The Christmas holiday season in the Philippines starts in earnest after All Souls’ Day. Gift lists are updated, the holiday-party, vacation and reunion schedules finalized. Weeks prior, the mall and tiangge merchants are already on holiday marketing mode, playing carols to set the mood and reeling in customers with irresistible discount sales. But now is...
Author: Roderick Toledo (Roderick Toledo)
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Birds flying into manmade things
One recent morning, I saw a bright yellow kilyawan (black-naped oriole) lying dead beside our house. It happened periodically, over the years, that flying birds of various species would smash into our glass panes while in flight. When I looked up the reason, I learned it is because they mistake the sky or trees reflected on...
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The way to overcoming historical amnesia
Marcosian martial law made us Humpty Dumpty and we will never be put back together again. It broke us in ways so deep and permanent no amount of talk about reconciliation and unity will ever make us whole. But we can cope with it in a very Filipino way. We have always been described as...
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Destiny and the Philippine presidency
SO MUCH is said about the presidency being destiny. Unfortunately, the Philippines’ destiny is also tied up with whoever destiny brings to the presidency. In recent memory, among those who can be said to have been favored by destiny to become president were Corazon Aquino, the housewife and grieving widow, and Rodrigo Duterte, the foul-mouthed...
