Christmas at home will be the New Normal this holiday season. For my generation, it is nothing new; it was our Old Normal. We were raised by parents and grandparents who lived through the horrors of war and hunger. Our upbringing prepared us for the restrictions and shortages of the Covid-19...
ROME OF THE EAST Manila City Hall takes on a new look (photo by Patrick Roque) Manila, once called the Pearl of the Orient and recognized as a center of global trade, had one foot in the grave, gasping for breath, when the last election for local officials was held last year. Decades of...
Amid the lockdown, quarantine, travel restrictions, and business closures, a star has risen to save the day: the home cook. Often someone’s aunt, mother, grandma, sister, brother, uncle, or son, the home cook is the one known among family and friends for one or more dishes prepared in a...
How do you want your sampalok served? Sinigang is, without a doubt, the most popular soupy main dish in Filipino homes because of its versatility. It can be cooked with pork, beef, chicken, fish, or prawns, and incorporate many kinds of vegetables and root crops. Basically, it is a boiled stew...
On September 21, 1972, Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. delivered a scathing privilege speech on the floor of the Senate warning the nation that President Ferdinand Marcos was on the verge of declaring martial law. It was to be his last speech at the Senate; he was arrested the next day. Unknown to all...
The underwater Eden that is the Verde Island Passage. Image by Marco Vincent Divers One of the most famous diving sites in the world is right here, close to Metro Manila. Yet very few Filipinos are aware of this major tourist attraction. Verde Island Passage, a 10-mile-wide strait that separates...
On facing mortality, on being haunted by the past, and friends who left without a goodbye I have not stepped out of my flat since the pandemic began in March, and I’m in no rush to once more explore the world outside my front door. Months under lockdown did not kill me, and boredom did not once...
Growing up with books that were never my own The Philippines was still recovering from the devastation of World War II when my aunts started to teach me how to read, using their handwritten English prayer booklets as books were not easy to come by. I was four years old, and the only other reading...
Rain or shine, it is always a good time to have a bowl of soup I am a soup person. Rain or shine, I love a bowl of soup with dinner. Sometimes, a bowl of thick soup is dinner. Like many people my age, I grew up knowing only one kind of sopas —a broth with elbow macaroni and some kind of meat:...
This time of pandemic, just like many Filipinos, writers are being creative in the kitchen When writer-publicist Marlon Aldenese found himself with a lot of time on his hands during the quarantine, he turned to his hobby of baking. Months later, his Little Kitchen 7 has grown into a full-blown...
Unearthing the friendship between Ninoy Aquino and Salvador Laurel. Photo from armm.gov.ph and salvadorlaurel.com The 1967 mid-term elections brought much-needed fresh blood, two bright young stars, to the Philippine Senate: Benigno S. Aquino Jr . (Ninoy) and Salvador H. Laurel (Doy). Both were...
Don’t mind its pungent smell, fermented food is the dish to eat these days. Atsarang papaya (photo by Obsidian Soul) Major media organizations around the world rely heavily on local sources and analysts when writing stories. In the Philippines, one of the most credible and sought-after political...
