MEDIUM RARE With Olive and Niwa Ang in their car, I was able to visit again Baliwag, Bulacan, home of our friend Manny Samson, interior designer who has clients, including grand hotels, on both sides of the globe. And just as I remembered, Manny’s famous white house occupies an entire block on...
MEDIUM RARE Two of my friends sat in the front row for Rowena Arrieta’s homecoming concert last March 14. Several rows higher up, I thought I had a better view of the pianist’s hands and her right foot on the pedal in spite of her long gown. Rowena was a young girl when she, along...
MEDIUM RARE It’s a Buddhist-Hindu concept, but no one in the Philippines can say that they don’t know what Karma means. In real life (listen to your neighbors) or in soap operas (turn on your TV), Karma is a word freely thrown about between quarreling parties, words like “Ma-karma ka sana!”...
MEDIUM RARE First lady Liza A. Marcos was walking fast, almost running, near the Goldenberg Mansion, one of the heritage houses that she has renovated and updated within Malacañang Park. I waved at her, “Why the hurry?” and she said she was late for a meeting. Trying to keep up with her...
MEDIUM RARE This is a true story. Only the name of the narrator, “Amy,” is a fiction. Amy, looking 18 but thinking 25, is in second year college majoring in theology, civil law, and philosophy. Her assignment: visit a “typical” family of six, find out how they live on one...
MEDIUM RARE Surrounded by tall, impressive structures in Bonifacio Global City, a cozy two-story building glows with mellow lights on Rizal Drive. It is soon after sunset, shortly after cocktails, and guests have started streaming into the building’s 120-seat theater. Singapore’s embassy...
MEDIUM RARE There is a God. A God who overrules forecasts of very hot weather by the simple expediency of sending us a constellation of clouds to partly cover the face of the sun for part of the time. Clouds are my thing. I love them, don’t you? And that’s why I wish meteorologist and...
Medium Rare Beauty is big business. And Ruby S. Coyiuto knows it. She has a Flawless beauty salon in every mall and a string of franchises longer than her two arms put together. I wouldn’t have known about Ruby’s flourishing business until she invited me, as the former classmate of her mom,...
MEDIUM RARE To continue our tour of Manila’s Malate district as exemplified once upon a time by fashion designers Pitoy Moreno (favorite of the beautiful, gracious Meldy Cojuangco), Ben Farrales, Christian Espiritu, Ernest Santiago, Aureo Alonso, Auggie Cordero. Malate’s crown jewel was...
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) raises awareness for Filipinos living with rare diseases and affirms their rights as it joined the nation in commemorating the 2025 National Rare Disease Week (NRDW) which is observed during the last week of February. NRDW in the Philippines was established...
MEDIUM RARE In the good old days Manila’s fourth district, Malate, was where to find the friendliest coffeeshops and restaurants, just as there was a Remedios Circle that was home to the most famous fashion designers – they were called couturiers, and among them was Pitoy Moreno. Pitoy...
MEDIUM RARE In the month of hearts, congratulations to the Philippine Heart Center for Asia! The last time I had a chance to speak with Imelda R. Marcos, I thanked her for the Heart Center which, with the Cultural Center of the Philippines, may be said to be her outstanding achievements of the...
