Silicon Gulf

Shrine of peripatetic worship That one cannot enter unbowed In forced humility, we contemplate the feet of silent fellow pilgrim strangers and they, too, gaze at ours (Taken on a jeepney ride to Toril, April 4, 2008)

A swarm of people yesterday at Gaisano Mall of Davao, owing to the job fair. Not a bad idea holding it at the mall: it's accessible and it has the space, and the mall makes a killing from the additional sales arising from increased foot traffic. It also becomes a one-stop location: all the relevant government agencies are represented. Now, if only it didn't have such a big banner announcing

As a break from the day-to-day routine, the family decided to dine at Hanoi Vietnamese Restaurant last night. The eighth of the month is buffet night, and being one of the better food spots in Davao, it attracted quite a sizeable clientele. At P395 per person, it's a little pricey but well worth it considering the variety and quality of the offerings: barbecued pork, mixed vegetables, spare

"Don't let your life be sterile. Be useful. Blaze a trail. Shine forth with the light of your faith and of your love." -- St. Josemaria Escriva Easter coincides with spring, and along with that, the sense of renewal that follows a long and bleak winter. It's the time when new buds break from the earth, when trees start to sport leaves, when birds return to make their nests. The fact may not

By now no one who has not been living under a rock these past two weeks will fail to recognize the name Jun Lozada or know some part of the misadventure that has befallen him. And while there's much preoccupation about the whos and the whens and the wheres and the hows, the question at the back of my mind is: why did a decent and intelligent fellow like Jun Lozada get involved in a such a dirty

I have yet to see the Korina Sanchez interview with Jun Lozada in its entirety, but one thing that struck me during that dialogue were his thoughts on the mindset of the Filipino people with regard to corruption and politics. In particular, his exposition of the the three different mindsets of apathy struck a chord within me. I did a search, and it seems that someone transcribed the interview

Fellow Davao blogger Keith Bacongco witnesses Norberto Manero's visit to Kidapawan where, over twenty years ago, he murdered Fr. Tulio Favali and attempted to kill Fr. Peter Geremia. Fr. Geremia was on hand to welcome and forgive Manero. Repentance and forgiveness is such forgotten words nowadays, or reduced to mere trivialities, that seeing the pictures sent chills down my spine. Would I be

Fr. Fernando Suarez of the Companions of the Cross, the priest most sought after in the country today, can draw throngs of thousands at every appearance. It is said that he has the gift of healing. With a touch he can cure cancer, make the dumb speak, make the deaf hear. He can even make the dead rise, as zealously covered in a national daily (though reports of the man's resurrection had been

When we talk of poverty in the Philippines, the discussion invariably leads to the need for population control. A number comes up -- 85 million, at last count -- as proof that there are far too many Filipinos. The number itself isn't really proof of anything. There were already far too many Filipinos when the figure was at, say, 60 million; apparently, there was room for another 25 million

Culturally, we're predisposed towards powerful emotional images. Images direct our emotions, our decisions, even our entire philosophy. Case in point: "Girl, 11, loses hope, hangs herself." What could be a more powerful and more emotional image than that? In the midst of economic plenty and conspicuous consumption, Marianet Amper lived in a shanty without water or electricity, her parents get