Teacher, Fr. Glover
A Mentor and A Friend Let me tell you about an excellent mentor and friend —Fr. Francisco “Kiko” Glover, SJ. For years, right up until the COVID pandemic, I’d always make a point to go home to Davao every January, especially around the 11th. Why that date? It’s Fr. Glover’s birthday, and those of us who were Management Engineering (ME) students from Ateneo de Davao would gather for our annual get-together. Honestly, we picked the date because we all wanted to celebrate him—a mentor and a friend. For many of us, Fr. Glover was like our North Star. He had this way of bringing us together, no matter how busy we all got. Former ME students based in Davao would always coordinate with him, and
May 2026 be the Year our Hopes Catch Up with Reality
After the noise of Media Noche dies down and the plates are cleared, I find it helpful to pause and reflect on the year that was, and to define what I want 2026 to be. This reflection is vital to appreciate the why behind what we do. As we enter 2026, my wishes feel clearer, heavier, and more deliberate than before. On this blog, I spent much of the past year writing about things that frustrated me, worried me, and sometimes kept me up at night. I wrote because staying silent felt wrong. I wrote so future generations could live in a country that values accountability, true public service, and refuses to accept failure or corruption as normal. One can hope, and should hope,
Choosing Hope Together – A Short Christmas Message
As Christmas arrives, I find myself reflecting on 2025. It was a year that tested our patience, our trust in institutions, and sometimes, even our faith in each other as Filipinos. 2025 was a difficult year, marked by scandal after public scandal. The flood control issue, in particular, was painful to watch: billions allocated, yet communities remained submerged, lives disrupted, and livelihoods washed away—with thin explanations and even thinner accountability. This blatant and systemic corruption reminded us how deeply rooted our problems still are, and how costly they have become for ordinary families who simply want safety, dignity, and a fair chance. Yet even amid this turbulence, I found moments that reaffirmed why I write in this space. This blog is where I share what
Simbang Gabi
Today is the first day of the Simbang Gabi – a nine-day novena which starts December 16 and ends on December 24. It is celebrated at 4:30 in the morning. But in recent years, when masses are also regularly held in chapels and other places outside of the main church, simbang gabis are held during evenings – at 7:00, 8:00 or 9:00 depending on the availability of the priest celebrant. But the original practice is to hold it at dawn; at hours before the sun rises. It is common among former colonies of Spain. The friars convinced the catholic converts to prepare themselves for the celebration of the birth of the Saviour. And what more fitting preparation there is but to attend nine-day novena mass.