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A Short Story by Jose Riodil D. Montebon   “The Law is a jealous mistress and requires a long and constant courtship. It is not to be won by trifling favors, but by a lavish homage. ” (Justice Joseph Story, US Supreme Court, 1829) Efren patiently waited for the puyo  to bite. On this lazy November afternoon, […]

We (the older generation among us in the Philippines) just celebrated the 30th anniversary of the February 22-25, 1986 People Power Revolution, sometimes called the EDSA Revolution, from the main highway cutting across Metro Manila, where the Revolution happened. But while our first EDSA Revolution inspired other peoples, we have suddenly realized that our own […]

Reflections on how the murder of children in Pakistan and the dying of a friend interlace this time of celebrating the birth of Christ: What a sad Christmas indeed. But so was the first Christmas: it was dark, dangerous, dreadful. Then the Star shone bright, and Angels sang. And all — the richest kings and […]

Last November 19, my husband Veneeth and I attended a forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies hosted by the US Philippines Society and the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC. The forum tackled updates and lessons learned a year after typhoon Yolanda struck the Eastern Visayas. It was attended by four Philippine Ambassadors […]

A Response: Heritage Builders 2014 In the literature room of Silliman High School in the late 60’s was posted these lines from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s, “A Psalm of Life”: Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time. This deeply […]

Their names are Alma, Estela, Maricar, Emma, Patrocinia — Spanish names given to Filipino girls long after the Philippines was a colony of Spain. They live on an island that produces sugar cane and come from families of subsistence farmers and laborers earning the equivalent of two dollars a day. As girls marginalized by poverty […]

When I was a kid, I used to marvel at rainbows in the sky. The childish thought could have vanished through time and maturity. Yet as time passed, I came to realize that my appreciation of a regnbåge (Swedish term for rainbow) was just the start of my understanding that when different things come together, […]

My personal devotion to God : read and be blessed . “Jesus and Nicodemus” “There was a Jewish leader named Nicodemus, who belonged to the party of the Pharisees. 2 One night he went to Jesus and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher sent by God. No one could perform the […]

How can I thank you? Thou Lord of Heaven’s Armies Who fashioned the Earth and skies By the Word of Thy Power. How can a mere dust like me Be heard when I shout my voice of thanksgiving! To your infinite throne in the heavens Because you have cared for me! Does this dust of […]