“An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” That proverbial advice, Google says, first appeared in print in Wales in 1866. The vague reason given was that apple eaters paid fewer visits to doctors than non-apple eaters. What got me interested about apple was whether it could reverse my diminishing ability to
February 10, 2025
IT was the first time I hosted a birthday party for 75 persons at Hotel del Rio, symbolic of having turned 75 years old on January 31, 2025. That means I am four years beyond the average lifespan of Filipinos, which is 71 years. I had never before invited so many, preferring
February 7, 2025
BY chance I met lawyer Zafiro “Boy” Lauron at Seda Hotel here in Iloilo City. He waxed ecstatic over the forthcoming class reunion of “Batch 75,” referring to the graduates of the University of San Agustin High School, Class 1975, of which he is the incumbent president. The sparkle in his eyes
February 5, 2025
IT alarmed me to hear “podcaster” Toto Causing say “nagtataka ako” why Erwin Tulfo remains No. 1 in the senatorial surveys. That statement carries the presumption that he believes in the authenticity of the surveys. Such presumption is dangerous because it influences the minds of the targeted audience. It’s scary that many others in
February 3, 2025
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