Justice on Trial

Extrajudicial killings have been in the headlines lately -- in the Philippines and in the US -- driven by different reasons, all resulting in pain, human rights tragedies and tinder for social volatility. History professor Vicente L. Rafael offers an insightful comparison of EJDs in both countries, the better for us to understand and reflect on how we should react and act on these travesties of justice.

An equally important call for humanity comes from Fr. Jett Villarin, currently the president of the Ateneo de Manila University, who has the distinction of being both a Jesuit and a physicist. He recently spoke at the University of San Francisco on Pope Francis' Laudatu Si encyclical on ecological justice. Manzel Delacruz elaborates on Fr. Jett's plea for the convergence of science and religion to save nature and humanity.

Meanwhile, as Rio de Janeiro prepares for the Olympics, Contributing Writer Myles A. Garcia, who has written a book on Olympics history, writes an "Ode to Olde Olympia and the Olympic Games" where he witnessed a reenactment of the original ritual of getting fire from the sun to light the Olympic flame.

And in case you missed them, Read Again two of our popular stories:

"Please Stop Calling the Philippines 'P.I.'" by Michael Gonzalez, a reminder that P.I. is a colonial term and to use it to refer to our homeland is an insult to its hard-earned sovereignty.

"When Lolo's Debating Team Vanquished America" by Liana Romulo relates the historic victories of the Philippine debating team led by her grandfather, the great statesman Carlos P. Romulo.

Our Happy Home Cook recipe this week is my personal comfort food, Humba, this one by the Philippines' original top chef, Nora Daza. I reached for her popular recipe book "Let's Cook with Nora," the bible of Filipino immigrants everywhere, when our friend, her eldest son Bong, passed away recently. Bong attested to the deliciousness of all the recipes in this book because he was the taste tester when his mom was putting it together.