“There are no wrong turnings. Only paths we had not known we were meant to walk.” – Guy Gavriel Kay Dear Graduates You honour me for selecting me as your commencement speaker when you can have a better person than I am. As some of you may have known, I am a homosexual. I hope my revelation won’t… Read More »
Trivia: Looking back in the past, this writer simply couldn’t forget the famous actors who turned successful political figures. Not only because of their formidable public service but more so, out of my attachment to them. Many times I did feel their sincere friendship elucidated to me. To begin with, the acknowledged Agimat King of local movies Ramon… Read More »
Evolution is a term that does not endear to a significant number of peoples. It is controversial because people of faith see it as an affront to their beliefs as it postulates that humans are just another member of the animal kingdom. In contrast, they see us as God’s unique creation with a body and “soul.” On the other… Read More »
“The truth is that where you stand does affect what you see.” William Kaplan, Why Dissent Matters (2017) Rosario and I were inseparable when we were in high school. We did things together during our classes. We were seated side by side in the classroom, studied together and had lunch together to update ourselves with the latest gossips.… Read More »
By Faye Arellano Maria, 35, arrived in Canada a decade ago under the defunct Live-in Caregiver’s Program. Her initial employer changed her mind about hiring her and immediately released Maria on her first week. It took Maria about seven months to find a new employer who was willing to do the required paperwork. This time, Maria endured almost… Read More »
Ramon Farolan, a columnist with the Phil Daily Inquirer, in his March 22, 2021 column ” Not the Best of Times for Asian Americans,” asserted that in 2020 there was an upsurge by 150% of Asian directed racism, mainly in L.A. and New York. From verbal harassment to physical assault, in 2021, more than 500 incidents have already… Read More »
By Hermione Cabie Santos In a game of chess, my 15-year old son suddenly becomes uncomfortable when he discovers his father’s deadly check move. He carries on, nevertheless, quietly revisits his game strategy, resists the temptation to give up and remains calm in the hope of maneuvering an almost impossible escape. He knows losing is part of the… Read More »
“Ubos, ubos biyaya, mayat maya’y nakatunganga.” From my wife’s collection of Tagalog proverbs. “The tears of the world are a constant quantity. For each one who begins to weep somewhere else another stops.” Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot. By Rey Moreno Grace loved her family so much. So at age 17, she decided to look for a job… Read More »
In my groundbreaking quantitative modeling study of 620 Bicolano women from Bicol Region, Philippines, I proposed that religion as a way of life encourages people to strive for other values. Consequently, these values yield profound societal impacts. For instance, the practice of religion has been associated with gender-role stereotypes. Illustratively, Filipino feminist scholars regard Roman Catholicism as a… Read More »
The Life of a Little Boy growing up in the ’50s In my entire boyhood, I never had the opportunity to travel to other parts of the Philippines. As can be expected, each region has unique practices and traditions. It is common in our town to identify people with an “alias,” especially if the first names are the same. … Read More »