IN 1995, an octogenarian from Sebaste, Antique who had spent most of his life in the United States came home to write a book and asked me to edit the finished manuscript, which was released a few months before he died. He was Eugenio “Doding” Galido, whose book, “Outcry for Change,” occupies
May 8, 2023
ONE day I stepped into Farm to Table Restaurant to eat nothing but a vegetable-fruit salad. I had heard that chef Pauline Gorriceta-Banusing had “prescribed” the organic delicacy to her hubby Gus to keep him looking younger than his age. It was also in line with my determination to defy the ravages of
May 5, 2023
“ALL that you need to tell the news is a nose for news.” That was one of the guidelines imparted to us Journalism students by the late Professor Angel Anden at the Manuel L. Quezon University (MLQU) in Manila decades ago. Indeed, I would not have taken the course if I had
May 3, 2023
TIME was when I would not eat vegetables. I had no appetite for them. Instead, I devoured meat – especially beef and pork – as if it would no longer be available the next day. It’s the other way around today. I may not like the taste of certain vegetable meals, but
May 1, 2023
“Necessity is the mother of invention,” says a popular proverb traced to Greek philosopher Plato (428-348 BC) in his immortalized treatise, The Republic. Indeed, where there is a need, we find ways to meet and solve whatever problem head-on. Simply put, the driving force behind an invention is a need – say,
April 28, 2023
IN this month of April, 31 years ago, Juan “Johnny” Vego (my father) was moving from one hospital to another in a futile fight against lung cancer despite his doctors being “the best” in Iloilo City. He turned out to be a “Johnny come lately”; his cancer had metastasized beyond redemption. To
April 26, 2023
WHILE studying Journalism in a Manila university decades ago, I had a professor – the late Angel Anden – who would often remind us students, “Just call a spade a spade.” We did it for our college publication. For that was how newspapers in those days gained credibility as the primary source
April 24, 2023
THE “fever” of the month in Iloilo appears to be dengue, a severe form of hemorrhagic fever that could kill. After the scandal that allegedly killed a number of children who had been vaccinated with Dengvaxia, the Department of Health (DOH) has refrained from dispensing the vaccine this year. In his latest
April 21, 2023
THIS may sound like a lament against the “dying of the light” in Bacolod City and five other cities and towns in Negros Occidental. But the proposed joint venture between Ignite Power (the new subsidiary of MORE Power) and Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) is aimed at revitalizing the latter. To quote Ceneco acting
April 19, 2023
IN 2016, I wrote about a World Bank (WB) report baring the “dismal failure” of banks in the Philippines to attract depositors. Based on figures culled from all banks nationwide, only 10 million Filipinos have bank accounts. Today, however, if we are to believe the latest survey undertaken by the Bangko Sentral
April 17, 2023
AS a columnist of the Daily Guardian, I am probably the oldest living media practitioner in Iloilo City. It has been 53 years since I started writing for a living in 1970 at the age of 20. My early days as a freelance journalist in Manila saw me covering the entertainment beat. One
April 14, 2023
SOMETIMES I feel offended when younger people call me “lolo”. You see, I am not a grandpa in the real sense of the word; I have no grandchild yet. On second thought, since I am already 73, why should I disagree? That’s one year more than the 72-year life expectancy of Filipinos. I feel
April 12, 2023