The small Social Security System office located on the second floor of the consulate office in Toronto deserves a more spacious and comfortable room and additional personnel to attend to the needs of its clients, primarily seniors getting their pensions. A one-woman staff is not enough to deal with these clients, who, while waiting for their turns to… Read More »
Being a Balikbayan, one of the frustrations facing visitors like me from abroad is the massive and chaotic traffic in Metro Manila and its neighbouring cities. It’s a big waste of time and productivity. Although I have seen many traffic enforcers doing their best to keep the streets orderly, this traffic problem should be studied thoroughly to ease… Read More »
Three books about the strides, heights, and achievements reached so far by our Beloved Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) and its alumni are set to come off the press soon. Let’s all welcome the timely publication of the First Batch’s Coffee Table Book, edited by school alumni led by Rey Imperial, former Dean of UP Manila, Caring… Read More »
It’s not an easy task and it’s a real hard work to throw away old- and- used stuffs that have not only served us well but also made our life easy and comfortable. And for some sentimental reasons, it’s doubly difficult to detach ourselves emotionally as we begin de-cluttering our homes of these worn-out worldly possessions. We… Read More »
I’m excited to visit once again my home country and this early lots of things going on in my mind such as what things to do, places to visit, and. friends to see. At my age now 74, going to be 75 on February 14, some concerns face me honestly, like the difficulty of going around because my… Read More »
For most people, Christmas is a season of joy, peace and giving. I don’t know why the Christmas spirit is so strong that throughout this holiday season, people are becoming more generous and kind; they will move heaven and earth just to be with their families. Never mind if the plane fares are exorbitant, Filipinos will be hell-bent… Read More »
In the early 60s, that short-stretch street called Loreto in Sampaloc, where I grew up, was primarily peopled by ordinary people whose daily life was continually struggling to survive. That short street had a small “Talipapa,” a makeshift market, and beside it was a basketball and tennis court, a public toilet along the road, and a handful of… Read More »
When almost everyone celebrates Christmas, writing on why I’m not celebrating it is not an easy task, it’s just like going against the tide. It seems like dousing some cold water to a joyful event that the whole world over is looking forward to. For most people, Christmas is a season of joy, peace, and giving. The Christmas… Read More »
This day is officially the end of summer. The sky is clear with a few clouds, and below our balcony, the trees in the trails are changing their colours, signalling the start of autumn. The sad part is that these plants on the balcony are beginning to wither—the plant’s stems are getting thinner, their former green colours are… Read More »
As I write this piece, messages of consolation and grief have been flooding the online site of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila because of the recent death of three alumni, Rey Galvez, Rolly Luanzon, and Linda Bunag. They all belonged to the ‘71 First Batch of students who started studying at PLM in 1967. The death of… Read More »