CHICAGO (JGL) – The Philippines along with Cuba and a group of Pacific Islands, including Puerto Rico and Guam, was bought by the United States at a discount for $20-M ($549-M in today’s currency) so that a bloody Spanish-American War would be averted in pursuit of America’s “Manifest Destiny” to spread freedom and democracy around the world. Instead… Read More »
Another Thanksgiving Day has come and gone, and again as we look back at the adversities we faced, we cannot but be thankful that, personally and for Balita, we have pulled through another year barely scratched, with body and soul still fully intact, and consequently , with the clarity of mind, still defending me and Balita against evils… Read More »
By Butch G. Galicia It’s Autumn. The mercury is dropping; the cold sneaking in. The days get shorter; the nights, longer. The leaf will soon change colours; reluctantly but obediently freeing itself from the branch, to glide with the wind until it finally rests in the embrace and solace of the soil. Year after year, the imagery repeats… Read More »
I’m pretty sure Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. has been having some sleepless nights since he assumed office in July. He has the unenviable position of having to explain and clarify most of President Duterte’s remarks involving foreign policy, specifically those pertaining to the Philippines’ longtime ally United States. And they’re not few. Yasay had to rush to… Read More »
I am on vacation and trying to get the most from it, to detach with work and everyday happenings in Toronto. Here, 1800 feet above, on top of Mt Robert in Juneau, Alaska. I feel closer to heaven. Time to thank him for all his blessing. One of our good friends from the Philippines, columnist of Malaya and… Read More »
Many Americans are up in arms again after two more apparently unarmed black men were shot down by policemen. Protests in Charlotte, North Carolina have turned violent and North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory had to declare a state of emergency after a protester was shot and a policeman was injured on the second night of protests. Earlier in… Read More »
Taste of Manila, for a festival newbie, is very well put together. Only on its third year, it has now set the gold standard for Filipino community cultural celebrations. It was a tough beginning for the fledgling organizers, as may be expected of every new undertaking of its kind. But for a few blessings, including their dogged… Read More »
He was in tears when he first surfaced in the Philippines’ national consciousness. It was 2 a.m. of Feb. 7, 2008 when Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr. appeared in a hastily called press conference at the De La Salle Greenhills to reveal that he had been kidnapped at the airport upon his arrival from Hongkong by police officials, and… Read More »
I’m not sure if I even wanted to add my voice to the chorus of people from both sides of the political fence in denouncing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for his bigotry and reckless demagoguery, but with his recent attack on the Philippines and Filipinos, I know I just have to. Trump touched the nerves of… Read More »
MANILA When Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was mayor of Davao City in southern Philippines he had successfully established himself as a feudal lord there for 20 years. Far from the scrutinizing eyes of what outsiders resentfully call “Imperial Manila,” he quietly ensconced himself in Davao as a feudal warlord. He scared the local people into submission. He told them… Read More »