WITNESS

Isang araw, si Aling Balat-Sibuyas at si Mang Balat-Kalabaw ay nagtalo. Wika ni Aling Balat-Sibuyas, “Mas mabuti yata at karapat-dapat na ang Pilipino ay manatiling mahiyain at manahimik na lamang kapag may nagtatalo. Continue reading →

I will not write fast because I know you read slowly. Thank you so much for all the donations you sent us through your group, “Kilos at Awa” (Action and Mercy). Your mother and I are here in our old Provincial Town living in a house you bought for us after our house in Manila decided to float back to the sea. I cannot give you the exact address because the former owners took away the house number. Continue reading →

Holy Week always reminds me of home, the only Christian nation in Asia. Spain is still beaming with pride for the Catholic imprint they left in our lands. American Evangelicals allege that there are now seven million “born again” Christians in the Philippines (Christianmarriage.com). Continue reading →

Some time back, when I used to join so many meetings with assorted Fil-Am clubs and organizations, I counted with my fingers the ones that were productive and efficient, and the ones that took care of food with nothing else. We are not perfect as no one else is. Continue reading →

Humanity is a garden of complex individuals, so difficult to understand, so simple to accept. We clamor for equal treatment, yet we treat others differently. We fight for “our” rights though we sometimes ignore the rights of others. We are inundated by commercial cliches like making a difference and being special, yet we let them go like a sonorous emptiness. And although many of us come from a normal family, there are families who are neither “normal nor abnormal”; they are simply different, simply beautiful in their own ways. Continue reading →

“Filipinos have a selfish, self-serving attitude that generates a feeling of envy and competitiveness towards others, particularly one’s peers, who seem to have gained some status or prestige. Towards them, the Filipino demonstrates the so-called “crab mentality”, using the levelling instruments of” tsismis”,” intriga” and destructive criticism to bring others down. Continue reading →

There has been a recent rumor that Tagalog will no longer be translated into English because of an assumption that most Filipinos speak in English. I was asked for an opinion and I responded that Tagalog is just one of the so many languages we have in the Philippnes. Kapampangan, Chabacano, Ilokano, Karay-a, Hiligaynon, Ilonggo, Bisaya, Cebuano, Batangueno, Bulakeno Continue reading →

Although I have been driving my own car ever since I was a junior in High School, the asphalt jungle of Manila is but a thread of roads compared to the wide and intimidating highways of the American Suburbia. A missed exit can make you find yourself miles away from where you really want to go. Continue reading →

When I stepped foot on America…I had a business visa without a business. My passport was marked by different entry and exit visas of different ports from a former nomadic lifestyle. I had a two way ticket from my country of origin, at least five thousand dollars from the generosity of people I know, two hard suit cases, a one month, three-plane air pass to travel in any part of the United States, Continue reading →

SANA Sa pagningning ng malayong bituin
ay makamtan ng marami ang pangarap, Continue reading →