Until our Mary Janes come home

October 22, 2019

Did you also feel your world stop in 2015 when we thought that Indonesia had executed overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Mary Jane Veloso? Please, not another Flor Contemplacion, not another OFW coming home in a balikbayan box. Putting her kids through school was Mary Jane’s only compulsion for leaving her family and homeland for any […]

My journey as a Jeepney operator’s wife

October 8, 2019

The year 1993 was the beginning of my journey as a jeepney operator’s wife. Two years before that, I got married to a First Quarter Storm (FQS) student activist.  In his forties, he was torn between leading a “normal life” (to marry and have kids) after being incarcerated in Bicutan for a year (he was arrested […]

Salamat po, Guro ko

October 5, 2019

Sa lahat ng Guro na maagang gumigising araw-araw kahit medyo puyat pa sa paglalamay sa paggawa ng lesson plan, salamat po. Sa lahat ng Guro na sa araw-araw ay nakikipagpatintero at habulan sa dyip at bus at nagiging isang mandirigma pagpasok sa mga bagon ng MRT at LRT para lang maka-abot sa tamang oras ng […]

I’m not eating Samgyeopsal anymore

October 4, 2019

Ever since I discovered Samgyeopsal, I became an instant fan. Samgyeopsal is basically pork belly meat that is cooked on a grill and is originally from Korea. It was one of the most interesting developments in South Korean culture during the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 that gave the pork belly the spotlight in South […]

Achieving real peace

September 19, 2019

The system is abusing the word “peace” while refusing to take the necessary steps to make it real “Peace negotiations, not all-out war,” was the theme of a forum that I and some workmates attended recently. It was organized by the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform, Pilgrims for Peace, and Kapayapaan (Movement for a just and […]

Tano

September 11, 2019

#LeaveNoOneBehind

August 24, 2019

Last month, in New York, state delegates met in a high-level political forum (HLPF) on sustainable development under the support of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNESCO). The HLPF is the UN platform for following up and reviewing member countries’ progress in achieving the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) towards the 2030 Agenda […]

I spent Php100,000 on Grab in one year

June 18, 2019

One thing we can all agree on is that the country’s mass transportation is a nightmare. The MRT constantly breaks down. Buses are overcrowded. Taxis take longer routes for you to pay more. It’s a dismay. Thus, ride hailing apps such as Grab were marketed as an alternative to our dismal mass transportation system. I […]