A seminar for student journalists saw me speaking on the topic, “Why Use English Idioms?” I began by drawing on the blackboard a hammer hitting the nail on the head. “You see,” I told the class, “when you hit the hammer on the head but do not mean it literally, it means you
August 9, 2023
BY chance, I ran into Bloomberg news footage of Russian President Vladimir Putin attending a service of the Russian Orthodox Church in Valaam, Russia on July 24, 2023. Earlier, Wall Street Journal (January 7, 2023 issue) reported, “President Vladimir Putin thanked the Russian Orthodox Church for backing his war in Ukraine as
August 7, 2023
THE lifeline rate discount (LRD) for low electricity consumption used to apply equitably to everybody, whether rich or poor. But now it’s only for the poor, especially beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, better known as “4Ps”. Thus, MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) has been active in inviting its customers
August 4, 2023
THE readers’ response to my column on former Vice-President Leni Robredo’s silence after her unbelievable “loss” to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on May 9, 2022 were mostly in disbelief. How could she and her senatorial candidates have said and done nothing when they knew they had been cheated? How could the
August 2, 2023
AS I write this, typhoon Egay has exited, leaving behind an estimated ₱2 billion pesos worth of losses in agriculture and infrastructure. But tropical storm Falcon is coming in and is forecast to steadily intensify into a typhoon within the next three days. We can only hope and pray for lesser magnitude. We
July 31, 2023
POPE Francis, according to a news report, has tapped an American Jesuit who runs an outreach ministry for LGBTQ to be among the participants at a major Vatican gathering of bishops in October this year. He’s Rev. James Martin, who has long been a prominent advocate of greater inclusion of the LGBTQ community in
July 28, 2023
IN a past column, I commended my friend Ricky Alejo for being “the healthiest media practitioner in Iloilo City” because of his excellent health and physique. He practices vegetarianism, which means that he does not eat meat but only organic fruits, vegetables and root crops. The other day, however, I noticed that
July 26, 2023
DID President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. really mean what he said on Friday? That his government would not cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into the thousands of killings blamed on his predecessor’s “war on drugs”? Most likely he is just afraid of losing his “unholy alliance” with his predecessor,
July 24, 2023
IT is hard to believe that after her unbelievable “loss” to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in May 2022, Leni Robredo has gagged herself. Not even one of her “defeated” senatorial candidates has regained his voice. If it’s any consolation, the only winner in her line-up — Senator Riza Hontiveros — has steadfastly
July 21, 2023
YESTERDAY (July 18), the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, Netherlands, was expected to decide on the appeal of the Philippine government for reconsideration of the decision to proceed with its investigation of crimes against humanity during the incumbency of Rodrigo Duterte as mayor of Davao City and later as president
July 19, 2023
THE other day while driving into my garage, I noticed an elderly neighbor being lifted into a waiting ambulance marked “ICER” (Iloilo City Emergency Responder). He needed immediate hospitalization. The night of the same day, he came back still in a horizontal position – too weak to stand up. He had not
July 17, 2023
OBLIVIOUS to the voice of the people but his sycophants, Pres. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. may soon find his waterloo in the Maharlika Investment Fund bill that he is expected to sign into law come June 18 or any date before his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 24. There
July 14, 2023