In photos of concerts last December, in which he appeared as her special guest and performed bouncy numbers with her, he is far from looking like a terminal case. In pictures of the family’s holiday get-togethers, he is shown enjoying happy, fun times; his 70th birthday comes across as a celebration of life.

“Some of us are blessed with youthful good looks. Some are lucky to have an abundance of talent and a lucrative career while others have lasting good health,” is Rachel’s memorable caption to photos of the birthday boy, with emojis of a happy face, ice cream, and cake.

She adds: “At 70 years young today, my Dad @hajjialejandro.official has all that and more. I, together with his family, partner, and close friends, will all gather for a simple, intimate celebration tonight. His biggest blessing is that he is very much loved by us and his fans.”

In the early days of 2025, Hajji is all smiles in photos of family birthdays and other special occasions.  

He appears to be losing weight, but the smiles that always include his eyes conceal the slimming down. And then his love partner of 26 years, the chanteuse Alynna Velasquez, officially announced last March that he had cancer.

Still, his photos convey Hajji with the sunny disposition and the signature sweet smile. 

When Rachel was awarded last month Best Supporting Actress for the film “Song of the Fireflies,” as announced by Filipino American actress Tia Carrere at the 2nd Manila International Film Festival in Los Angeles, she was optimistic that her Dad would survive his illness.

Excerpts from her digital post: “I struggled to get to the stage in high heels…In the end, all I could think of was my Dad. I dedicated the win to DAD. Then I felt a surge of gratitude and awe for the miracles that have been transpiring in our lives the last few days. Then I trampled on the mic stand and nearly fell onto the steps.” 

Final hours

On Hajji’s last day on earth, Alynna wrote on Instagram: “In your final hours, you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and His promise of eternal life in His Presence.” 

Alynna, a former member of The New Minstrels, intimated in her social media spaces that Hajji passed on a day before their 27th anniversary as a couple.

But she was in a manner happy that during his brief battle with cancer, she and Hajji shared exclusive moments: “We listened to our favorite songs and we both had tears in our eyes. Your precious voice had been impaired because CA had constricted your respiratory system as well. But I felt your love even without words. And despite the pain, restlessness, and hallucinations, you tried to hold my hand…” 

She shared a poignant scene from real time: “I whispered in your ear. ‘Go with God. I love you so much. See you in my dreams.’”

As though to comfort herself, she declared: “No more pain, love. Just pure bliss with our Heavenly Father.”

Alynna also shared that her beloved had bravely confronted his fate in the last two months of his life: “You refused another trip to the hospital and chose palliative care instead, in the comforts of your home, in the company of people you love. You knew you were leaving us soon…

“We spent the last 8 days of your life together. I am grateful to your kids Ali and Rachel for reaching out to me. I have been waiting. I think of you every hour of every day.”

Although Hajji was already in his final moments on Easter Monday, Alynna publicly broke the tragic news on Tuesday. 

The obit reads: “Angelito Toledo ‘Hajji’ Alejandro. December 26, 1954–April 22, 2025.”

Campus figure

Angelito, the “little angel,” was educated at San Beda College on Mendiola, Manila. He was the good-looking guy who could carry a tune or two in the mellow, distinct voice that set him apart from his classmates.

Boy C. de Guia, the still missing TV host, entertainment journalist, talent manager, star builder, and predecessor of Boy Abunda, could tell more stories about his former student were he so inclined.

“Hajji was already a campus figure in high school because of his singing voice,” De Guia told his protégés, the Special People—composed of Danny T. Vibas, Lhar Santiago, Pilar Mateo, Ronald Mendoza and myself—one evening in the 1980s as we enjoyed a nightcap after another gruelling day of showbiz work. At the time, Hajji was dating the late beauty queen Rio Diaz.

“He was also a standout in his academic performance,” De Guia said. 

Whenever De Guia and Hajji saw each other in showbiz events, they would hug, and the student would always address the mentor as “Sir.”

Original Pilipino Music

Hajji was a stalwart of OPM, or Original Pilipino Music. He was also the so-called “killer” of exclusive-school girls—the “Kilabot ng mga Kolehiyala”—because of not only his looks but, more so, his musical talent. 

He was part of the popular Circus Band in the 1970s, with fellow singers Basil Valdez, Pat Castillo, Tillie Moreno, Boy Katindig, Pabs Dadivas, Atek Jacinto, the late Jacqui Magno, Richard Tann and Walter Calinawan, among others.

He began his solo stint at the very first Metro Manila Pop Music Festival, better known as Metropop, in 1978. He interpreted the now cult song “Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika,” composed by now National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab, the same song that won them the Grand Prix at the International Music Festival held in Seoul in the same year.

Soon there was no turning back for Hajji. He scored hit after hit in the singles “Panakip-Butas,” “Nakapagtataka,” “May Minamahal,” “Ang Lahat nang Ito’y Para Sa ‘Yo,” “Tag-Ulan, Tag-Araw,” and many more.

At the height of the regroupings of solo artists to make up new configurations—as thought of by music biz honcho Vic del Rosario—Hajji became part of the Hitmakers along with fellow balladeers Rey Valera, Marco Sison, Nonoy Zuñiga and the late Rico J. Puno, who had performed here and abroad.

Too bad my connection with him was just a writer-subject relationship. But it was always a smooth, friendly one.  

Admiration

Hajji is now singing with the angels in heaven, according to his friends and colleagues in the entertainment industry. They have admiration for and fond memories of him.

Said Frank G. Rivera, film, TV and theater artist: “They come in threes. Pilita, Nora, and Hajji. Top musical stars. So sad for Music and the Industry.”

The writer and comedienne Bibeth Orteza said she is “proud to have worked with the OG Kilabot ng mga Kolehiyala in ‘Batibot,’ directed by Behn Cervantes, at the Metropolitan Theater of Manila.”

The stage creative and thespian Audie Gemora posted a photo of Hajji taken while they were doing “Contra Mundum, Ang Larawan the Concert” at the MET two years ago. 

“He wanted to do a retrospective concert and asked me to direct it,” Gemora wrote. “What a celebration of an OPM icon and one of the nicest guys in the music industry it would have been. Hajji will live on through his many hits. Condolences to Alynna, Rachel, and the rest of the family.”

The post Singer Hajji Alejandro: the ‘Kilabot’ with the signature sweet smile appeared first on CoverStory.

Like many other Filipinos, the multiawarded actor John Arcilla has had brushes with such life-threatening events—when fire engulfed the house across the street from the family home and when fire occurred just behind their walls. Seeing the big flames, feeling the heat, and hearing the commotion that the emergencies elicited, he felt powerless and trapped. 

“You can try to reassure yourself that ‘at least our lives were spared.’ But it is not that easy. They were emotionally and psychologically devastating, even traumatic, experiences,” he told CoverStory in an exclusive interview. “And that was for myself, who was not directly affected. How much more for the people who lost their loved ones and properties?” 

But while many others would just go on with their lives and hope the tragedy doesn’t happen to them, Arcilla took a decisive step. He found a way to contact the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to offer his talents and star power so that fires can be prevented. 

“If I can help educate someone to be more cautious, to save themselves or a whole community, then I commit to being an advocate of fire prevention activities,” he recalled telling the BFP. 

Dramatizing the message

Arcilla has proved his mettle in acting, and holds the distinction of being the first Filipino to win the Volpi Cup for Best Actor in the 78th Venice International Film Festival. But for his advocacy project for the BFP, he stepped into the role of director.

He is, after all, a mass communication graduate, and his thesis was a screenplay written under the guidance of the writer Roy Iglesias. He also studied under the director Soxy Topacio and the scriptwriter Ricky Lee. 

He brought this experience and expertise, working with the BFP’s Senior Fire Officer 3 Ace Carolino and Inspector Arvien Alcazar, to produce the 12-minute film “Baldado.”

With very little audible dialogue, the film tells the story of a small community that is at high risk of fires. Everyday Filipinos would be able to relate to the experience of small cramped spaces and various incessant noises.  

The title describes the main character, Arcilla, who is immobile and has to be wheeled around, subject to the whims of the able-bodied people around him. As the tension builds, the desperation on his face heightens the drama. 

Most vulnerable

According to SFO3 Carolino, persons with disability are among the most vulnerable in our society to the dangerous effects of fires because of mobility issues or difficulties in decision-making. 

“We intended to bring the plight of PWDs front and center by portraying the rawest form of this plight possible, appealing to the emotional aspect of such public concern,” Carolino said. “Mr. John Arcilla, as director and main actor of the film, transformed the script into a compelling message.”

The fire hazards portrayed in the short film are familiar to many communities: lighted cigarette butts, overloaded electrical outlets, unattended open fires, and kids playing with flammable objects. 

The Directorate for Fire Safety and Enforcement has trailed its attention on PWDs for 2025, putting in place the Standardized Public Fire Education for such special care individuals, as well as members of vulnerable groups (senior citizens and pregnant women), and their caregivers (including family and relatives), and also support workers (teachers, barangay staff members, therapists, and the like).

The education drive includes “the setting up of safety systems within the household all the way to the development of evacuation plans for them,” Carolino said.

Everyday prevention

March is Fire Prevention Month, but it has been shown that the heat and humidity make Filipinos more susceptible to fires during the summer months, or indeed as long as soaring temperatures persist.

From Jan. 1 to April 20, 2025, there have been 5,021 fire incidents reported in the Philippines, 1,833 of which occurred in Metro Manila—the area with the highest number.

Said Arcilla: “I want people to be more cautious and aware of their responsibility to prevent incidents of fire. Fire does not only affect one household; it can destroy a whole community. It can do huge and irreparable, irreversible harm to everyone in a split second due to negligence.”

Arcilla was declared Fire Prevention Month Ambassador for 2025, but he is motivated to continue to work for this advocacy beyond this year. He serves as one of the judges for the “BFP’s Apoy at Lente: The Reels Story Film Festival,” portraying the personal experiences of firefighters, volunteers, and civilians. He is also in several short infomercials on common fire hazards at home.

“I want to commit myself to assist any organization to be an advocate for fire prevention in my lifetime,” he said. “This volunteerism is, for me, an act of paying it forward. My mother is already elderly and some of family members have some special needs that require attention. I wish to give myself and my loved ones positive karmic energy, so I can spare them from such incidents and help more people to stay safe from incidents of fire.” 

Arcilla is also president of the Capable (Care and Protect Life on Earth) Foundation, whose community programs for physical fitness (for adults) and workshops and tutorials (for students) are all supported by volunteers.

Fire prevention tips

• Keep a fire extinguisher accessible and make sure everyone in the house knows how to use it.

• Avoid smoking indoors. Or better yet, for good health, stop smoking.

• Regularly inspect electrical wiring to make sure these are free from damage. Do not overload circuits.

• Make sure that all exits are free from obstruction at all times. 

• Call 911 for fire emergencies.

The post John Arcilla commits to fire prevention and advocates for the safety of the most vulnerable appeared first on CoverStory.

Team Secret ended their winning drought after 288 days when they downed top-seeded Rex Reagum Qeon on Sunday, April 20, at Sangam Coliseum in Seoul. Still, TS finished last with a 1-4 win-loss record in the tournament’s Group Omega.

In the other group, Alpha, Global Esports failed to nail the fourth and final playoff berth last Friday, April 18, losing to Paper Rex (PRX) in a winner-take-all duel.

Read: VCT Pacific: Filipinos lose Week 3 games; playoff chances slim

Adrian “invy” Reyes took control for the Manila-based Team Secret, generating a Kill-Death-Assist (KDA) statline of 64/43/16 and clutching pivotal rounds in the third map, Lotus.

“I think this match showed our true potential as a team,” Reyes said in the post-match interview, explaining an improvement in his squad’s performance and in their confidence as the tournament’s underdogs.

‘Nothing to lose’

“[…] we know that there’s no more high stakes, [we] have nothing to lose any more so we showed our true potential, so yeah it [the win] really means a lot to us,” he said.

Head coach Ji “meow” Dong-jun echoed the same sentiments, shifting his stalwarts’ focus to relieve pressure instead of making drastic changes coming into this bout.

“What worked today isn’t the change of comps. We didn’t do any of those actually. Instead, we actually made a talk on how ‘let’s try to play more free’ like, no pressure guys,” Ji said.

After falling flat in their comeback attempt in Haven, 13-15, Team Secret wasted no time to retaliate in Ascent, utilizing a pistol round win to open with a 4-0 start.

The Filipinos kept their foot on the gas as they continued to surge with a flawless win at the 10th round to bring their advantage to its biggest at 9-1. They proved to be too much for their Indonesian opponents, swarming them at the entrance of B Main at the 18th round to even the series at 1-1.

A nip-and-tuck battle ensued in the opening rounds of Lotus, before a 1v2 clutch from Reyes sparked a five-round run to put Team Secret in a comfortable 8-4 lead by halftime. RRQ, however, refused to bend as they created a 5-1 charge of its own to put the map into a deadlock with nine rounds apiece.

In the 19th round, Reyes again delivered, taking down four members of the RRQ squad and defusing the spike with less than a second left to lift Team Secret toward double digits.

The Adobo Gang never looked back, taking the two succeeding rounds and defusing RRQ’s last-ditch attempt as they closed the split with a victory. Aside from invy, Brheyanne “Wild0reoo” Reyes backstopped the team’s offensive as he went ballistic, pouring 21 of his 56 kills in Lotus as Raze.

Duelist Maksim “Jemkin” Batorov anchored the opposition with a 56/54/7 KDA and an Average Combat Score (ACS) of 222.

Missing the playoffs

In Group Alpha, Global Esports narrowly missed the last trip to the playoffs after bowing to Asia Pacific juggernauts Paper Rex (PRX).

A 26-19 advantage in First Blood kills failed to materialize toward round wins for the Filipino-dominated crew as PRX’s aggression got the better of them in Split and Lotus, respectively.

Led by initiator Savva “Kr1stal” Fedorov hot start, Global Esports’ attacks were able to penetrate the PRX defense in the opening map as they brought the APAC giants to a 5-7 scoreline before switching sides.

Chaos started to unfold in the second half, with PRX flooding the plant sites round after round, rendering the Filipino-dominated team winless for the rest of the first map.

Global Esports found itself in a similar scenario before halftime in Lotus, 5-7, before taking the pistol fight of the second half as well as the round after to equalize the map at the 14th.

What seemed to be a fortified defense cracked again, with Paper Rex finding holes to scrap a 4-0 run and positioning itself at series point, 8-12. A quadruple kill from Kyung-won “Udotan” Go allowed Global Esports to save a match point, but waned out as they got picked off at the 22th round.

Derrick “Deryeon” Yee stuffed the stat sheets with a 30/34/11 KDA, while Go and Fedorov combined for 59 frags in the span of two maps.

For PRX, flex player Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee remained cool and composed, showing up with a 43/24/14 statline using Viper and Vyse, respectively.

Team Secret finished in sixth and last place in Group Omega with a 1-4 record, behind Zeta Division (2-3). Nongshim Redforce (2-3) , T1 (3-2), Talon Esports (3-2) and Rex Regum Queon (3-2) advanced to the playoffs.

In Group Alpha, Global Esports occupied fifth place (1-4) ahead over winless Detonation FocusMe. Paper Rex (2-3), Gen.G (3-2), DRX (4-1) and BOOM Esports (5-0) completed the postseason cast.

The playoffs will start on April 26, and the Top 3 teams will book their tickets to Masters Toronto.

The post VCT Pacific: End of the road for Filipino squads appeared first on CoverStory.

Most everyone has a fan story. One of my own stories happens to be on keyboardist Joey Quirino (JQ to family and friends), who I hit some time ago on Messenger with a YouTube clip of Rickie Lee Jones live in concert, singing the June Christy standard “Something Cool,” which claimed to have the late great pianist and composer Lyle Mays on keys. 

You think we could do this some time? I asked, half-jokingly, thrilled at having stumbled on what was arguably a phenomenal pairing of singer and accompanist. I also knew that Mays was high on JQ’s essential listening list.

Sure! JQ replied, and I could almost hear the quick laugh he readily bursts into when he’s amused. 

It hadn’t been five minutes when he returned, saying, “I didn’t think it sounded like a mature Lyle. Then I looked for a copy of the whole concert, and I’m afraid that it’s not Lyle Mays. But a good version nonetheless… [Lyle] had been mistakenly credited for it. [Look for ‘Live in Amsterdam RLK.’] That’s Neil Larsen.”

That’s JQ for you—sharp, no-nonsense, ever on the ball. Which is why it’s always a joy when he’s on keyboards: Besides bringing out the choicest chords, he can, when called for, go on an extended, almost meditative improvisation that hits all the right spots. 

JQ’s versatility has put him squarely among today’s busiest musicians, playing with the AMP Big Band in all its iterations (big band, nonet, dektet); he also leads Habemus Papas with drummer Jorge San Jose and bassist Meong Pacana, which had been formed as singer-actress Bituin Escalante’s band. He is also a mainstay of Ronald Tomas’ Dixie Sheikhs and The Virtuals—basically the Papas with guitarist Janno Queyquep and led by saxophonist Lorrie Zamora. Lately he has been doing a trio with Meong and drummer Roy Mercado at Wolfgang’s Newport. 

Best of times, worst of times

While JQ remains upbeat about jazz and its apparent resurgence in the local music scene—“More popular now than in the last 20 years,” he notes—it has yet to reach the fever pitch it did in the days of Birdland and Vineyard.

“The best times really were when DZUW was still around,” he says. “This was the jazz alternative to rock then. I first heard Pat Metheny there. They even played Wayne Shorter.”

DZUW was the FM station of DZRJ at the time. Unfortunately, it was short-lived, as it didn’t stand a chance against the “easy listening jazz” played by other so-called jazz stations. 

“When we were first starting out as musicians, jazz was alive and well in Manila,” JQ says. Almost overnight in the early to mid-’80s, the live music scene turned unapologetically pop. “Tavern on the Square came along and killed [jazz]. We had to play pop to survive.” Most of the jazz players left for abroad then, he adds.

“It was such an insular-minded market then, which always collectively went for whatever was considered popular,” he continues. Headliners of the live entertainment heap included what would become the biggest names in local entertainment in the ’80s—Music and Magic, Kuh Ledesma, ZsaZsa Padilla, Gary Valenciano, and Juan Miguel Salvador.

But improvisers always improvise: Jazz musicians who stayed put rolled with the punches, lending their precious talent as backup players in live and recording sessions. Others slipped out of the country to play for six-month or yearlong stints on cruise ships and in hotels across Asia. Many also kept the jazz flame alive in smaller venues that popped up as quickly as they shut down, only to return in another shape and form elsewhere. 

It pleases JQ to see younger players today who “are more technically proficient and have a better appreciation of tradition.” Nowhere is this more evident perhaps than in the AMP Big Band, a truly multigenerational ensemble if there ever was one. The dynamic interaction among three generations at the very least innovates on conventions even as it passes on knowledge to the next set of jazz music bearers.   

A piano for your thoughts

JQ attended De La Salle for grade school and high school, and went on to the University of the Philippines College of Music under slightly unusual circumstances.

“The usual route for a pianist is to start young with piano lessons, which I did at maybe eight or nine,” he says. “When I was a high school sophomore I got to audition at the UP College of Music, thanks to [classical singer and teacher] Aurelio Estanislao, and was placed under Miss Laureola. I already had a foot in the door to college.”

JQ reminds us that nearly all the great jazz pianists have had some form of classical training. “Once you acquire a modicum of technique you then start to train on harder pieces,” he says. “I was always playing jazz and fusion mostly, even when I was training for classical music. So there really wasn’t [much of a] transition for me.”

He says he heard Bitches Brew—the highly influential and groundbreaking double album by jazz great Miles Davis widely considered a pivotal work in the development of jazz fusion—when he was in the sixth grade. “Then and there I formed the thought that this is what music should be,” he says. At the same time, JQ had a peer group of musicians that introduced him to Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and The Mahavishnu Orchestra—all leading lights in jazz.

In a way, too, his being part of a large and eminently musical clan (aunts Lory and Mei-ling, and uncle Jim Paredes are some of its more famous musical members; JQ’s mother is the eldest girl in the Paredes brood) may well have eased him into turning professional. 

Still, JQ says that early on he wasn’t even sure that he wanted to make a career out of music. “My sister had received a toy organ for her birthday,” he recalls. “I remember her being so incensed one day because I broke it after I’d kept playing it night and day. So, my folks decided to get a piano.”

Jazz as prayer

Though far from ideal, the jazz scene in Manila today holds a lot of promise, as technology intersects with talent and new venues deliver fresh hope for a 21st-century resurgence. 

“Access to and dissemination of information is one way to keep any art alive,” says JQ. “With jazz, I cannot stress enough the importance of live engagement.”

He is quick to admit that his best moments are when he can raise the level of playing through his engagement. But like many creatives in general, he balks at the business side of things, given the unreliability of earnings and the lack of formal structures to ensure the protection of musicians’ rights and welfare. 

To supplement income and pass on knowledge, he can teach: “I’ve taught a few people a few things, but I cannot teach from ground up. I can refine or add to your skill. [But] that’s all the teaching I do.”

Interestingly, too, his other pursuits led him to be part of a group under the tutelage of a Taoist master. As a pilgrim he has visited several temples in China, Taiwan, and Tibet. “Though I am no longer connected with the temple, I do Qigong and Tai Chi on a regular basis,” he says.

To my mind, one visual and sound of JQ on the keyboard endures. Between sets—was it in Tago or Balete@Kamias?—he started playing what I shortly recognized as Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Inútil Paisagem,” an intriguing and lyrical piece whose harmony harbors its complexity, one that summons sophisticated chord voicings, modulations, and progressions. I recall he played it through to the end, and when I cheered wildly, alone, when he was done, he looked up, his face lighting up in genuine surprise that there was someone who’d actually listened. He completely owned the song in that quiet moment, making it sound halfway between a prayer and a poem.

So when he tells CoverStory that he hopes to “still be playing jazz and staying as healthy as I can be” in the foreseeable future, we share that hope and wish that it would be.

Read more: Portraits in Jazz: Dave Harder’s moveable feast

The post Portraits in Jazz: JQ and the will to chill appeared first on CoverStory.

Representation

“What’s really important there is representation,” the new queen told CoverStory. “When I was joining, I thought it would be a disadvantage [because] I was different. But I made sure that I was real to my self, I was authentic to my skin. And I made sure that I’m genuine.”

Brooks arrived back in the country on Monday evening, April 21, just a little over a day after claiming her victory in Egypt. She was welcomed by Miss Universe Philippines executive vice president Voltaire Tayag at the airport, where she also spoke with some members of the media.

“When people see that you’re genuine, then you will realize that skin really doesn’t matter when winning a competition, or the texture of your hair, or the places where you came from. It’s from the heart talaga (really),” she said.

When she went live on social media hours before the final competition, Brooks confirmed that she would not wear a wig, and would showcase her natural buzz-cut afro curls, explaining to her fans that the people in Egypt appreciate her authentic self.

“I’m really happy that I won. I represented my people well. I represented the kids who are scared of joining because they thought they’re not the pageant stereotype,” she said.

“It’s not about the stereotype, at the end of the day,” she continued. “It’s just about who you are and what you want. And if it’s bigger than your self, then you will achieve bigger things.”

Sisterhood

Brooks also appealed to warring pageant fans from different countries to foster a healthy atmosphere. “We have different perceptions of beauty. We have a different understanding of things. But at the end of the day, a pageant is really a sisterhood. It’s a celebration of women, and empowerment of women,” she said, adding:

“My beauty is different. Other girls’ beauty is different. But it doesn’t mean that they’re better than someone else, or they’re lesser than someone else.”  

The Philippines not only has the most winners in the Egypt-based international competition. The country’s impressive record also includes three women who finished second in their respective contests—Maureen Montagne in 2019, Kelley Day in 2021, and Chantal Schmidt in 2024.

As Miss Eco International, Brooks will serve as an ambassador of sustainability by promoting the United Nations’ SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) for 2030.

The post For the Philippines’ Alexie Brooks, Miss Eco International 2025, victory is ‘from the heart’  appeared first on CoverStory.

“Ascend” marks a dual celebration: the university’s 97th founding anniversary and its auditorium’s 76th year. In honor of these milestones, the FEU Bamboo Band returns to the historic stage—following last year’s kundiman-themed concert, “Ang Tangi Kong Ikaw”—to demonstrate the limitless potential of bamboo music in both cherished Filipino classics and powerful international pieces.

FEU Bamboo Band artistic director Norberto Cads Jr., an accomplished bamboo musician and key member of Banda Kawayan Pilipinas, is leading the project.

The band that continues to blend tradition and modernity under Cads’ guidance is composed of students of nursing, medical technology, psychology, hotel and restaurant management, tourism, architecture, marketing, business, and accountancy. They devote over 12 hours each week to practice, fueled by passion and a shared love for music.

“Ascend” will also feature special performances by the FEU Chorale and FEU Drum and Bugle Corps, as well as by FCA guest artists Marlexis Del Mundo (saxophone), John Erin Gonzaga (flute), and Jhon Mark Isla (trumpet).

The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the FEU Bamboo Band or FCA on Facebook, drop by the FCA office (8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays), or call (02) 8849-4145 ext. 310.

The post FEU Bamboo Band in concert to mark a dual celebration appeared first on CoverStory.

Francis died on Monday morning after Easter Sunday at the age of 88. From the outset, he made it clear that mercy and compassion would define his papacy. He envisioned the Church as a “field hospital,” a place of healing for the wounded and weary. This metaphor underscores the Church’s role not as a tribunal but as a refuge—a space where people in complex or broken situations can find hope and care.

In 2013, Francis initiated a synodal process on marriage and the family, leading to two global synods in 2014 and 2015. These culminated in the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, which emphasized pastoral accompaniment and inclusion. It notably allowed, under certain conditions, divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion—not by changing doctrine, but by deepening pastoral sensitivity.

Amoris Laetitia provoked strong reactions, including a dubia submitted by four cardinals questioning its orthodoxy. But Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna—a Dominican theologian and editor of the Catechism of the Catholic Church—defended the document vigorously. He rejected both rigorism and laxism, advocating discernment instead. For Schönborn, pastoral care must balance truth with mercy, honoring conscience while avoiding blanket moral judgments. He viewed Amoris Laetitia not as a rupture, but as a revival of a moral theology grounded in prudence and compassion.

This approach to discernment was again evident during the Amazon Synod, when conservative Catholics were scandalized by the presence of a Pachamama statue, seen by some as pagan. Schönborn defended the Pope, clarifying that the figure symbolized “Mother Earth” and “Mother of Life”—ideas which, in a Christian context, could be likened to a sacred tree and understood as “pro-life.”

Perhaps the most contentious act of Francis’ papacy is the 2023 declaration Fiducia Supplicans, which allows priests to bless same-sex couples and others in irregular unions—so long as these blessings remain nonliturgical and do not suggest approval of the unions themselves. The declaration redefines blessings as acts of pastoral care and prayer, not doctrinal endorsements. While many welcomed the move as a gesture of inclusion, others, including the Coptic Orthodox Church, suspended dialogue with the Vatican in protest. The episode highlighted the broader tension between pastoral outreach and traditional teaching.

Pope Francis also stirred debate with his statement that “all religions are paths to God,” made during an interreligious dialogue in Singapore. Critics accused him of relativism, arguing that the comment undermined the uniqueness of salvation through Christ. In response, he clarified that while all religions reflect humanity’s search for God, the Church continues to affirm that salvation comes through Christ and the Church. His intent, he explained, was to promote interreligious dialogue without compromising Catholic doctrine.

Francis’ pastoral flexibility follows an era of pronounced doctrinal clarity under his predecessors. Both Pope John Paul II, a philosopher who studied under Dominican Thomist Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, and Pope Benedict XVI, a theologian and peritus of the Second Vatican Council, emphasized orthodoxy and moral absolutes. In contrast, Francis’ approach reflected his Jesuit training and missionary experience, particularly in Latin America—a region with the world’s largest Catholic population but also vast socioeconomic challenges and pastoral complexities.

Notably, Francis is the first pope from a religious order since Gregory XVI in the 19th century. As a Jesuit, Jorge Mario Bergoglio belonged to a tradition shaped by discernment, education, and missionary work. His background exposed him to situations where doctrine alone could not address pastoral dilemmas, compelling him to seek a more compassionate response without abandoning Catholic teaching.

Cardinal Schönborn sees Francis’ papacy as a deepening of, not a deviation from, the pastoral vision of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. He affirms the synodal model that Francis championed, one grounded in listening, shared discernment, and gradual reform. The Church, under Francis, was not abandoning its principles but learning to apply them with greater sensitivity to lived human experience.

For Schönborn, the papacy of Francis reveals the true face of a pastoral Church—one that walks with the wounded, listens with patience, and accompanies souls with mercy rather than judgment. It is a papacy neither rigorist nor laxist, but one that embodies the Gospel’s call to love in truth.

Lito B. Zulueta, professor of journalism at the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and Letters, was the only Philippine print journalist among Vatican-accredited media who covered Pope Francis’ historic apostolic visits to Sri Lanka and the Philippines in 2015.

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The couple’s newly released book, Living in China 2019 to 2023: A COVID Diary, recaptures the panic in their apartment complex during that period. At the same time, it paints a picture of real-life immersion in daily Chinese culture that tourists and some foreigners may find fascinating. They learn to haggle using their calculators and to find the right shoe size for irregular sized feet. She even turns into a plantita amid the pandemic.

The authors also present observations on certain unusual facts of Chinese life, such as why Chinese women are staying away from marriage, how the Chinese people learn to speak English by watching the American sitcom “Friends,” and why videos of cute Chinese toddlers eating sour lemon or long strands of ramen noodles are an internet craze.

Jaime FlorCruz, Philippine ambassador to China, writes in the foreword: “Like most locals, they lived a life in lockdown, lining up for mass Covid tests, ordering food online, avoiding mass transit, spraying delivery packages with sanitizers and showing their phones with negative Covid results as they entered public buildings, and experienced other instances of strong-handed measures under the State’s Zero-Covid policy.”

Written originally for the column “Second Thoughts” in China Daily, the slim book of 189 pages is published by Berkeley, a boutique publishing house in New York. It has been ranked No. 87 in Amazon.com’s best-selling books in the field of Asian and Asian-American biographies.

Rene Pastor served as senior business editor of China Daily following 23 years of being a commodities journalist at Reuters. Cristina DC Pastor is founding editor of The FilAm, a print and digital magazine serving Filipinos in metro New York.

Copies of Living in China 2019 to 2023: A Covid Diary are available on Amazon.com.

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“We cannot predict what Trump will be doing next [during his second four-year term]. We can’t rely on the US to maintain rules-based trade,’’ University of the Philippines School of Economics (UPSE) Prof. Toby Monsod said recently.  

Taking that as a given, she said, “how do we move forward?’’ 

Speaking in an episode of the podcast “Chikahan with [UPSE] Prof. Cielo Magno” that featured a discussion on the effects of the “Trump tariffs” on the Philippines, Monsod suggested the steps that could be taken. She also said Filipinos should make their views on the issue known, particularly through the May elections.

She said the country should “stop obsessing” with its exports to the United States which, she noted, accounted for 17% of its total exports and just 10% of its total trade (imports and exports). 

Globally, the share of US trade is also 17%.

“There’s another 83% that doesn’t involve the US,” the economist said. “The rest of the world is leveraged here if we don’t panic.”

Regional integration

Monsod said the Philippines should look at other markets and supply chains for opportunities, “not to steal from someone else but to build regional integration.”

She said trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) should be strengthened: “That could be a more predictable vision.’’ 

Asean consists of the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. The 10 member-states had a combined population of 673 million in 2022, making Asean the world’s third most populous region after India and China.

In the third week of April, Asean economic ministers were scheduled to hold a special meeting to discuss ways of boosting regional trade.

Lawyer Bob Herrera-Lim, also a guest on the podcast, said the Philippines should look at what Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia would be doing and learn from it. 

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong of Singapore has announced that the city-state will form a national task force to support businesses and workers in response to new US tariffs that could slow growth and impact jobs and wages.

Wong has called Trump’s approach a rejection of World Trade Organization (WTO) principles, such as the most favored nation rule that obliges every member to treat all other members equally.

90-day pause

Before Trump suspended the steep tariffs just hours after they took effect, he had slapped Laos a 48% rate; Vietnam, 46%; Myanmar, 44%; Thailand, 36%; Indonesia, 32%; Malaysia, 24%; Brunei, 24%; the Philippines 17%; and Singapore, 10%.

The higher tariffs on imports from 57 countries had been scheduled to take effect on April 9 but were suspended for 90 days for all countries except China. The 10% minimum tariff, on top of the 25% tariffs that Trump has imposed on cars, steel and aluminum, remains in effect.

The suspension came amid tanking US stocks, selloff of US government bonds, weakening of the dollar, and fears of a global recession.

 “The Vietnamese are moving quickly and the Singaporeans will have a long-term view,’’ Herrera-Lim said. “Let’s list down all that they would be doing and let’s think which of these will work for us and how we can work with them.”

Right now, the political system in the Philippines is slow-moving, Herrera-Lim said. He called on the academe, businesspeople, and those with media platforms such as columnists to present proposals to address the problem posed by higher tariffs.

Monsod acknowledged that no one has the answer at this time. “To come up with a real strategic plan [we have] to put all our heads together,” she said. “Academe has a role to play but it doesn’t know everything. Government has a role and it has to step up. It has a coordinating role that no one can replicate.”

Call to voters

“However,” Monsod pointed out, “as citizens, we have the power to make our views known, but also through elections.” 

She expressed the hope that voters in the May midterm elections would consider the tariff issue in choosing the candidates for the Senate and the House of Representatives.

“I don’t think they understand what’s going on now,” she said in reference to more than half of the senatorial candidates predicted to make it to the Top 12. 

Monsod said the tariff issue should be brought to the provincial, city and town levels, as every province has overseas Filipino workers. 

OFWs may lose their jobs should trade contract, demand for crude oil drop, and the economies of their host countries weaken. But nurses may not be affected as demand for medical services overseas will continue, according to Herrera-Lim.

Said Monsod: “What are we going to do in the province and city?” 

Herrera-Lim said the provinces that would be hurt most in Trump’s tariff war are Batangas, Laguna and the rest of the provinces in Calabarzon, as well as Cebu. These provinces host factories that export electronic devices, integrated circuits and other products to the United States and other countries.

Everyone loses

Monsod and Herrera-Lim agreed that everyone loses in Trump’s tariff war and that everyone is affected because prices of imported goods in the United States and elsewhere will rise. (A tariff is a tax on imported goods and, therefore, on consumers who need to purchase these products.) 

The 17% tariff that Trump has imposed on Philippine exports to the United States used to be zero. At that tariff level, demand for Philippine exports in the United States could go down, according to Monsod. 

She said Trump’s expectation that manufacturing would be revived in the United States and more jobs would be created because of the tariffs may not happen. 

Manufacturing in the United States also depends on imported materials whose prices would surely rise. So, the cost of US local production would also go up, and there is no assurance that manufacturing jobs would expand. Trump, however, claims that the tariff is a tax on the other side and will earn revenue for the United States.

Herrera-Lim said Trump won the presidency because of the support of workers who lost their jobs when factories transferred to China and other countries where the cost of labor is low. 

The loss of jobs meant that the workers’ living standard declined, Herrera-Lim said. A job at a factory or car plant allowed American workers to buy a house, send their children to college and generally maintain a middle-class lifestyle. Not anymore, he said, as they have not been able to find new jobs that pay the same wages as before. 

These people are among the supporters of Trump and are against globalization, according to Herrera-Lim.

Sharing the fruits

But Monsod said the problem is not globalization per se but the sharing of its fruits.  “The approaches were lacking in ensuring the redistribution of the gains of trade,” she said.

High tariffs are being revived in the United States because many Americans are not benefitting from the WTO program that governs international trade, which is characterized by reduced or no tariffs, she said. 

However, she noted, the tariff wars of the 1930s led to the Great Depression.

Read more: Election parallels: Does a bad world need a bad guy?

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Mary Magdalene made this announcement to the apostles after she saw, heard and spoke with the Risen Jesus. As told in the Gospel (John 20:11-17), this made her not only the very first witness of the resurrection but also its first apostle, or one sent to do a mission for him. 

She did the task he specified: “Go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 

The happy news of the resurrection is celebrated by Christians worldwide today as a feast called Easter Sunday and an important liturgical season also called Easter (from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday on June 8 this year).

The resurrection is a core doctrine of Christianity in which, as stated in the Apostles’ Creed, Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead. He has prevailed; with his passion and death, he has paid ransom for humankind and paved the way to life everlasting. 

From biblical accounts, Jesus entrusted the important mission of announcing his resurrection to Mary Magdalene. But for almost 1,500 years, she was not honored for her primary role as the first witness to it. 

Today it can be said that she had an image problem and that she was a victim of misinformation and fake news. She was mislabeled as a prostitute. 

Pope Gregory’s homily

According to reports, on Sept. 14, 591, Pope Gregory the Great delivered a homily in Rome that pronounced Mary Magdalene as the unnamed sinner who anointed Jesus’ feet in the Gospel of Luke. He said she and Mary of Bethany (sister of Martha and Lazarus, who anointed Jesus’ feet and dried them with her hair) were one and the same person. 

Pope Gregory also said the seven demons that were exorcised out of Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2) were the seven vices. (Some reports say the demons cast out of her would most likely have been a form of mental illness.)

Because of this conflated image, Mary Magdalene was depicted in paintings and films such as “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “The Passion of the Christ” as a fallen woman, a reformed prostitute, or a sinner redeemed by Jesus. 

This image must have inspired a popular song by Freddie Aguilar in the early 1980s in which a woman named Magdalena is portrayed as a despised and pitiful prostitute: “Tingin sa ‘yo’y isang putik/ larawan mo’y nilalait/ babaing sawimpalad, mababa ang lipad.”

It was only during the Second Vatican Council in 1969 that the prostitute label was removed from Mary Magdalene, after much debate and biblical evidence showing that Mary Magdalene and the unnamed sinner were two different women. 

In 2016, Pope Francis elevated the memorial of Mary Magdalene to a festivity, making July 22 her feast day, “in order to stress the importance of her being a faithful disciple of Christ.”  

She is also now known, in St. Thomas Aquinas’ term, as the apostolorum apostola (apostle to the apostles) because she announced to the apostles what they, in their turn, would proclaim throughout the world: that Jesus has risen from the dead.

All women

The Gospel from the Book of John tells us that Mary Magdalene came alone to Jesus’ tomb and found it empty.

Although they vary, the resurrection stories in the other Gospels (of Mark, Matthew and Luke, collectively called the Synoptics) show that there were other first witnesses of the empty tomb—and they were all women.  

In Matthew 28:1, the women who rose early to go to the sepulchre were Mary Magdalene and the other Mary.

In Mark 16:1, the women who went to the tomb bringing spices so that they might anoint Jesus were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome. 

Luke 24:1 does not at first name the women who came very early to the tomb bringing spices. It uses the word “they,” but in the earlier Luke 23:55, “they” refers to the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee and who had seen how his body was laid in the tomb. But later, Luke identifies the women who told the apostles of the empty tomb as Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women.

In all, the named women at the tomb on the first Easter morning could be at least five. There could be more (unnamed) women because of the use of the term “other women” in Luke. 

The women not only saw the empty tomb—a sign of the resurrection—but also had a face-to-face encounter with Jesus, when he appeared before them and talked to them. 

Here’s Matthew 28:9-10: “Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’” 

Mary Magdalene can be said to have a special role. The Gospel accounts differ but all four identify her as among the first witnesses of the empty tomb.

Mark 16:9 also says that the Risen Lord first appeared to Mary Magdalene. John 20:11-17 affirms her as the first to encounter him by herself.

Why were women the first witnesses of the resurrection? And why did the Risen Lord choose to appear first to Mary Magdalene?

These questions have perplexed many through the ages, because the cultural norms at the time considered women as unreliable witnesses. In fact, they were not allowed to be seen or heard in public spaces. So, why were they the witnesses of a most important event?

Cantalamessa’s view 

Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, an Italian Catholic cardinal, a known theologian, and a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, cited an answer given by St. Romanos Melodus, a preeminent religious poet in the 6^th century: The women were the first to see the Risen Lord because a woman, Eve, was the first to commit sin. 

Cantalamessa, who has served for 44 years as the Pontifical Household Preacher (to Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis), disagreed with this perspective. 

In a Good Friday sermon titled “And there were also some women there” and delivered in April 2007, he said: “The true answer is quite different: The women were the first to see Jesus risen, because they were the last to leave him in his death, and even when he was dead, they came to bring spices to the tomb (Mark 16:1).

“We need to ask ourselves why this was so. Why did these women remain firm despite the scandal of the cross? Why did they remain close when all seemed to be over and even those who had been his most intimate disciples had abandoned Jesus and were getting ready to go home again? 

“It was Jesus himself who gave us the answer, in anticipation, when he replied to Simon, saying of the sinner who had bathed and kissed his feet, ‘She has shown great love!’” (Luke 7:47). 

Cantalamessa said the women followed Jesus because they believed in him and they were thankful for the good they had received from him. 

He said they did this without expecting a reward or nursing any hope of making a career out of following him. No promise of “twelve thrones” was made to them, nor did any of them seek seats on his right and his left in his kingdom. 

The women followed him, it is written, “to look after him; to provide for him out of their own resources” (Matthew 27:55; Luke 8:3). 

“After Mary his mother, they were the only ones who truly made the spirit of the gospel their own. They followed for reasons of the heart,” Cantalamessa said. 

‘Mothers of courage’  

Indeed, the women followed Jesus from Galilee and continued to follow him even during his darkest hours. They were heartbroken and weeping but remained by his side on the way to Calvary (Luke 23:27-28). 

On Golgotha, they stood watching “from a distance.” This could mean that “they were as close as they were allowed to be,” Cantalamessa said. 

Sad and downhearted, they accompanied Jesus to the tomb with Joseph of Arimathea, and saw how his body was laid there. They went home and prepared spices and ointments (Luke 23:55), to come very early to the tomb at the end of the Sabbath.  

Cantalamessa called them “mothers of courage.” While the male disciples fled and later hid in fear in a closed room, the women bravely stood by Jesus despite the danger of showing themselves supportive of one condemned to die on the cross (capital punishment under the Roman regime). 

Rachel Held Evans, an American Christian columnist and bestselling author of nonfiction books, wrote in a blog: “They kept the faith even after Jesus took his last breath and all hope of redemption seemed lost.”  

(For the early believers of Jesus who were mostly Jews, resurrection was something unheard of or impossible to happen in this life. The Pharisees believed in resurrection but only as a future event. The Sadducees did not believe in resurrection at all.)  

Evans said it is precisely because the women were present, loyal even through failure, that they who followed Jesus were the first to witness the resurrection, the event that would define Christianity. 

But why did the Risen Lord first appear to Mary Magdalene? The quick answer is: We don’t know. It is not easy to know God’s intentions. 

Yet, was it perhaps because Mary Magdalene was braver, more faithful, and more persistent? John tells us that, weeping, she stayed outside the tomb even if all the others had gone. 

On Easter morning, all alone and crying still, Mary Magdalene bent over into the tomb. And she saw two angels sitting where Jesus’ body had been lying, one at the head and the other at the foot of the slab. 

They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”  

“They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him,” she replied. Then she turned around and saw Jesus standing before her.  

In sum, the big lesson from Mary Magdalene and the other women witnesses of the resurrection is presence—beside the Crucified and the Risen Lord. To be faithful in happy and sad times. To remain, even if we do not understand and we fear that everything is lost. 

Happy Easter!

Read more: When the Pope and priests wear pink

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