My daughter Kara asked me the other day, “Papa, do you know what happened in Barrio Mapaniqui, Candaba on Nov. 23, 1944?” A documentary she has been researching on Filipino “comfort women” has led her to this little village in Pampanga. From her interviews, she has learned that the residents of this place have suffered … Read more
If the only issue the “Hello Garci” tapes raise is cheating in an election, what, indeed, is new? All Filipino politicians are known to cheat in one form or another. The whole organization of our elections encourages it. But access to cheating is fairly distributed, and so the candidate who emerges victorious is in all … Read more
When the Philippine Senate in 1991 voted against a new proposed treaty that would extend the stay of American bases in our country, we thought that, at last, we had finally slain the great American father that for generations controlled our national psyche. We knew then that we would be made to pay dearly for … Read more
In the small town of Betis in Pampanga, where I come from, furniture makers invented the paradox of the “modern antique.” Gifted artisans are put to work to produce flamboyant Louis XIV replicas that the new-rich buy to adorn their stuffy living rooms. Over the years, many small shops that make such furniture have migrated … Read more