THIS writer has turned 75 years “young,” which is how I feel. If life really begins at 40, then I’m as good as 35 years old. I still write for a living. I have been a journalist for 55 years – since 1970. Oh well, reaching the age of 75 is already
January 31, 2025
MY friend Berd Vargas told me he had retired from his job as radio disc jockey to concentrate on selling condominium units here in Iloilo City. From his smile I gleaned success in his new job. Indeed, the high-rise condos in Iloilo City have mushroomed because of the influx of new residents,
January 29, 2025
THIS is good news for power consumers in the Negros Occidental cities of Bacolod, Bago, Silay, and Talisay; and the towns of Don Salvador Benedicto and Murcia. Their “brand new” power-distribution utility, Negros Electric and Power Corporation (Negros Power), has blasted off to a long journey – its comprehensive 5-year development plan. To
January 27, 2025
ONE hot news today is a bill seeking to impose the death penalty by firing squad for public officials convicted of corruption, malversation of public funds, and plunder. Its author, Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Khymer Adan Olaso, explains in the explanatory note of House Bill (SB) 11211, that “current measures are insufficient
January 24, 2025
IN this corner last year, I disagreed with the popular perception that the annual Dinagyang Festival every fourth Sunday of January has religious value. Until now I believe that, its religious pretension notwithstanding, it lures foreign and local and local tourists who want to enjoy its cultural presentations. This time, at the
January 22, 2025
THERE is no more doubt on the constitutionality of the law (Republic Act No. 11918) expanding the franchise area of MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) to 15 municipalities and one city in Iloilo province. The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the constitutionality of RA No. 11918, in effect dismissing a petition
January 20, 2025
THERE was a time when progressive Catholic women badgered the Church to integrate women into priesthood and fire homosexual priests, apparently because of the dwindling number of manly men entering the seminaries. The Pope at that time was the late Benedict XVI. He answered with a cryptic reminder: “My real program of
January 17, 2025
ON waking up yesterday, I felt dizzy, as if having another vertigo attack. Notwithstanding, I tried to get up – only to slump on bed like a knocked-down boxer. It took a few minutes before I could sit up with my head propped up against the wall. Fortunately, my sister, a retired
January 15, 2025
WHO would have thought of producing a movie that might not pass the scrutiny of the Movie and Television Review Classification Board (MTRCB)? One such movie, set for showing nationwide in February, is “The Rapists of Pepsi Paloma,” which revives the events leading to the rape of teenage actress Pepsi Paloma in
January 13, 2025
OUR human resources — the skilled and unskilled laborers who toil for a living for the survival of their families — are the cogs in the wheel of sustainable productivity. In the Philippines, sustainable productivity is essential to the survival of Filipinos who now number around 118 million. We are the 14th largest
January 10, 2025
IS it possible for a person to be born in two places at different times? This seems to be the subliminal message behind the latest controversy hounding Rep. Erwin Tulfo (ACT-CIS party-list), who is running for senator in the May 12, 2025 election. Based on information running on the streamline and online
January 8, 2025
THIS writer once wrote of his futile search for the true religion, mindful of withholding personal biases and prejudices for and against any religious organization, stressing instead that “I discovered God outside of religion.” Let this be a sequel to that article. The truth is that one religion’s goodness is another’s sin
January 6, 2025