Category: Uncategorized

It is interesting to know that we have several historical religious structures within the capital city of Manila that are comparable to those that can be seen in European cities. Credit goes to the long period of Spanish colonization that lasted for over 300 years from 1521 to 1898. We managed to visit some of them to complete the station of the cross on Good Friday, a Filipino religious tradition done during the Lenten Season.
The sad part though, we lack the interest and the resources for their proper preservation and upkeep. Many of our historical churches are either altered after renovation while some showed to have been given little importance at all.
Century old churches can be found everywhere in the country’s more than 7,000 islands. They are vestiges of our colonial past. While it is hard to diminish that part in our history, we should put those structures…

You are above the rest
Your strength, the most dynamic
Your wisdom, the profoundest
You are my mom, unparalleled.

Singlehandedly you propelled us
To where we all are now
Beyond the abyss of poverty
And of hardship, you persevered.

You are your own person
Standing pat on your convictions
A woman hardened by privation
You shine even on your attrition.

So long Mama. May you have peaceful and smooth journey to the afterlife. I love you always.

Acceptance frees us from guilt as no amount of denial can cover the mistakes we have committed. The saying “Truth shall set us free” is necessary to live a peaceful life.

Even if the formal campaign period for the May 2022 presidential elections has not started, bickering between and among rival followers of the candidates are already heating up.
Charges and counter charges flood the social media, some below the belt, some outrageous, some repetitive, some funny, and some pure none sense.
There are even posts by people feeling authoritative, maligning others of their choices. This blatant display of hypocrisy erodes the value of democracy. Are they not aware that if they say that those who favor candidate other that their choice are stupid, that argument also applies to them?
Nobody, not even those who belong to the top social ladder nor the highly educated and intelligent individuals, has the monopoly and the authority to define and determine who is the best among the candidates.
Election is a democratic process that allows the people to vote who they prefer. Maligning others…

I fly above the sky
Go beyond the eyesight
I sway and glide with the wind
And float among the clouds.

I cut through the blinding lights
Hurdle the searing heat
Slither along the bladed rays
And adeptly soar to life.

The recent #Nobel Peace Award extended to journalist #Maria Ressa took me back to the time when I covered the 2008 awarding of #Martti Ahtisaari, considered the father of #Kosovo. Mr. Ahtisaari was recognized for brokering peace between Kosovo and Serbia. He also contributed to peace talks in Namibia, Indonesia, and Iraq.
This brought more ironies to Ms. Ressa’s winning because nowhere I can find in my research that she has brokered peace either locally or abroad. #Rappler, the news agency which she heads, spews news reports that cause more confusion rather than peace and divisiveness rather than unity.
Rappler has also no qualm in exposing its biases. It recently launched an online survey asking the people who they will vote for president in the coming May 2022 elections. It immediately withdrew the survey when its result favored a candidate other than it is rooting for.
If the Nobel Peace…