Paang Bundok is a child’s paradise. While his city counterpart has the Paraiso ng Batang Maynila, the kid from Paang Bundok has that entire Eden all to himself. Paang Bundok is nestled at the foot of an unnamed hill in Calauag, Quezon. Curiously, while that little mount is a landmark in Calauag, nobody bothered to...
This phrase which literally means “I completed the course” or “I finished the race”, was found etched in one bench marble in the mansion of Marilyn Monroe shortly after she was found dead of apparent drug overdose on August 5, 1962. She was 36. Marilyn Monroe never grew old, and her portraits carried that enigmatic...
Privatized Intelligence And Discretionary Funds Annually, the local chief executive has the calamity fund, the gender fund, the intelligence fund, and the fun funds (the 20% development fund parlayed at the unfettered discretion of the LCE). The Intelligence Fund can be spent without any control whatsoever and the COA looks the other way. If there...
In the early 60s, the clamor then was the emasculation of the Executive branch insofar as fund support for local governments is concerned. It was then the heyday of Imperial Manila where one saw the spectacle of local officials making beelines to the Office of the President, practically panhandling for local projects. Diputados then were...
“Just as Buddhas are covered with gold, so people want fine clothing” (Chinese proverb). In 1997, I started changing my Barong Tagalog wardrobe from the Santana of the 90s to the Gusot Mayaman of the 2000s. Of course before the Santana we have the chiffonile of the Elvis-collar fame. While the never-out-of-fad Piña and the...
JUETENG Did you know that jueteng has been with us for the last 100 years? Some historians may dispute this, as some kind of lottery was already mentioned by Jose Rizal in one of his writings. And when you say circa Rizal, you are talking of the 19th century or 200 years ago! Anyway we...
He now belongs to the league of icons that never grow old. His picture will always reminds us that he’s all that: irreverent, unorthodox, fashionable, incisive, humorous, and naughty. To die at thirty five is duplicative of the great men who died before him. Dying at a little over three decades seems to be the...
Now that next elections are fast approaching it is high time that we encourage our people, especially the Masa, to look for or ask the prospective candidates of their platform of government or in simple terms what do they intend to do once elected into office. Let us not be hoodwinked anymore. Congressmen are telling...
Ever wondered why the 76 congressmen signed the impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Davide? There are several reasons: Of course the pecuniary reason has already made the rounds. The party decision to adhere to the rule of law has been dropped matter-of-factly. Out of sympathy to the Chairman Emeritus who has been consistently at the...
Another trick was pulled by our legislators yesterday when they announced that they signed a social covenant expressive of their alleged lack of ulterior motive in the approval of the resolution converting congress into a constituent assembly. By the way, one will know whether a columnist is against or for the call on constituent assembly...
GMA has reason to get mad at Joe Pidal. To deflect suspicion that the secret bank accounts are the repository of the heist from the most expensive boulevard in the world, the Dioskupo Napakamahal Avenue in the reclaimed Manila Bay area, Mike Arroyo volunteered an admission that the monies in the deposit account came from...
There is one Lakas congressman who was quoted authoritatively about the political maneuverings of another political party, the Nationalist People’s Coalition. This Lakas congressman nearly choked when asked on why he was doing the chore as spokesman of NPC announced candidate when he belongs to another party which in due time shall pronounce its own...
