Category Archives: Guest Writer

by Cress Vasquez When Toronto Mayor John Tory spoke at the inauguration of the Filipino Centre Toronto’s (FCT) new office in Scarborough, August 2019, little did he suspect that he was in the company of individuals behind the omission of large liabilities, payables, and taxable salaries in FCT’s financial statements, and the hiring of lawyers for reasons unknown. … Read More »

“This place was part of him, and would always be. A rough place, a stern place, where it was monumental task just to survive. And it had given him some of its strength.” Max Braithwaite, All the Way Home (1986). By Rey Moreno “Don’t judge me until you learn the facts and circumstances of my life. Don’t take… Read More »

PART III,  The Final Chapter I arrived in Newfoundland with little skill outside of my chosen profession. I did not have the savvy and skillfulness that allows you to get into projects that ordinarily require a pro.  And yet, by the time I left, 25 years later,  I learned skills that would otherwise be left unlearned had I stayed in an… Read More »

“When the plane was taking off…I will start everything again elsewhere…I was simply looking for a haven.” Ying Chen, “On the Verge of Disappearance”. The plane took off on schedule. I was at the window seat and looked out one last time, reflecting on the glaring but fading lights of the Philippine International Airport and its surrounding areas.… Read More »

“When you do something best in life, you don’t really want to give that up – and for me it’s tennis.”  – Roger Federer The literal translation of the French words in the above title is “game of the palm.” The game of tennis then started as a handball game, and whenever the French would serve, they would… Read More »

PART II BY: EDWIN DE LEON Newfoundland was far from the consciousness of the world community until John Cabot, in the late 1400s, declared: “fish ( cod ) was thick by the shore that we hardly have been able to row a boat through them.”  Thus began the waves of Southern Europeans, chiefly migratory fishers from Spain and Portugal took… Read More »

“But I have learned that kindness and love can pay for pain and suffering.” Alan Paton, Cry, the Beloved Country (1948). Wedding day is one of life’s important milestones for a woman. Being the centre of attention once in a while is a reaffirming moment to an elevated status that is hard to come by. That was on… Read More »

I trust you all enjoyed your Canada Day long weekend. It was especially memorable for me because I now have a Japanese maple tree planted in our backyard. My wish come true – thanks to my family and to Vic, my husband who diligently researched and prepared for the proper planting of the tree seedling. And, mind you,… Read More »

PART I That sound, that jabbing, reverberating buzz of a chainsaw; not very often, you hear it around Mississauga.  It was distant but distinct to me, one that I can identify from miles away.  A flood of memories when I hear that sound. Why? Am I a lumberjack in the off-season?  Close!  There isn’t a hint of it in my resume—forty… Read More »

“Ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan.” What’s that hyphen for? Does that mean you’re not a pure Pinoy anymore? Yep, I used to be one but I renounced it to become a Canadian citizen. Also, I have lived a lot longer in Canada than the Philippines. My daughter and granddaughter were born here. Canada… Read More »