It has been a tumultuous few weeks for the Philippines. Last May 23, firefights and clashes between the Philippine government and Maute troops erupted in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, after failed attempts by the military to arrest Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, who was reported to have been in the city. The death toll…
The Department of Tourism (DOT) recently unveiled their new campaign slogan last June 12, with the tagline “Experience the Philippines”. To set things off, DOT released an advertisement entitled “Sights”, which features a Japanese retiree who visits several spots in the Philippines. The ad later reveals the retiree to be blind, saying, “You don’t have…
I never thought that I would be writing a column about anime; however, as the art form consistently gets rejected and belittled despite the growing number of beautiful pieces, I can’t help but try to reach out to people to give it a chance. Usually, when I tell people that I watch anime—unless I’m speaking…
Last April 4, a magnitude 5.4 earthquake hit the province of Batangas, and tremors were felt in Metro Manila and the rest of the southern part of Luzon island. A series of aftershocks that would continue throughout the next four days was capped with more powerful twin earthquakes that hit the same province on April…
It’s been said before: End call-out culture. I’m sure we’ve all witnessed this trend online, where when you find a post that sounds wrong when you read it, you proceed to share or retweet it for more of your friends to see. You probably add a piece of your mind to that repost too, so…
Imagine this: a daughter, coming home to the province, on board the bus, stuck on the highway. A trip that should have taken 2 hours at most has stretched 15 minutes past, then 30. Her phone rings, and she awakens from her nap. It’s her mother on the other end. “Did you feel that?” the…
Thanks to the internet, we now live in a world where all kinds of information are easily accessible as it gets passed on every second, every minute, and every hour of the day. Now this, in itself, is not a bad thing. But as this pool of information grows, it gets tiring to take in…
My uncle and I never watched sporting events together due to the simple fact that he never enjoyed football. Whenever he catches me watching a football game on TV he always tries to change the channel to a basketball game, convincing me to watch it because “there’s more action in basketball than football.” At the…
A few weeks ago, I was sitting in one of my major classes (a socio-anthropology course on religion) when the discussion touched on violence. It was apropos at that time since it coincided with the news reports about the Catholic Church opposing abortion and the extrajudicial killings. My professor, Dr. Josefina, a trained anthropologist and…
Cities are overcrowded. Vehicles pile up on narrow streets and squelch thick black smoke into the air. Close proximities limit personal space and hygiene, and allow viruses to fester. With so little space to settle, people resort to living in places unfit for residency, tainting rivers dark, and littering our streets with poverty. These…
