Cityscapes

It has been a privilege to be a part of the great Letran tradition, having lived in the school residence for over two years and consumed the academic excellence a student can ever derive from an alma mater.  My contribution to the school had been measurably miniscule when juxtaposing with...

I only had time to view and listen to the pre-recorded talks of our revered speakers for this quadricentennial retreat as part of the grand celebration of the 400th Foundation Anniversary of the Colegio de San Juan de Letran last night. After listening to their talks, I am now more...

The grade school teachers of Letran College have instilled in me the rigors of academic learning.  Whether these be the principles of diagramming in order to understand the English grammar or the speed of computing mathematical equations, Letran did not settle for mediocrity.  I had to live up to the...

When will the Church would realize video games “unfulfilled potential”? Community quarantines makes us prisoners in our own homes. So to escape boredom, we need to rethink our activities, revise our schedules to keep ourselves busy again. Keeping busy does not mean working all day long, but somehow making our...

Greetings and Felicitations to you, brothers, and your families in FILII SANCTI DOMINICI! Our love and our faith in Him, held us closer and stronger during this challenging time of the pandemic. For many of us who have lost friends and relatives, no words can describe our sorrow and loss....

I have not had an entry in my personal diary for so long.  The significant years of our migration to Australia starting the year 2005 have been lost in the pages of my memory, and I’m trying to retrieve them especially in these slowest of times: longer nights and shorter...

Question begets answer.  But in the midst of a pandemic, it may be an exception.  Not an exception to the rule but exception to reality.  Removed from reality, I am an aberration.  I depart from the usual, normal, typical, and on to obscurity, absurdity, and I dwell headlong as a...

Whenever I go to a mall, I always see the signages “No Face Mask, No Entry” and “Observe Social Distancing” Whenever I go to church, I always see the signages “No Face Mask, No Entry” and “Observe Social Distancing” Whenever I go to school, I always see the signages “No...

Pots, Pans and the Recipes – Filii’s Kitchen Daily Bread Houston, TX was the venue of our 7th biennial FILII-NA reunion held last June 5-11, 2019. The choice of the venue was unanimously agreed upon since our host, Fr. Roger – the parish priest, had offered the parish new Life...

Seven clicks into Highway 403 from the Starbucks franchise in Matheson, I got off the Erin Mills exit and took a beeline to the first street on my right.  Two successive left turns, then one right turn followed by another left turn, and house #241 on Fudge Terrace Avenue on...

Suddenly, the world turns upside down and the people are in quandary, brought about by the looming dangers of the pandemic.  COVID-19 according to WHO is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. The virus manifests as mild to moderate illness symptoms associated with cough, sore throat, and...

On a good sunny day in summer, when the weather bureau issued no warning alert on extreme heat and high humidity, I would drive and park my car in our neighborhood's Rathwood Park along the Rathburn road.  Then I would spend a good hour walking repetitively around the whole circular...

The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has wrought sweeping, horrible havoc all over the globe. No nation on the face of the earth remains unscathed by it physically, socially, economically, religiously, and, if I may add, spiritually. Nobody stays free from the hardship, fear, and uncertainty which the flagrant...

Where were you on March 16, 2020?  This date is very significant to many of us since this was the start when most corporate offices had advised employees to work from home and non-essential travels were banned. In my entire professional career for 35 years now, I never have imagined...

There are many catchwords that this pandemic has given birth to, which in turn describes our present lot. Some of the words are quarantine, lockdown and new normal. However, I would like to propose another word: re-imagination. This is not in any way longing for a future utopia after this...

How will the Church keep the faith alive in the “new normal”? The Coronavirus certainly forced us to change our traditional ways of celebrating our Catholic faith. This year’s Holy Week experience was not only historic but most of all unforgettable since we have celebrated it in different ways. Religious...

Wuhan Who or What? My first encounter with coronavirus led to my discovery of Wuhan, a city in the province of Hubei in China. Before the virus struck, I hadn’t heard of Wuhan. But when CNN broke the news about the novel coronavirus, it showed footages of the place where...

It was my first bout with the infamous traffic deadlock from MOA, Pasay City to Loyola Grand Villas, Quezon City.  For the most part during the trip I entertained myself by looking out fleetingly at silhouettes of the colossal infrastructures I have not seen before.  I was in awe as...

It didn’t take Medelianism philosophy for Iloilo Filii to figure out the best venue to hold a mini re-union and a welcome bash for fray Ted Fullona, a fellow Ilonggo who was on vacation and back in Dumalag, Capiz during the week of February 11th.   On short notice and under...

The rhythmic sound of drum beats emanating two blocks away from where we stand begins to vibrate.  As the sound gets closer and louder, you can sense the excitement on painted faces of spectators and revelers -- boys, girls, men, women, seniors -- aged from as young as two to...