First published in Tulay Fortnightly, Chinese-Filipino Digestvol. 29 | no. 14 | December 20, 2016-January 16, 2017 A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones. – Nelson Mandela There are numerous things that Meah and I want our children to learn. Foremost among them is love […]
A 2019 short video by reporter Gönna Ketels said more than 13 million Filipinos cannot eat three meals a day. However, abundant food for the growing middle class in the Philippines also meant an abundant 2,000 tons of food – or more – ending up in the garbage yearly, in Metro Manila alone. One of […]
We ended 2019 with a few perennial concerns with the girls, and yet thankful for a relatively good year. We greet the new year with cautious optimism: cautious because things do not seem to be looking good for this country. Optimism because I’m finally putting my head in gear and applying to do my doctorate. […]
When we planned to have children, my husband, Orvin, wanted just one. I negotiated for two. We come from very different households. I was an only child for almost nine years and looked forward to weekends at Guama’s (maternal grandmother) house because my cousins would be there. There were fights, but I don’t remember any […]
Oh, she’s my friend. He’s my friend too. Some parents talk about shy children and how to help them emerge from their shells. But what about the extroverted child in a family of introverts? When parents and the other sibling like it quiet, along comes this chatterbox of a child who is everybody’s best friend. […]
Visits to the doctor are inevitable. People get sick, like it or not. It is always a relief when one realizes that waiting for the doctor will not take long. But how wonderful would it be if doctors or their hospitals and clinics can offer and manage appointments to cut waiting times for their patients. […]
The Department of Education first proposed the no-homework policy in 2011. I wrote about it then, and I’m writing about it again now. This time though, I’m seeing this bill from Senator Grace Poe as a symptom of how our country’s officials view teachers and education. In an ideal world, teachers are autonomous. They are […]
My 40-something-year-old husband felt like a kid again as he joined 21 other performers at a small recital at the University of the Philippines College of Music Extension Program. We have always believed that the arts are important. Our children do not need to become professionals at their craft, but we want them to hone […]
I write this in memory of a woman whose memory left her in peace long before she left this world in peace. Add one more to the list of my life’s regrets. The day I told my daughters we were going to the wake of their great-grandmother, they were shocked, not of her passing, but […]
Should we censor what our children watch and read? Achi began reading book one of a 13-book series last year. She stopped at book three and moved on to other books. She recently picked up the series again, and is going through them like candy. Of author and historian Prof. Ambeth Ocampo, she says “He’s […]