Wala Lang Jaime C. Laya The economy is tanking—travel is down and with it hotels and resorts, malls are quiet, restaurants are empty, movie houses are dark, churches are bare, construction has stopped. Gardening is a bright spot, a big thanks to ladies-who-lunch and men-who-drink. The...
WALA LANG Jaime C. Laya There is great excitement among Malitboganons of Southern Leyte. Malitbog’s miraculous image, Sto. Nino de Malitbog missing since 1991, has been found. The Malitboganons 7 in Manila Association (MIMA) held a formal sendoff last Saturday with Holy Mass at the Sto. Nino de...
WALA LANG Jaime Laya “Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me.” It’s always been like that. Unlike the 19th century hoi polloi who lived in bahay kubo with two rooms, Dons and Doñas were in grand homes, spending time in large rooms with high...
Wala Lang TIME TESTED Arellano High School in Manila, photo by David Montasco The library of my school, Arellano High in Santa Cruz near C.M. Recto, survived World War II and till I left for U.P. in 1953, I browsed its stacks and book cases of pre-war books. Our librarian was the super strict...
GOOD TIMES, BAD TIMES Portrait of the author Dr. Jaime Laya (when he was minister of budget) by national artist Federico Alcuaz So it has been with former President Ferdinand E. Marcos . Every Feb. 25 (EDSA Day), Aug. 29 (Ninoy Day), Sept.11 (birthday), Sept. 21 (Declaration of Martial Law),...
Wala Lang AS LOVELY AS A TREE Pinto Arboretum, Antipolo Ask someone to name some trees and the answer might be, “narra, coconut, pine tree … … ano pa nga ba —banana?” PWH chops down whatever stands in the way of road widening. Trees are truncated to protect Meralco and PLDT...
Old friends have just vanished, all within weeks—days—of each other: Mae Gaffud , President Fidel V. Ramos ’ loyal assistant who has been with him since his palace days and who was responsible for converting Malacañang into a real museum during the Ramos years, from the hate-Marcos...
In Tondo are two alleys named Pitóng Gatang and Amarlanhagui, Magát Salamat Elementary School, and Capulong Street near Estero de Vitás. Jose Abad Santos Avenue used to be named Manuguit. The people thus honored and their brethren deserve better. The Spanish defeated Manila rajahs Matandâ and...
Wala Lang ' The Relicario of María Clara ' by Gromyko Semper, mixed media on canvas, 2020. The scene shows the relicario in the leper’s basket, just after it was dropped by María Clara; the little sacristan Basilio; and the avenging Simoún. In the distance are María Clara praying and her...
It is a fact that history is written by winners. Thus it is that victors win because they were in the right and suffered few losses while the losers were totally annihilated. So it has been in Philippine history. Spanish friars, American officials, Japanese soldiers, one President after another...
