You often notice them before they even say a word. The teacher who starts the day with a simple nod, the janitor whose smile never misses a morning, the colleague who finishes what they promise—without needing a nudge. They are not the ones chasing attention or collecting awards. But somehow, they
November 14, 2025
Ron Garan saw Earth from space for real—not just in science books or videos. It looked like it was glowing. Like it was alive. But what surprised him most? How thin the air is that keeps us all safe. Just one blue line between us and forever darkness. One layer. That
November 13, 2025
There are storms that soak us, and storms that should sober us. Typhoon Tino did both. Cebu’s grief—cars stacked like toys, homes swallowed whole, families torn from roofs—asked a hard question: why did this happen despite warnings? As Typhoon Uwan now churns in, that question should not fade with the floodwater.
November 11, 2025
There are cities that drown with every headline, and there are cities that rise quietly with every storm. Iloilo, in part, belongs to the latter, but let me qualify it. When Typhoon Tino battered the Visayas this November, leaving Cebu and nearby provinces submerged and their floodwalls crumbling, Ilonggos mostly and
November 10, 2025
Fear has always been humanity’s oldest operating system. People once feared the wheel would destroy old ways. Later, they thought electricity might wake ghosts. Today, AI writes our essays, answers our quizzes, and even pens breakup songs. The question “Should we be afraid of AI?” is no longer for techies—it’s one
November 9, 2025
A week ago, my daughter Parvane introduced me to The Chosen Series at Netflix. While Typhoon Tino roared outside our home in Lapuz Norte, I spent the long hours watching the series—four seasons straight. It came at the right time: quiet days, howling winds, and a restless heart looking for something
November 8, 2025
“Filipinos are resilient.” It is our favorite national line—spoken by officials, flashed on headlines, posted with hashtags every time disaster strikes. After Typhoon Tino drowned parts of Cebu, Negros, and Panay, and earthquakes shook the Visayas and Mindanao, the same phrase echoed again, as if endurance were our greatest export. But
November 7, 2025
It started with a seemingly harmless post—a bright, cheerful poster for Dinagyang 2026 listing twenty-two sporting events under the banner “Mayor Raisa Treñas Sports Fest.” Within hours, Ilonggo netizens did what they do best: laughed, debated, and turned it into a running joke. Fourteen of the twenty-two events bore the mayor’s
November 6, 2025
I still feel the heat and buzz of that WVSU hall when the Quezon team walked in—Kuya Bodjie cracking jokes, Jericho Rosales talking about stepping into a life larger than legend. I hosted the pre-launching program with hundreds of students and educators, a good old campus moment where curiosity meets craft.
November 5, 2025
There was a time when a master’s or doctorate felt almost sacred—a capstone of grit, patience, and ideas tested by long nights and tougher mentors. Yet somewhere between the rush for promotions and the ease of shortcuts, graduate education in the Philippines began to lose its shine. The latest report from
November 4, 2025
A drop of rain patters on the windowpane of a modest boarding house in Tiwi, Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo, and for a moment the tick of every drop feels like a whisper: “Tino is coming.” For thousands of students, teachers, fishers and farmers in the Visayan islands, the upcoming landfall of Typhoon
November 3, 2025
