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APRIL 2026
EDITORIAL - APRIL '26
A war no one can control
By Randy David
Guest Editorial
Inquirer News Services
THE problem with launching a war in an age of globalization is that its consequences are difficult to confine to the battlefield. They tend to radiate outward, to neighboring countries, to distant markets, to every sector of a world economy in which the targeted nation plays a role. That much is becoming painfully clear in the ongoing United States-Israeli war against Iran, a proud, oil-rich nation of 93 million people.
Worse, once unleashed, such a war proves nearly impossible to control. This is not simply because the world is interconnected, but because of the very structure of modern world society. It is a highly differentiated structure in which no single actor, however powerful, can direct outcomes across the many specialized domains that make up the global system.
Almost from the moment the first strikes landed, Iran responded as though a trip wire had been crossed. Its missiles rained down not only on Israel but on Gulf neighbors that host American military and civilian sites. Airports, hotels, ports, oil tankers, desalination plants, pipelines, and data centers were hit. Most critically, Iran moved to shut the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s daily oil supply flows. Tanker traffic dropped to nearly zero, with over 150 vessels stranded outside the strait. What had been one of the world’s most prosperous commercial crossroads went dark almost overnight, sending shockwaves through global energy and financial markets.
The Iranian strikes on Gulf states with which it was not formally at war came as a shock, and it should have stunned the US more than it apparently did.
The authors of this war had planned for something short and surgical. Trump himself called it a “brief disruption.” Striking over a thousand Iranian targets on the opening day alone, the US and Israel expected a weakened regime to capitulate once its leadership was eliminated. It was a serious miscalculation. Iran is not another Venezuela, where just 10 weeks earlier, US Delta Force commandos had seized President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from their home in Caracas in the dead of night and flown them to a detention facility in New York, a bold operation that met with barely any resistance.
Two weeks into the war, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dead and several senior leaders killed in early strikes, US and Israeli forces have continued pounding Iran’s military infrastructure. Trump has demanded nothing less than unconditional surrender.
Iran has ignored him. Its surviving leadership moved quickly to name Khamenei’s 56-year-old son Mojtaba, known as a hardliner, as the new supreme leader. His first statement, read aloud on state television with only a photo of him on screen, vowed to avenge Iran’s martyrs and resist what he called the aggression of “the arrogant front.” He also warned of “the opening of other fronts in which the enemy has little experience and is highly vulnerable,” a clear signal of unending escalation.
Such threats need not actually be carried out to produce real consequences. The uncertainty they generate is enough to set off cascading reactions across oil futures, insurance markets, and financial systems that no one in Trump’s inner circle can fully anticipate, let alone control. Brent crude crossed $100 a barrel this week for the first time since 2022, and emergency reserve releases have done little to calm the markets. The effects are deeply felt at the local gas pumps where ordinary people stare in panic at the wild swings in the price of kerosene and diesel.
This is the deeper lesson of the Iran war. In today’s global system, no country, however powerful its military, can calibrate its impact across the many specialized sectors of world society. Each sector operates autonomously by its own code. Markets price risk according to supply and demand, not presidential declarations. Military systems follow their own escalation dynamics, which do not always respond to political commands. We saw this even within Iran: while President Masoud Pezeshkian was apologizing to Gulf neighbors for the strikes on their territory, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps continued launching those same strikes.
These are not just lapses in coordination. They are features of a highly differentiated world order that cannot be steered from any single command center, not even Washington.
This war is teaching us many lessons. Military supremacy is not a substitute for political wisdom. Nation-states are accountable to their own citizens first, but they are also answerable to the world their actions reshape. The world cannot wait for American foreign policy to be corrected from the outside. That political duty belongs to the American people themselves, who must decide whether the appetite for dominance, dressed up as security, is worth the cost being paid by the rest of humanity.
Mailbag
Cardinal Cupich on Middle East war
Dear Editor,
AS more than 1,000 Iranian men, women and children lay dead after days of bombardment from U.S. and Israeli missiles, the official White House X account on Thursday evening posted a video of scenes from popular action movies spliced with actual strike footage from their war on Iran. The clip was captioned: “JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY.”
A real war with real death and real suffering being treated like it’s a video game — it’s sickening. Hundreds of people are dead, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, including scores of children who made the fatal mistake of going to school that day. Six U.S. soldiers have been killed. They are also dishonored by that social media post. Hundreds of thousands displaced, and many millions more are terrified across the Middle East.
This horrifying portrayal demonstrates that we now live in an era when the distance between the battlefield and the living room has been drastically reduced. The moral crisis we are facing is not just a matter of the war itself, but also how we, the observers, view violence, for war now has become a spectator sport or strategy game. Indeed, the prediction market Kalshi recently paid a $2.2 million settlement related to users who were unhappy with how the company paid out the $55 million wagered on Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's ouster after his was killed.
Journalists now use the term “gamifying” the war to describe this dynamic. What a profound moral failure, for gamifying strips away the humanity of real people. Let’s not forget, a “hit” isn’t putting points on the board; it’s a grieving family whose suffering we ignore when we prioritize entertainment, and profit, over empathy.
Our government is treating the suffering of the Iranian people as a backdrop for our own entertainment, as if it’s just another piece of content to be swiped through while we’re waiting in line at the grocery store. But, in the end, we lose our humanity when we are thrilled by the destructive power of our military. We become addicted to the “spectacle” of explosions. And the price of this habit is almost unnoticeable, as we become desensitized to the true costs of war. But the longer we remain blind to the terrible consequences of war, the more we are risking the most precious gift God gave us: our humanity.
I know that the American people are better than this. We have the good sense to know that what is happening is not entertainment but war, and that Iran is a nation of people, not a video game others play to entertain us.
Statement of Blase J. Cupich
Archbishop of Chicago
COMMUNITY NEWS - APRIL '26
LENTEN reflection and community report of the NAFCON humanitarian mission held last December 2025 in Pampanga. It was held in partnership with non-profit organizations, Council for Health and Development in the Philippines, the Consortium for People’s Development and Disaster Response, and the Vicariate of Blessed Trinity of the Diocese of Pampanga.
A fundraiser will be held during the community report to raise funds for the ongoing NAFCON humanitarian missions.
Join us at Chicken Ati Atihan on March 31. There will be 2 sessions taking place from 12PM to 3PM and another one from 5PM to 8PM. Donation $40. To RSVP contact Nerissa Allegretti at (312) 532-2940
Maybe It’s Time to Come Home
for Flores de Mayo
FOR many Filipinos living abroad, the month of May brings back familiar memories—flowers offered at church, warm evenings filled with music and laughter, and neighborhoods gathering together for Flores de Mayo. Spring is the perfect time to return to the Philippines, when the country comes alive with one of its most cherished traditions.
Thinking about visiting family or reconnecting with home? This may be the perfect moment to plan your trip. ASAP Tickets agents are available at +1 888-535-5979 if you’d like to explore current flight options and fares.
After all, anyone who grew up in the Philippines remembers the joyful spirit of Flores de Mayo. Families head to church with flowers in hand, friends gather in the streets, and entire communities come together to celebrate traditions passed down through generations. One of the most memorable moments is the Santacruzan, the elegant procession that closes the celebration. Participants wear beautiful gowns and traditional attire as they reenact the search for the Holy Cross, creating a scene many Filipinos remember from childhood.
Because Flores de Mayo is celebrated across the country, it’s a wonderful time for balikbayans to return and experience those familiar sights, sounds, and traditions again—maybe this time with your children or grandchildren discovering them for the first time. The celebrations bring together food, music, and the simple joy of being surrounded by family and community.
Many visitors also choose to stay a little longer and celebrate Independence Day on June 12, when communities across the country gather to honor the nation’s history and pride.
For more than two decades, ASAP Tickets has helped Filipino travelers return home to moments just like these. Their agents can compare airlines, find routes that fit your schedule, and offer discounted fares not always available online. With 24/7 support and agents who speak Tagalog and Cebuano, booking your trip is simple and personal.
Call +1 888-535-5979 today and mention ASAP50 to receive an exclusive $50 Pinoy Newsmagazine discount. With the right flight and timing, you could soon be celebrating Flores de Mayo back home, where those memories began.
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