WITNESS

“If you had one chance, just one chance to go back and fix what you did wrong in life, would you take it? And if you did, would you be big enough to stand it?”
– Chuck Benetto Continue reading →

Cosme stared at his bank book and grunted at his dwindling balance. He only has less than fifty pesos left. He still has to go to school and register for the incoming school year. “Inay, I hope you sent the money on time”, he told himself as he stood in a long queue towards an automated teller machine. Continue reading →

Salamat (Tagalog), Gracias (Spanish), Merci (French), Mabalos (Bicolano), Agyamanac (Ilocano), Arigato (Japanese), Sye Sye (Mandarin Chinese), Danke (German), Tack (Swedish), Spasibo (Russian), Shukriya (Urdu), Asante (Swahili), Efharisto (Greek), Thank you! (English)
– Aftermath of Genesis 11:1-8 (The Tower of Babel) Continue reading →

Charlie Gandula finally decided to tie the knot with Cassidy Villacorta. While he came from the northern highlands of the Mountain Province, she hailed from the Visayan City of Iloilo. Charlie, or Caloy, as known by his kin, is dark complexioned, burly, and with an above average height. Continue reading →

Roy works for the Post-Office. Luisa, his wife, having recently earned her Associate Degree in Nursing, used to work as a part time caregiver. Now that she passed the board exams, her possible income could be much higher than that of a mail carrier. With three young kids Continue reading →

My father had a profile of a silent head honcho whose words are numbered with a quiet succinctness. Nonetheless, I asked: “Dad, would you also want to leave for America?” It was a lazy Sunday. The alarm clocks were off and no one was rushing. Continue reading →

Jomar was awake before the city rooster gave its first rendition. He checked his email one last time. He did not want to miss any school work. After hanging his back pack on his shoulder, he looked at his phone, said goodbye to his mom and off he want towards the bus stop. Today, he had no plans of going to school. Continue reading →

Yesterday, according to Reuters, “tens of thousands of Filipinos angry at official corruption marched through the center of Manila and other cities to demand the abolition of a misused fund for legislators’ pet projects…” (Rosemarie Franco, Manila, August 26, 2013). Continue reading →

Idleness is the devil’s workshop. Doing nothing is boring. Couch potatoes, loafers and other losers are at the risk of depression. Inactivity is not a healthy habit. And so they say. Tradition has a long reservoir of clichés condemning the absence of work. Our folks taught us that it is never good to do nothing. Continue reading →

Brown is the color of mud on the pavement during an afternoon shower. Back home where I was born, rainstorms spell unwanted public pools on city roads and pedestrian lanes. Driving a car is as risky as taking a walk. Either the vehicle engine stalls for excessive moisture or we fall upon an open sewerage lid kept that way to reduce further flooding. Continue reading →