In my 25 years of working for reforms in the criminal justice system, I thought I have heard and known the worst cases of travesty of justice. I thought wrong. Feelings of shock, dismay and sadness competed while I read the news that the Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the dismissal of Dr. Ester […]
The Year of Brown Earth (or Mountain) Dog officially starts on Chinese New Year (Feb. 16) this year. The Dog occupies the 11th position in the Chinese zodiac, after the Rooster and before the Pig. In Chinese element theory, each zodiac sign is associated with one of the five elements: Gold or Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and […]
Hokkien, on the tongues of Tsinoys, has grown and evolved, taking on a life of its own. Sometimes words simply fail us. With some creativity, Tsinoys have strung together words to form colorful phrases that simply hit the bull’s eye. Here are some expressions unique to Hokkien as favored by Tsinoys. 學好三年，學壞三日 ô ho san […]
(First of two parts) In one of our medical missions, we visited a poor family living beside the Sta. Mesa railway. They have seven children, all with tuberculosis. The father and mother also have TB. We helped them for a span of six months. The last time I saw them, the mother was again pregnant […]
Hong Kong has long been a favorite travel destination for many Filipinos. In 2016 alone, 791,171 Filipino tourists visited Hong Kong for shopping bargains, gourmet treats and Disneyland. The city is also a popular destination for overseas Filipino workers. They comprise Hong Kong’s largest migrant worker community with a population of 184,081. So it makes sense […]
During our research on old names of places in the Philippines mentioned in ancient Chinese records, we encountered a pair of names – 沙瑶 (Sayao) and 呐嗶嘽 (Dapitan). 呐嗶嘽 is easy to locate because Dapitan is pronounced almost exactly like Na-pi-tan in Hokkien or Na Bi Dan in Mandarin. This Zamboanga del Norte city is […]
The title of this column is the title of the statement signed and released by 31 women, all awardees of The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS). I take pride in being one of the signatories of this statement that comes amid assaults by the President no less on various sectors, including women. TOWNS […]
W e have long forgiven Japan for the tragedy it caused us – our country and our people – during World War II. But it does not mean we should just forget the atrocities and crimes visited upon us during the Japanese Occupation. This was my position in the letter I sent to the Department […]
I first heard about comfort women in a conference on Asian Relations in Korea. They had invited a comfort woman to talk about her experience during the Japanese Occupation. I felt the tension as the translator attempted to censor the woman’s anti-Japanese sentiments because there were Japanese delegates present but we were all moved by […]
The Christmas holidays was marred by a tragedy when Typhoon Urduja pounded the Eastern Visayas region with torrential rains that resulted in widespread flooding and landslides. The storm recorded 40 casualties. In Ormoc City, over 20 areas were badly affected, prompting the local government to declare a state of calamity. Residents of the Great Love City, […]