First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 29, no. 7 (September 6-19, 2016): 5. With all the sham and drudgery, it’s still a beautiful world. This struck me as I attended the Ramon Magsaysay awards, an event I rarely miss. With the many uncertainties and problems in society we face, the speeches of the awardees […]
First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digest 25, no. 3 (July 10-23, 2012): 5. Was Rizal anti-Chinese? There is no simple answer. It has been raised several times in the entire year (June 2011 to June 2012) of celebrating the 150th birthday of Dr. Jose Rizal, our national hero. History neither happens in a vacuum, […]
For more than 40 years, we have lived by the meaningful credo of Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran: “The Philippines is our country. It is the land of our birth, the home of our people. Our blood may be Chinese but our roots grow deep in Philippine soil, our bonds are with the Filipino people. We […]
While still abroad, news that I get from the Philippines are still predominantly on the spate of extrajudicial and vigilante killings in the war on drugs. The public, long despairing of seeing an end to heinous crimes, majority of which are committed by drug-crazed people, are lauding President Rodrigo Duterte and the Philippine National Police […]
Sister Becky Ortega, a trainer at the Brahma Kumaris, ran an excellent workshop on “Building Inner Resilience and Inner Peace” for members of the Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order on July 2. Most MRPO members are kidnap victims or their relatives who experienced trauma from the ordeal. The grief and pain are life-changing, […]
The senior high school program rolled out this school opening to mixed reviews. I believe, though, the K-12 program mandated by the 2103 Enhanced Basic Education Law, which prescribes two additional years in high school, is necessary and will, in the end, redound to the benefit of Filipino college graduates. Until basic education was lengthened […]
Ziya, my six-year-old granddaughter, came home from school Monday and reported that it is Batas Militar (Martial Law) week at her school in Quezon City. She and her classmates were commanded by the seventh graders, who acted as soldiers imposing discipline. They were not to talk or sing outside the classroom, among other things. Ziya’s […]
On March 12, with bated breath, people waited for an expected announcement of a lockdown for Metro Manila. It came shortly after dinnertime, leaving more questions and anxieties than assurances. Since Jan. 30, when news of the first confirmed COVID-19 patient in the Philippines broke, Filipinos have been waiting for President Duterte to take matters […]
The COVID-19 scare seems to be dying down. We pray that the virus is on its way to permanent hibernation, and South Korea will overcome the contagion spread by church people. Taal Volcano has quieted down. Evacuees have returned home, except for those who live on Volcano Island. The question now is whether the government […]
It has been a hectic two weeks as Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran continues relief operations for victims of Taal Volcano’s eruption and unexpectedly found itself helping in the fight against the spread of COVID-19, the name for the virus previously referred to as 2019-nCoV. Amidst difficulties and challenges, it is heartwarming that Kaisa continues to […]