There is a familiar scene many workers know by heart. The clock moves, attendance is checked, and a missed day means less money. Teachers know it. Nurses know it. Factory workers, cashiers, and contractuals know it too. That is why the recent push to apply a “no work, no pay” rule
March 27, 2026
There is something almost insulting about watching a fuel price hike explained on television by men in coats while a public school teacher in Iloilo is already doing arithmetic in her head that has nothing to do with her lesson plan. A full tank for the motorcycle means less money for
March 26, 2026
Every graduation has its rituals. Mothers adjust collars with nervous hands. Fathers clear their throats more than usual. Students grin for photos while quietly wondering what comes after the applause. Then come the honors—medals, ribbons, and Latin words that sound grand during graduation. In many of our homes, they carry the
March 25, 2026
The taxi smelled faintly of gasoline and menthol candy, the kind drivers chew to stay awake past lunch. It was a Sunday, quiet enough for conversation, and I asked the driver how things were. He did not hesitate. “Sir, net ko na lang mga trescientos singkwenta sa dose ka oras.” Around
March 24, 2026
Cities survive floods, elections, and brownouts, yet sometimes the loudest debates are about parking. That tension surfaced in Iloilo when talk of regulating rooftop parking at the new Terminal and Central markets spread—right in the middle of a fuel crisis. One moment people were admiring the fresh look of the redeveloped
March 23, 2026
There are government programs that look good in press releases and disappear the moment the camera leaves. The Doctors to the Barrios program is not one of them. It has survived because the need has never left. In 1993, then Health Secretary Juan Flavier started DTTB to send physicians to doctorless
March 21, 2026
There was a time when a one-peso fuel hike could already send transport and progressive groups to the streets—whistles, placards, radio voices full of urgency. Many Boomers and Gen Xers remember that. Today, diesel has crossed ₱100 in some areas, gasoline is also on its way, and the reaction feels different.
March 20, 2026
Word has been going around downtown, and this time the whispers are true. Roberto’s is finally expanding. After weeks of speculation about who would take over the former Carlo’s space along JM Basa Street, the answer has become clear: the Queen is claiming new ground on Calle Real. For longtime patrons,
March 19, 2026
A public commendation should have been the easy part. An Ilongga, now Iloilo City vice mayor, wins election as national chair of the National Movement of Young Legislators, the first woman from the Visayas to do so, and one would think the home council would clap first and argue later. Instead,
March 18, 2026
A student once told me, half-laughing and half-serious, that prom now feels like “Met Gala meets anime convention meets class reunion with soft launch potential.” That was a joke, but only partly. Anyone who has seen recent prom photos online knows what she meant. There are entrances staged like celebrity arrivals,
March 17, 2026
Sometimes the best way to notice change in a society is to watch how people react to a joke. Not the joke itself, but the pause that follows. Laughter comes quickly in television studios, yet viewers at home often feel something more complicated. That seemed to be the case when a
March 16, 2026
Fans of the John Wick films will remember a recurring phrase: “a seat at the table.” In that fictional underworld, the High Table is where power sits. Those who have a seat help shape the rules. Those who do not are forced to live with them. It is a dramatic way
March 14, 2026
