I was intrigued by an article by Eleanor Pinugu’s UNDERCURRENT, “Panata,” and the challenges of modern faith,” Philippine Daily Inquirer, April 10, 2023.   She relates her grandfather’s “Panata” ( Religious Pledge ) of providing free meals to his fellow farmers on Holy Thursday.  The grandmother and seven children were all involved in preparing morning dishes and distributing… Read More »

DURING my tenure with a First Nations School in Northern Ontario, the Governor General of the day would send a regular infusion of books for use by the elementary students of that school.  The books were quite apart from the regular ones prescribed and supplied by the Ministry. However, they provide further reading and library materials to school… Read More »

AH!  What a glorious sunny-cool day again today! You can’t beat the weather in the Philippines at this time of the year. Despite climate change, there is still an excellent window of the old “dry and cool” Jan-Feb. Month. Occasional rain cannot dampen the generative  power of a warm climate to an aging “infrastructure,” anatomy now stiff, crumbly,… Read More »

A SENIOR’S NEW YEARS RESOLUTION LIFE IS TOO SHORT,  my wife’s favourite catchphrase, takes a renewed meaning at the start of the New Year—a not-so-subtle reminder if one belongs to a circle of friends or an organization catering to seniors. The inevitable demise of the older members comes in a more distressing regularity. The point of this piece… Read More »

“Dreaming of a White Christmas” is a fantasy that heightens the spirit of the season, just as “I’ll Be Home for Christmas “ provokes the romance of a tropical Christmas. ONCE again, we are heading into the year’s most anticipated holiday. And once again, it will be a time of the year when Filipinos of my generation will… Read More »

There are 72 gender identities.  This emerging classification indicates that we are not completely beholden to the conventional two-sex ( binary ) designation. It means none of us is 100% male ( XY ) or female (XX ). One day, a blood test will determine our individual male-female ratio, a tantalizing medical breakthrough of all time! PART II… Read More »

No, it’s not the latest Karaoke tune to grace the Philippine airwaves, but in Metro Manila, you never know. Slogans and catchphrases are Filipino specialties. Why “There is More Fun in the Philippines” has not caught up with “Amazing Thailand” could be a big blow to our ego. My generic friend Freddie sees it simply lacking a catchy… Read More »

THE MAKING OF “MEMORIES AND REFLECTION”. I never fully understood the phrase “Labour of Love” until I embarked on this long self-publishing journey. Having no publishing experience but a ready manuscript ( the book is a collection of the articles I have written in the last ten years ), I thought, how much more do I need to… Read More »

“Palengke” in the old Parañaque By Edwin de Leon “PAMILIHANG BAYAN NG PALANYAG” was the prominent sign of the Parañaque public market of the post-war years, right into the 50s. Anybody who has travelled between Manila and Cavite has passed the front of this iconic building along Quirino Avenue, the only thoroughfare connecting Manila to the southwest.  … Read More »