A BICOLANO CHARM THAT WON’T LET ME JUST PASS IT BY

They don’t sell SMB Pale in this sleepy Sabang town of San Jose, in Camarines Sur. The next available is by a 15-minute drive to the poblacion. Where—something along the way—sparks interest: an antiquated watchtower, or what remains of it, rising above someone’s bakuran. About 20 feet tall, camouflaged in moss and ferns (and a […]

NOTES FROM AN EMPTY CLASSROOM

Two weeks prior to the pandemic lockdown of March 2020, the concert hall of the Philippine Social Science Center was exulting to an ensemble of preschoolers. Dressed up in earthly costumes, the children filled the air with songs and verses of musical adaptations of “Ang mga Langgam at mga Tipaklong” back to back with the […]

PHOTO ESSAY: INSIDE METRO MANILA’S LAST RAINFOREST

Not many people have heard or been to this mini rainforest right in the heart of Mega Manila: the University of the Philippines Arboretum. Not even most “Kyusi” dwellers themselves. For one, it’s not heralded. A la Secret Garden. Two, the forest is shut off from the public’s view by the edifices of UP Technohub […]

IN PHOTOS: LAKE BATO. ORDER OF THE DAY

Henry Supnay watches over his hired crew as they mend fishing nets near Lake Bato floodwall. “These meshes could last twenty years were it not for the triple whammy of 2019,” he muttered. He was referring to typhoons Sarah, Tisoy, and Ursula which hit the province one after the other on that year leaving their […]

NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT

Salem Espares-Estrada, 55, hasn’t heard from his son Dexter in four months. Her only news of his whereabouts came in Monday morning: he was one of those who perished from the C-130 plane crash. Cpl. Dexter E. Estrada, 32, has been in the Philippine Army for nine years. The desire to support his parents and […]