The furor did not die instantly, and the issue on rape being the subject of jokes will rankle as long as rape continues to be made a laughing matter. There have been discussions, reflections and reactions in print and online (not much on TV where the cause of the furor belongs) on the rape joke that was heard and laughed at by thousands in a live concert and later viewed with shock online.
The late feisty lawyer Haydee Yorac, when approached by distraught persons complaining about their mayor (newly elected or reelected, I don’t remember), stared down the complainants and, with characteristic brusqueness, said: “Bakit, ibinoto ko ba ang mayor nyo (Why, did I vote for your mayor)?”
A friend of mine is running for vice mayor. She was a town councilor in the past; she gave her all and gave up, swearing never to get involved in local politics again. But she has changed her mind and has paired up with a dreamer and political virgin who is running for mayor. Short [...]
In suicide cases, experts say, guilt should never be owned and blame should never be assigned.
“Pope Kiko.” The common Filipino nickname and endearment for those named Francisco and its other versions was in my thoughts the moment the Vatican’s cardinal deacon intoned, “Habemus Papam Franciscum.”
I am privileged to have been invited to a regular gathering of Catholic Filipino women theologians—or women doing theology—and participate in a discussion of issues that concern the Catholic Church, especially those affecting women who work in spreading God’s message of love, peace, justice and equality, as well as those that these women serve. I call our gathering a “women’s conclave.”
There we were, several dozens of us, wearing white T-shirts just handed to us, the back emblazoned with the words in bold font: “MARTIAL LAW SURVIVOR.” There could have been more of us, but not all survivors invited to the 27th anniversary of the Edsa People Power uprising could make it.
We, the Women Writers in Media Now (Women), upon the prodding of the Ateneo Library of Women’s Writings (Aliww), are “exhibiting ourselves” as writers starting today until April 30. The 4:30 p.m. exhibit opening is preceded by a 3 p.m. forum where three of us—Marites D. Vitug, Jo-Ann Q. Maglipon and I—will speak.
I think of Purificacion Viernes whom I interviewed and photographed in the early 1980s. She was in a hospital bed, her feet raised by strings and pulleys, the burned soles of her feet showing proof of torture. She recounted how soldiers strafed her home and killed members of her family. Wounded, Purificacion played dead. A soldier burned the soles of her feet with a lighter to find out if she was alive or dead….
One of the characters that I thought of after the minesweeper USS Guardian ran aground in and destroyed parts of Tubbataha Reef on Jan. 17 was Nemo, the clownfish who is the object of a transocean search in the blockbuster Walt Disney animated film “Finding Nemo.”
Countless students from several generations have had unforgettable times with Fr. James Reuter SJ who passed on last Dec. 31 at the age of 96. I had mine. I was part of the production crew of the huge stage play “The Island” which Father Reuter wrote and directed for St. Scholastica’s College. I still have the souvenir program with lots of pictures in it.
I HAVE issues with both the pros and antis on reproductive health, who have been in fierce debates until recently when the pros in the House of Representatives and the Senate prevailed and married their respective versions now littered with the term “non-abortifacient.” But my issues aren’t anything that cannot be addressed by whichever side [...]
