There can never be equality in this world. As a Filipino observer, this is what I learned over the past decades of my life here on the Philippines. Perhaps, many of you will agree that good and evil forces are the key players in this innocent planet. For the religious, its angel and demons who fight each other. For the politicians, it would be the majority versus the minority. For world leaders, the allied and axis powers do take over the world. But for the kids, it is simply the heroes and villains. This post is something you may not like and I sincerely apologize if it would hurt your feelings or bring you harm, especially with the photos I am going to share here. With all these never-ending racism, discrimination, abuse of power, terrorism, oppression, and inequality happening around the Philippines and the whole world, are not those so-called “superheroes” already dead? It’s only in the movies where good ending happens, but in real life, the cycle of winning and losing just keep on

“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

Filipinos are known to have strong family ties. That despite of the fact that we have to leave our families and friends behind to work somewhere far, we still choose to pay a visit them whenever the time allows. In a way, these fiesta tradition, Christmas holidays, holy week, election day, and other occasion days are what brings Filipinos together. During these days, bus terminals, seaports, and airports are full of Filipinos queuing up for their rides heading home. It’s in a Filipino wish list - to go back home no matter what. When I got my first job in the city back in 2005, there’s always this feeling that I wanted to go back in my home province and see how things go on there. You know that feeling of missing home and you’re too far away. You really need patience, more of it. Back then, I want to see my parents, my friends, and relatives whom I had grown up with. I want to see the green environment, that place that made me a person that I am today. Since then, I tried maki

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

I asked the shop owner about these old unused tires on what are they doing with it. The Vulcanizing shop owners says, “Oh, someone will pick up those tires and pay us 5 or 10 pesos each. Sometimes they just take it for free”. Vulcanizing Shop - A Classic Example of Filipino Business You’ve most probably seen and been into a local, typical vulcanizing shop like this one in the photo. The business concept is very simple. Here’s a customer with his flat or deflated tire and the vulcanizing boy will repair it using a rubber compound patch, a heating tool, and an air pump. If it’s a regular car or van tire, repairing one may only take 10 minutes the cost of which is around 30 to 60 pesos. If it’s a tire from a truck or bus, it could be around 30 minutes and the repair would cost the vehicle owner around 100 to 150 pesos. Here’s the thing. A shop like this one could potentially earn a revenue of 1000 up to 2000 per day just by repairing a flat tire. Why? Well, with thousands of