2022 Year Ender Issue: "The best of..."
It's been a busy year. Thank you for being part of it.
For the end of the year, dear reader, a set of links to specific articles and presentations that to my mind, represents the best of my output for 2022.
The best of…
2022 was, for me, the year of the Three Themes, ideas I have been developing over many years, but which came together this year because of the historic election we experienced.
The three themes are, broadly speaking, The Collapse of Mass Media; the Fall of the Fifth Republic; and the Marcos Restoration.
I explored the theme of the Collapse of Mass Media as a functioning part of our democratic system here: Ped Xing13 Keynote Presentation: What will be the role of the media in the upcoming 2022 elections? (January 22). I believe this collapse was to a certain extent, self-inflicted.
I explored the theme of the Fall of the Fifth Republic in a couple of presentations: see #UPLBsaHalalan2022 Presentation: The Rise and Fall of our Fifth Republic (January 22) and Rotary Makati Presentation: From the Fifth to the Sixth Republic? The 2022 election in context (May 31) and CODE-NGO Talk: Tindig Nation vs. Siga Nation (October 4).
A summary of sorts can be found in Full Q&A with Brice Pedroletti of Le Monde (May 21, 2022). All these presentations, in turn, owe something to my thoughts on the presidency which I summarized here: My talk at LLMS: The Presidency 3×3 (February 3). A nice excursion into the past was with the folks of GMA News, see Presidente: Sergio Osmeña, ang pangulong hindi nangako sa panahon ng pagbangon | Stand for Truth (March 4).
2022 was the year of the Marcoses, and my focus was identifying and chronicling what to my mind was the 30-year (1992-2022) restoration effort of that family. Here is a representative sample on the subject:
Several interviews fleshed this out: Basagan ng Trip with Leloy Claudio: A history of the Marcos Restoration ( ) and an interview with VeraFiles broken down as follows: #WhatTheF?! podcast: Pa’no nanalo si BBM?: Ang 2022 rendition ng Bagong Lipunan (June 14), #WhatTheF?! podcast: Pa’no nanalo si BBM?: Unity, unity, unity (June 16), #WhatTheF?! podcast: Pa’no nanalo si BBM? Siga Nation vs Tindig Nation (June 21) and #WhatTheF?! podcast: Marcos comeback (June 30).
I am thankful to The Asia Sentinel for the chance to publish longform essays, which allowed me to flesh out my observations on the Marcos Restoration, and then continue the story, summarizing what the first 100 days of President Marcos Jr. represents:
Asia Sentinel: the Marcos Restoration: 30 Years In The Making (May 15)
Asia Sentinel: Marcos Dodges First 100 Days, Then Switches Course (October 9)
Note that the Marcos Restoration was actually the third of its kind, after the Macapagal and Aquino Restorations which I covered here: Rappler: We have been down this road before: The dynamics of Restoration (May 18).
I very much enjoyed being a guest on the podcast of a writer I have quoted often, Razib Khan: see Unsupervised Learning Podcast: Manuel L. Quezon III: Explaining the Philippines (June 10). Another fantastic experience was appearing with historian Mina Roces in an Asia Society Switzerland activity: Asia Society Switzerland: Episode 7: A Closer Look at the Philippines (February 24).
Maintaining a site and blog also allows me to review themes I have been pursuing for years, and reflecting on them: Constitution amended by legislation from February 13, is a good example.
Do bookmark and visit Quezon.PH where I archive my work. These are the different sections of my site:
About: You can find my CV here.
Books: There are two kinds of books linked to in this section: Conceptualized Books , which are books I helped envision and create, and Anthologies Contributed To, which include pieces I’ve written.
Blogs: Contains the archives for Current (a blog John Nery and I co-wrote for Inquirer.net a long time ago; I’ve preserved my entries here), Daily Dose (the bulk of my blog), Events Mode (focused on specific events or anniversaries), Crisis Mode (self-explanatory), Books & Music, MLQ3 on Tumblr.
Interviews & Speeches: consists of Interview; Presentation; Speeches.
Journalism + Opinion: Commentary, Columns, subdivided into: Arab News, Pinoy Times, The Long View (my Philippine Daily Inquirer column), Then & Now (my Today Newspaper column), The Explainer on ABS-CBNOnline ( my column on ABS-CBN’s news website); also, Essays, Features, Inquirer Briefing (the section I conceptualized and edited in the Inquirer: the first attempt at sustained infographic presentation in a Philippine newspaper), my articles in the Philippines Free Press, in Rogue, in Spot.PH and my Today Newspaper Features.
TV + Radio + Podcasts: The Explainer on ANC; “Quezon’s Avenue” on Radyo Inquirer; and Podcasts, subdivided into: Manolo Quezon is #TheExplainer on Anchor and on Spotify; and Proyekto Pilipino a show on civics of which I am a co-host.
My Projects: The Philippine Diary Project (which has its own newsletter, do subscribe to that!); Messages of the President, the first comprehensive compilation of presidential documents; Philippines Free Press Online; Timelines; Works in Progress; Digital History; Medals & Heraldry.
Quezon Family: Books about the family; an overview and links to selected content from the Quezon Family Collection; Quezon Family Reader (an effort to compile interesting readings, primarily for younger members of the family but also the public); Quezoniana.
Thank you!
Your subscribing to this newsletter helps keep up my productivity and for those of you giving of yourselves to help through Patreon, it also makes a big difference to writing morale. As it’s been evolving this newsletter helps me flesh out my ideas, which then get distilled into my column, which then provides at launching pad for expanding those ideas, and so on.
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Huwag Kalimutan - HOLD THE MARCOS FAMILY ACCOUNTABLE!
1) Pagsosoli ng natitira pang BILLIONS OF DOLLARS na ninakaw ni fe marcos sr na aktibong Tinatago/Pinamamahalaan/Pinagsasasaan ng anak nilang bbm jr kanyang mga kapatid at kanilang mga anak
2) Pagbabayad ng estimated PH P203 Bilyon estate tax sa ating pamahalaan
3) Pagsagot ni bbm jr at kanyang ina sa $353 Million standing contempt order ng isang US court
4) Pagtigil ng kanilang efforts na idistort o isantabi ang mga tunay na pangyayari nuong presidency at diktadura ni fe marcos sr at pagmamalabis ng kanyang asawa
5) Itigil, patayin ang proposed mahiwagang investment fund na maaaring gawing ill-gotten wealth laundering device
* Sa ikauunlad at ikabubuti ng bayan katotohanan at hustisya ang kailangan.
Thank you for the insights, Mr Quezon. Looking forward to more of your writing. Maybe even a book (hopefully with an „old school“ aka paper and not electronic 😊 version). Cheers!