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Trying times: A family against a fatal illness

A common sight on the silver screen and unfortunately in the lives of many in the Lasallian community is the struggle of the terminally ill and the traumatic wake it leaves behind on those around them. For many of us, it’s bad enough that our parents, who have always been these larger-than-life figures in our…

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Morality and man: The story of an ER worker

A doctor’s workday consists of a busy line of people looking for answers: How long does it take to heal?  What treatment would you recommend?  Would you please have a look at this X-ray? But across various tropes in popular culture and proclamations televised on screen, more often than not, the four walls of a…

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From martial law to marshal hero

It is an era that is vividly remembered as a wound that hasn’t completely healed. A memory that refuses to dissolve into faded decades and a turbulent part of Philippine history, the mention of martial law sparks an outcry of different contradictions.  It was a grim era smeared with shades of scarlet insurgence—a period of…

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Only, but not lonely

Growing up with the question “How many siblings do you have?” was as much a burden to hear as it was to actually answer. I would always look down shyly and quietly tell whoever was asking that I had no brothers or sisters – I was, and still am, an only child. After hearing quite…

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Getting Uber It

With October already upon us, more and more people are excited to partake in the month’s festivities. Attendance in Halloween costume parties, trick-or-treating around neighborhoods, binge watching scary movies, and last but not least, exchanging horror stories. Last month, however, Filipinos were unfortunately greeted by a rather early horror story: They had awoken to the…

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Breaking fake news: Control, alt, delete

There are a lot of things that clamor for your attention.   There’s that most recent notification, that friend request, and that red icon on top of your unread messages. There are posts from your friends’ recent hangouts, and then, sandwiched between the selfies and inspiration quotes that line down your newsfeed are ‘news’ that…

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The journey of spirituality: Flux, flow, and depth

It is often said that to be truly healthy, a person must nurture their “mind, body, and soul.” The concept of a healthy mind and body is not one that is too hard to grasp, but that of a healthy “soul” may elude some people. The religious path is not for everyone, and while the…

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The nightwatchers: The other side of the drug war

Police knock, suspect pleads, and then a gunshot or two is fired—a sequence of events that has become all too familiar. In this day and age, the police seem to be painted in a negative light on news headlines—both internationally and locally—far more often than they previously were. Extra-judicial killings and racist acts have served…

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James wears a scarlet letter

At night, when people slip into their pajamas, lights from windows flicker out one by one, and the mundane world stays still, the red light districts come alive. They look the same as they do every night: bold and beaming, lurid with fluorescent signs, and piercing with loud music. Matching the scenery are fire truck…

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Out of school youth: Bent but not broken

Life’s paintbrush paint our canvas with beauty in every stroke, at times a little too fast, in order for us to see the grandeur in every aspect of ourselves,  albeit somewhat trivial and nonsensical. Hardly ever noticed, but never out of relevance, the things we take for granted are far for the most part, the…