BAYBAY CITY—Virginia Queza remembers sharply the Day of the Landslides’, for that was when she lost her husband, house and almost everything else she had. “I kept shouting for help while we were deeply covered with mud, surrounded by dead bodies. My husband was still alive. But all my pleas were ignored,” Queza, 60, recalled,...
Category: News
Post
Landslides in Leyte: Pain, grief stifle hope to rebuild lives
BAYBAY CITY, LEYTE—Almost every passing day, Rolando Tagnipez lights a candle before an image of his son on a made-to-order tarp installed in his house. The ritual reminds him of his loved one whose whereabouts he has surrendered to nature’s will. “They have not found the body of my son, together with those of his...
Post
Honor, courage and storytelling in difficult times
Editor’s note: The following is the commencement speech delivered by Caroline S. Hau via Zoom at the University of the Philippines Diliman on July 31, 2022. Ms. Hau began her speech in Filipino with a greeting to the UP Regents, President Danilo Concepcion, officials of the UP System, Chancellor Fidel Nemenzo, vice chancellors, deans and...
Post
Peace and the FVR presidency
In my assessment of the peace process during a conference examining the Fidel V. Ramos (FVR) presidency, I gave his administration the grade of 6 out of 10. Looking back at that event organized by then University of the Philippines president Jose “Pepe” Abueva, since deceased, I concede that it was a stingy grade. It...
Post
How events in 2019 resulted in the Furigay assassination
The body of slain former mayor Rose Furigay was brought home to Lamitan City, Basilan, on July 31, but closure is nowhere near the horizon. Contrary to what is being claimed by partisans on social media, the feud between Furigay and her suspected murderer, Dr. Chao Tiao Yumol, did not spring from the latter’s campaign...
Post
From fish vendor to town mayor
I was in Dolores, Eastern Samar, a few weeks ago and had a chance to take a photo of the new mayor of the third-class municipality (annual income: P15-20 million) facing the Pacific Ocean, on a billboard near the port. The story of Rodrigo “Onoy” Rivera, 62, a fish vendor who became mayor, is one...
Post
Fear and trembling in Abra
Like any other tragedy, the earthquake struck when no one expected it.“It was a sunny morning,” Carla Manganteng, 29, told CoverStory by phone from Lagangilang, Abra. “I was in my neighbor’s house when suddenly the ground shook so violently. We immediately called everyone, told them to run outside, to a nearby open area.” Lagangilang is...
Post
Among the garbage in raging waters
Sleep, pretty darling, do not cry/And I will sing a lullaby… — “Golden Slumbers” by the Beatles Two girls were killed in the flash floods on July 15-16, according to the initial reports. Like many an afternoon in the metro in this warm season, dark sky and distant thunder heralded the rain that steadily became...
Post
‘Project Gunita’: safekeeping pages of the Marcos regime’s history
On the night of Election Day on May 9, when Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was on the way to winning the presidential race according to the count of the Commission on Elections, one thought came into my mind: the martial law files. Why? Simple. He is the son and namesake of the ousted dictator Ferdinand E....
Post
Filipino Geologist elected to UN body on world’s seabed resources management, protection
A Filipino geologist is joining a select panel of experts helping a United Nations (UN) agency in its mission to manage and protect the world’s seabed resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction (the Area). Mario Juan Aurelio, 57, a professor at the University of the Philippines (UP), former director of the UP National Institute of...