ONLY the very naive or the very cynical would try to predict the future course of Philippine literature. There are only the weekly magazines or the occasional books as signposts to indicate trends, and these signposts do not give very coherent directions.
ONLY the very naive or the very cynical would try to predict the future course of Philippine literature. There are only the weekly magazines or the occasional books as signposts to indicate trends, and these signposts do not give very coherent directions.
In the history of mankind, wars have taken away far more than it created anything. The 1945 Battle of Manila and the recent attacks in Ukraine's capital of Kyiv have shown us what we lose as a species when a war—and the people...
One day, toward the end of 1967, National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera sat down to look critically at the state of Philippine literature...
ONLY the very naive or the very cynical would try to predict the future course of Philippine literature. There are only the weekly magazines or the occasional books as signposts to indicate trends, and these signposts do not give very coherent directions.
The sale of the national oil company to a foreign corporation betrays the national interest, endangers the country’s security, and sticks of graft and corruption.
Petron Corporation is unquestionably the most valuable corporate asset of the Philippine government—the most precious gem in the country’s dwindling collection of public corporations.
Yet it has been sold to a foreign corporation controlled by Arab businessmen. The price of the sale is allegedly much lower than its actual worth. At the same time, the sale endangers the national security and national economy because it places the country’s oil supply totally in the hands of foreign-owned companies.
Petron has been consistently listed as the nation’s top corporation in...
The sale of the national oil company to a foreign corporation betrays the national interest, endangers the country’s security, and sticks of graft and corruption.
Petron Corporation is unquestionably the most valuable corporate asset of the Philippine government—the most precious gem in the country’s...
While examining the archives of the Biblioteca Nacional de España, I encountered an albumen photograph labelled “Sala de pintura y escultura at the Exposition Universelle of 1889 in Paris.”
The image is attributed to Juan Laurent—one of the most important photographers working in late...
BY HIS own admission, the young Orlando “Orly” Mercado was “a dyed-in-the-wool, left-wing activist,” having organized his first labor union shortly after beginning his broadcast journalism career.
Born on April 26, 1946, he was only 20 years old when he started a union at the RepublicBroadcasting System, the precursor of GMA 7. The union he established subsequently declared a strike.
“The network is very important in my life, largely because of the fact that I startedbroadcasting there. But it was not GMA then—it was Republic Broadcasting System or RBS. The owners and majority stockholders were Mrs. Loreto Stewart—wife of “Uncle Bob” or Robert Stewart, and others. That was important for me,...
BY HIS own admission, the young Orlando “Orly” Mercado was “a dyed-in-the-wool, left-wing activist,” having organized his first labor union shortly after beginning his broadcast journalism career.
Born on April 26, 1946, he was only 20 years old when he started a union at...
Angelic, with a hint of sadness and uncertainty framing an otherwise cherubic, smiling face, the boy is small, thin, amiable, and sprightly.
When asked what...
The celebration of the Philippines’ arts and culture is a celebration for all, regardless of one’s proclivities, so long as it stands to illuminate the citizen—and the nation—for good.
What does a beauty queen of mixed heritage have anything to do with Philippine arts...
A book smaller than your thumb, Roman coins before Christ’s time, priceless Ming jars, and all kinds of oddities—you’ll find them in PI’s oldest and largest museum.
Where in the Philippines can one find a book which is smaller than a ten-centavo coin? Or a 200-million-year-old fossilized piece of wood dug in Mandaluyong, Rizal? Or coins circulated at the time of Christ?
The answer, of course, is the University of Santo Tomas Museum of Arts and Sciences, considered by many as the oldest, biggest and most complete in the country today.
BEGINNINGS
When the authorities of the University of Santo Tomas obtained royal sanction to open a medical school in 1682, the school’s museum...
Rooted in Iloilo’s biodiversity, maritime traditions, and local craftsmanship, three creative works form part of Experience Iloilo City and Iloilo Business Park’s first anniversary...
For its 22nd edition, the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival opens and closes with two internationally acclaimed independent films that reflect the complexity of...
Championing the best of Filipino alternative storytelling, the CCP Gawad Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video returns this 2026 with Pag-aninag (Reflecting the Light),...
PGLW is a two-day event where aspiring young writers from all over the country partake in a writing workshop under the guidance of a seasoned writer
The idea was simple: make possible the first-ever onsite writing workshop in the history of the Philippines Graphic.
Granted...
Before the third episode of the Philippines Graphic Literary Workshop (PGLW) concluded on April 18, we knew that we had one more thing that we can offer our bright young fellows: a starting platform for their creative endeavors. Here, we present one of their final outputs from the workshop. We also asked them to provide an artwork that they think best represents their stories. Read on.
That morning, Lenn woke up at the sound of her roommates leaving their room. By the time she climbed down from the...
Before the third episode of the Philippines Graphic Literary Workshop (PGLW) concluded on April 18, we knew that we had one more thing that we can offer our bright young fellows: a starting platform for their creative endeavors. Here, we present one of their final outputs from the workshop. We also asked them to provide an artwork that they think best represents their stories. Read on.
Lanie’s Tapsihan has been getting complaints recently. That they are not actually open 24 hours like what the sign says. Gabriel knows...
Before the third episode of the Philippines Graphic Literary Workshop (PGLW) concluded on April 18, we knew that we had one more thing that we can offer our bright young fellows: a starting platform for their creative endeavors. Here, we present one of...
The human body betrays language in explicating unusual faculties. Our bodies are biologically designed to “tell” us if something is wrong— but not through words. It pinpoints a specific part and uses the dialects of pain, as if to say, “Right here, be...
Possessing one of the oldest civilizations in the world, China’s 5,000-year-old history is a tapestry of transformation—from an ancient, agrarian society (8,000 to 10,000 years ago) to becoming the world’s low-cost, manufacturing nexus (mid-20th century), all the way to attaining global, high-tech, superpower status (21st century), driven by rapid urbanization and technological adoption
Drawing on China’s 15th five-year plan, this article explores six key areas critical to China’s modernization efforts: Digital Economy, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Waste of Energy, Social Governance, Anti-Corruption, and International Poverty Reduction.—Ed.
Digital Economy
The Age of...
BY HIS own admission, the young Orlando “Orly” Mercado was “a dyed-in-the-wool, left-wing activist,” having organized his first labor union shortly after beginning his broadcast journalism career.
Born on April 26, 1946, he was only 20 years old when he started a union at the RepublicBroadcasting System, the precursor of GMA 7. The union he established subsequently declared a strike.
“The network is very important in my life, largely because of the fact that I startedbroadcasting there. But it was not GMA then—it was Republic Broadcasting System or...
My grandfather was shipped out of the Philippines in the 1920s, and landed in Stockton, California—less as a starry-eyed immigrant, and more as imperial cargo.
The Americans needed hands, and the Philippines—trophy from the Spanish-American War—had plenty to spare. Men like him crossed the...
“What the—?” Sky’s hand stalled inside the bag, fingers grazing the lining like it might bite.
The leather was a tired brown, the kind that had once been pretty in store lighting and...
Red, orange and brownYour lunch, your dinnerYou don’t have a choiceFor it’s your only fare now
It’s now on sale in storesBuy now; it’s buy one, take oneRight now, it fits with riceAnd...
Mamay, here you are soaking the soft riceAnd wrapping them in the leaves tender, darkenedDarkened by the tiniest flame that you whispered to.The bundles are dreams of shapes on top of each other.Listen, the water is graying and catching their breath.The heat assumes your wisdom and no one elseAmong the kin takes your ember away from the hearth.
They wrinkle as they are undressed.The whole cloth should go as one but a gossipPassiona has cloaked your mind for eternity.Here they lie below your wise gaze.There are secrets that...
Armed with a rifle and overflowing with a warrior’s confidence, my classmate's brother marched into the woods, excited about his unforgettable first solo hunt. After all, they say you never forget your first. Deep in the forest, alone and silent, he slowly walked the path, eyeing a prize. Then, like a wish granted by an unseen god, a wild boar charged out of the bush. Their eyes locked. This was it—the moment of truth—the kill of a lifetime.
There was a heartbeat of a dramatic confrontational silence—and then,...
Not the red ball of yarn I threw at her,a lizard’s tail,the bright threads of a woolen rag,a fish head, some greens that felloff the kitchen table,a piece of cracked shell,maybe an egg,perhaps a stray spider.
Resource and inventionwould lead herto a hoard of non-edible things,and I fear the sharpestlike razor blades or metal—keys, coins, and stray bullets.
They say catshave nine lives, a longevitythat may explain their strangeand inquisitive hunger.Dirty socks are notspared, and so arethe most fragile—a gleam of goldfish,easy victim to her rabidsouth paw.
Sometimes, the tip...
Lander left our community church on the first Sunday of the year. Three years ago, I did the same thing. After college, I wanted to work in the city and felt the smallness of our community. That time, Lander asked me, "Seleny, why...
