THE WOMEN WEAVERS OF SITIO BALABAG

Deep in the interiors of Barangay Gulayon in Dipolog city, Zamboanga del Norte, an old craft is kept alive: "nito" weaving. Where nito vines are used to produce handicrafts such as pouches, bags, hats, baskets, and many others. The customary trade continues to exist today courtesy of a small band of women of the Balabag …

THE FORGOTTEN ART OF SHOE SHINING

I met Benny Rubosin on Labor Day, 2022 at the Malcolm Park in Baguio City, busy in his business of shoe shining. Unknown to many from the Millenial batch, a shoe shine boy does exactly just that: cleans, buffs, and waxes shoes. The last shoe shine boy I know is Elvis — a young man …

RETROSPECT: TRAILING THE LENISTERIA

I would rather have a government run like hell by Filipinos, than a government run like hell by social media. May 7, 2022. My brother offered me a a pair of carpet slippers as I stepped in to his hotel room the night Leni Robredo's Miting de Avance was in full swing down below along …

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 …

STRAIGHT FROM THE SEASHELL

Calatagan in one day. Put your hand in the hand of the man who walked on the water.

UPSHOTS

Six typhoons in two months. "Ulysses" for the swan song. Looking back at the congregation of storms -- from my quarantine window.