The Damaged Culture of the Filipinos

Two of my favorite columnists in the Philippine STAR, F. SIONIL JOSE and my tocayo, WILLIAM M. ESPOSO, have been writing for a long time now that we, Filipinos, have a damaged culture. I remember to read somewhere a naughty quip that former President Arroyo is more of an agriculturist rather than an economist. Why? Because under her administration, the Culture of Corruption, the Culture of Violence and Culture of Impunity thrived and were tolerated virtually with official sanction from the highest echelon of government.  

Who can forget that incident during the time of the unlamented Arroyo regime where invited congressmen trooped to Malacanang and reportedly received paper bags each of which contained P500,000.00 in cold cash! Even then Pampanga Governor, a Catholic priest, Fr. Ed Panlilio, was given a bag of cash which he naturally turned down after revealing to the press such

Adverse Effects of Modernism on Catholics

In four decades of living and working here in Metro Manila, previously known as Greater Manila, I have observed during these recent years of my stay in Marikina City some adverse effects of modernism on Catholics particularly during the celebrations of the Holy Mass. Back then, the people were attending Masses wearing their "Sunday's Best" attire, rich and poor alike. Now, it's so sad to see that many Catholic churchgoers are going to church in their "Sunday's Non-Best" attire. It seems that such Catholics have lost their sense of decorum and propriety which they will not dare to do so in the presence of a high government official. On the other hand, followers of other religious sects can be observed wearing their semi-formal or formal attires during their church services.

I have been seeing for several years now in our Provident Villages chapel many churchgoers attending Sunday Masses wearing walking shorts and slippers or skimpy shorts and sleeveless,tight fitting shirts as if they're strolling on the beach or going to the malls. That many of these improperly attired persons still dare to receive Holy Communion immensely pains me so much. However, blame should be cast  on church organizations tasked to maintain proper attire

READING: My First Love, Then, Now and Forever - THE FINALE

When I started living and working in what is now called Metro Manila, I eventually got the opportunity to add foreign magazines and pocketbooks to my local reading materials. However, due to limited funds, I contented myself buying second hand ones from several magazine stands along the main streets of Manila which I scoured during my free time.  

As my finances improved, I occasionally splurged on brand new copies. After I got married and raised my family, I lessened my purchases of foreign magazines and pocketbooks although newspapers remained my inseparable reading fare along with Tagalog

READING, My First Love, Then, Now and Forever

I consider reading my undying first love then, now and forever.  I started reading early in my elementary school years as my Grade One teacher appointed me as the Class Monitor to lead my classmates during reading sessions. Aside from school books, I took a liking to my uncles' collection of Tagalog comics and magazines such as Pilipino Komiks, Tagalog Klasiks, Hiwaga Komiks, Liwayway and Bulaklak Magasin. 

I can still remember vividly Kulafu, the local version of Tarzan, Dyesebel, a mermaid, Darna and Captain Barbell, based on Captain Marvel. Of course, the last three characters have been immortalized in the movies running into several versions with various actors/actresses achieving fame in the celluloid world. Incidentally, even my wife and kids took up my Tagalog comics and magazines reading hobby when we resided at Cubao in mid-70's as well as newspapers.

About newspapers, I was not able to read them due to unavailability in our small town during my elementary school years. There was a time when a relative was reading a Tagalog tabloid with a naughty name "Tiktik". After he finished reading, he left in on a table. Curious, I picked it up. Immediately, it was taken away telling me that it was not proper for me to read.

Why I Remain Catholic And Will Be Catholic Forever?

This blog has absolutely no intention whatsoever to belittle or disparage any religious belief other than mine because I fully respect religious freedom and will not tolerate religious bigotry. However, I deeply abhor those bigots who tend to put down other faiths just to elevate their new found belief's stature.  That's hypocrisy and crab mentality at its worst since it's like building a monument atop a foundation of skeletons or a white sepulchre.

My strong Catholic foundation can be traced to the fact that my father and uncles grew up under the care of a Catholic priest whom I fondly called "Lolo Pari" during my early childhood. Since my parents were financially incapable then to support my secondary education, my short stay in a

Entertainment and Communication in the 60's - Conclusion

Communication in the 60's was normally by snail mail and telegram for speedier transmission.  But, as compared to the present, mail then reached its destination in three days within the province or six days to and from Manila. Today, double those figures or more. The telephone had not penetrated yet the rural areas thus snail mail was the convenient means for ordinary folks like me.

Having pen pals was the craze of that era and I was no exception. Why not? A ten centavo postage stamps were enough to deliver my letters to my pen pals anywhere in Greater Manila Area, the term then for what became the present Metro Manila. How I enjoyed writing and reading

How Did I React During Past Earthquakes?

In the aftermath of Japan's Magnitude (M) 9.0 earthquake and with various incidents of earthquakes of lesser magnitudes occurring in various countries around us and even in several locations in our country, we are now practically bombarded with incessant admonitions in the tri-media of necessary precautionary measures in the event the predicted M7.2 earthquake hits the Marikina West Valley Fault.

A prediction of an earthquake of such magnitude was the result of the comprehensive study made by the JICA in cooperation with the MMDA in 2004. However, said JICA studies were reportedly ignored and trashed to the dustbin by the government without any explanation or

Entertainment and Communication in the 60's and Prior Years

What is life for a provincial boy when color television was yet to come and landline telephone had not yet penetrated the rural areas?  It was simple and quiet especially when the weather was not cooperative as rains made the streets wet and slippery. After doing some homework, either following radio dramas or playing "sungka" were our family entertainment before going to bed. But, when the weather was fine and the moon shone brightly, we, kids in the neighborhood, were out on the streets to play "patintero" o "taguang pung".  As I grew older and learned to play "dama", the neighborhood barbershop became my favorite hang-out as I managed to defeat older players in that game.  I was the town's enfant terrible in "dama" among players in my age bracket.