Essay

“The world pays a premium not for occasional flashes of brilliance but for sustained commitments to the performance of tasks.”—Blas F. Ople On Feb. 3, 1927, a baby to be later named Blas Fajardo Ople, was brought into the world by Segundina and Felix...

On the last day of his 97-year stay on earth, National Artist Frank Sionil Jose wrote about the Philippines and his hometown of Rosales, Pangasinan in his Hindsight column in the Philippine Star.             In the words of his son: “He did what he...

It is raining. I said “Okay” to a meeting at the Balesin Club in Makati but it’s raining tonight.  I avoid going beyond five kilometers from where I live in one of the villages in Quezon City. I am horrified with the EDSA...

This essay is one of many written during a Memoir Writing workshop at Sunshine Place under the mentorship of Dr. Oscar Peñaranda, a Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas awardee. An educator, author, and advocate of Filipino-American studies, Dr. Peñaranda’s work includes “Seasons by...

“When i was 25, i was based in Cebu and I was the customer Development Finance Manager of Colgate Palmolive in charge of Visayas and Mindanao. So basically, at that time, I was looking after the financials of our company for our customers...

Fifty years ago, on the night of Aug. 21, 1971, two grenades were lobbed at a Liberal Party rally at Manila’s iconic Plaza Miranda, killing nine people and nearly wiping out the then-opposition’s top guns. Among the wounded: Jovito Salonga,  who would become the...