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

Hello. Welcome to my country - the Philippines! I want to promote the Philippines, not just because I am a Filipino who lives here, but because the Philippines is a country that is so welcoming, so beautiful, and so diverse in a lot of ways. In this blog site, I’ve written many articles about the good places to visit here, the realities of life, and the challenges of the modern times we Filipinos are facing. I know those blogs are just a tiny portion of the whole story about the Philippines so in this another post series, I would highlight good stuffs that would more likely make you appreciate the land of the Filipinos in a more positive and engaging way. Laiya - One of the Most-Visited Beaches in the Philippines During Summer Boats in Hundred Islands, Alaminos, Pangasinan If you’re reading this post right now and you happened to be not a Filipino, I suggest you continue up until the last word. You will get to discover what truly a good life is here in the country.

“Ang kabataan ang pagasa ng bayan.” (The youth is the hope of the nation.) –  Dr. Jose Rizal, Philippine National Hero Quite a rhetoric statement by  Jose Rizal  if you will examine, but if taken literally, yes, it conveys the truth about the youth. When adults are done, the new generation whom were once youth, will take care of the country. So needless to say, that is how life cycle goes in this planet, in any country. The youth is the hope of their own nation for they will be next in line to rule, run, lead, and build the country. However, what makes the statement rhetoric is that not all youth can be trusted if it’s about shaping the nation in the near future. Even the then youths whom are now the adult citizens of the country, they lose the quality of being a “hope” of this nation. Children Playing in a Park You may or may not agree with me on this interpretation of mine but I believe there is one truth we can both agree with. And that is: Hindi pa huli ang lahat. May

I politely asked these two young ladies to give it their best pose so I can take a good photo of them which I would then add to my blog. They both agreed and here they are now. Both are vendors on this store located inside the public market near my place. We call it here “suki” or someone who’s a regular or loyal buyer and I am their “suki”. I often have had a short conversation with the owner of this vegetable stand and she’s one of the kindest business owners in this market. You can see from her shop huge variety of products she’s selling. This shop can earn a revenue of around 10,000 pesos to 20,000 each day. Palengke (Local Market) If you want to know where to find the products produced by a town or a province, the best place to go is in its public market or “palengke”. It has all the commodities you want. Back in the old days, public markets in many places in the country is just a temporary commerce place where sellers set up their stalls for a day and then leave and co