IN the span of less than a month, two events boosted the enthusiasm of the Ilonggo community. Foremost, the groundbreaking ceremony of the 164-megawatt coal-fired power plant, which will surely bring a wave of development not only to Iloilo City, but also to the province and the rest of Panay as cheaper and reliable power […]

IN THE past two weeks, we’ve been bombarded by the trials and tribulations of heroes, especially of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.
But in the very month when we are supposed to honor heroes, our very own kababayans have been annihilated from the face of this earth by a brewing war in the land of the Moros […]

LATE in the 90s, there was no Smallville. There was no such thing as “The Ultimate Hangout” for high school, college kids, yuppies, and the rest of the Ilonggo youth of that generation. Hangouts back then would either be the carenderias that surrounded the school, make-shift beer joints nestled in a street corner, or even […]

I NEVER really thought I’d be standing in the very balcony where Emilio Aguinaldo stood more than a century ago and waved the Philippine flag and proclaimed to the world, albeit the fact that the foreign community chose to ignore, the independence of Indios from Imperial Spain. But I did stand at the very balcony. […]

ON MAY 9 at 4:32am, I received the following text message:
“Good morning, Ms. Tara. This is Daisy, Bassinette’s cousin. Please visit her anytime today because she’s always calling your name in the middle of the night and early in the morning. That’s why I’m texting you. She can’t text you anymore. She’s very tired. She’s […]

First of two parts
MORE than a century-and-a-half ago, fotografía is as an alien concept to the archipelagic colony of Spain in the Pacific. Similarly, it is also an alien concept in much of Asia. To some degree, Europe was only beginning to embrace the newfound art technology. After all, the daguerreotype of 1839 was still […]

AT THE VERY LEAST, it wasn’t even concocted from the pigment of my imagination or the imagination of The Daily Guardian!  At the very most, it was the truth, the ultimate truth.  That was, the photo of four students that appeared in the front page of this paper last Mar. 6. 
Imagine my shock when I […]

AT THE VERY LEAST, it was a bad joke.  At the very most, it was the Lilliputian of all Lilliputian affairs. Even the lamest Dinagyang gig can draw a crowd! So yes, by all accounts, the crowd who congregated at the promenade of the Iloilo Provincial Capitol in last Friday’s interfaith rally failed to convince […]

IMAGINE my horror Monday morning when I heard over the radio an announcer condemning one of the tribes for excluding the reverence to the Sr. Sto. Niño.
Let me reiterate. The Dinagyang is an apocryphal celebration! There are still those who are oblivious to one of the greatest tall tales ever told – that the Dinagyang […]