WHILE listening to my car radio yesterday, I heard the deejay announcing he would play the song “Kawatan” as sung by the late Jograd dela Torre. I shed tears while listening and going down memory lane. In 1979 when I was in the business of hiring singers and dancers for religious fiestas
March 18, 2026
TODAY we celebrate the 505th anniversary of the “discovery” of the Philippines by Ferdinand Magellan on March 16, 1521. To quote novelty singer Yoyoy Villame, “And that’s the beginning of our Catholic life.” Indeed, ours is the only predominantly Christian nation in Asia (approximately 90%), of which over 80% are Roman Catholic.
March 16, 2026
Solving the parking problem FREE vehicular parking for market consumers at the rooftops of the renovated Iloilo City Central Market and the Terminal Market? Yes, but please limit it to two hours to give other marketgoers the chance to avail themselves of the same privilege. This is a program that the Iloilo
March 9, 2026
Poor Rep. Jesus Manuel Angel “Bong” Suntay (4th District, Quezon City): His “holy” name has not shielded him from public condemnation for fantasizing about voluptuous movie star Anne Curtis. As everyone now knows, it happened on Tuesday while the House Committee on Justice was deliberating on the impeachment of Vice President Sara
March 6, 2026
THE way I read the signs of the times, Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) has given a reason why its contract with the Department of Energy (DOE) over coal mining on Semirara Island in Caluya, Antique, should not be renewed. That reason is the landslide at its Narra pit that killed
March 4, 2026
WHILE we were having coffee at the Hotel del Rio the other day, my friend Gonzalo asked whether any of us would wager money against his prediction that the International Criminal Court (ICC) would proceed with a full-blown trial of former president Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte. The four-day hearing that ended on Feb.
March 2, 2026
BASED on the first of the four-day televised confirmation of charges hearings on former President Rodrigo Duterte in the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, my two cents worth is that he committed crimes against humanity over his bloody war on drugs. The alleged “widespread and systematic” killings during his term
February 25, 2026
HAS it really been 40 years since the four-day bloodless “revolution” altered the course of history? I find it hard to believe that it’s still fresh in my mind. I am now 76, which is more than double my age of 36 when the “EDSA People Power Revolution” unfolded on February 22
February 23, 2026
WHAT did Senator Bam Aquino hope to accomplish when he said, “Ideally, cases against individuals implicated in alleged extrajudicial killings should be tried in Philippine courts”? The statement was meant to defend his fellow Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Christopher “Bong” Go, who are among the eight alleged co-perpetrators of former
February 20, 2026