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Showing posts from November, 2017

A Call to Action: The Destructions We Didn’t Notice are Going on in the Philippines and What We Filipinos Can Do About It Today

Home to over a hundred million Filipinos, life in the Philippines unknown to many goes with hard to swallow realities. Behind the beauties of nature lies a culture of madness. With politicians always onto heated debates aired on national television, recurring problems the people is facing, meanwhile, are often neglected, ignored, and never even talk about. And mind this. Even the usual news about drugs, criminality, and corruption, some local authorities pretend to be deaf and dumb. Why not we talk about some of these problems up close and personal? After all, the resolution of these issues is for our common good – we the Filipinos. Here is my premise. The words of mouth of the local folks, let them be heard. Not the scripted topics on afternoon news but the conversation that airs around the barangays, towns, cities, and communities, let’s bring them up as topics in this timely post. Coupled with what I am hearing and seeing, I would like to express my honest opinion about each problem

“Pasalubong” – What Makes this Filipino Word Very Special?

Probably next to the beauty of a tourism spot, if it’s about the real reasons for traveling there, is our search for the best “pasalubong”. It’s the tagalog word for “gift” or “souvenir” and it can be anything from foods, toys, clothes, handicraft, furniture, soaps, wearables, or household items. It’s practically anything, big or small, cheap or expensive, edible or not. And for as long as that special item was bought somewhere else and then given to someone as an act of love and kindness – the true purpose has been served. Kakanin - a Typical Pasalubong for the Filipino Family Part of the Culture A simple gesture of “Salamat po” (Thank you) for sharing that pasalubong is enough to make you feel the love and kindness back. There is the best pasalubong for kids, for grandmas and grandpas, for a favorite grandson, for a close neighbor or friend, for the workmates, for the boss, for a former enemy, for a religious brother, and even for a complete stranger. Yes, indeed! Well, “pasa

Decoding the Meaning Behind the Creative Photos of a Filipino Local Traveler

Meet Jerob, a Filipino traveler who truly enjoys the place he used to visit here in the Philippines – with creativity in mind. Jerob was a former workmate of mine and I got really fascinated with the photos he’s sharing on his social media page. There is something different in there, something even beyond creativity. I did not interview Jerob about his photos except that I only asked his permission that I will create a blog post related to some of them. Great! He allowed me. So in this post, let me try to decode the meaning behind each one of Jerob’s impressive photos. Over the Top of "I LOVE ABRA" In this photo, obviously, he’s into “planking” and interestingly, he did it on top of the “I love ABRA” signage. Well, planking became famous here in the Philippines just a few years back. It is actually an exercise and at the same time a self-test for mental toughness. That idea if you can endure to hold your position for a long time and to also do it in a public place is a f