By Farah G. Decano   TITO Ermin, please accept my mea culpa. As a former legislator, I regret that I was not able to pass a resolution to honor your father, Ermin Garcia Sr.’s, profound heroism. While you never sought his recognition, I take full responsibility for this oversight –…

By Farah G. Decano PRESIDENT Bongbong Marcos has already named some of his re-appointees as of this writing. He has re-appointed Secretary Ralph Recto of the Department of Finance and Secretary Amenah Pangandaman of the Department of Budget; transferred Secretary Popo Lotilla from the Department of Energy to the Department…

By Farah G. Decano   BEFORE the public cries this slogan once more, President Bongbong Marcos made an anticipatory remedial move. He dismissed his cabinet secretaries, allegedly due to the disappointing performance of his candidates in the recent elections. Some opinion writers suggest that he acted rashly, seeking a scapegoat…

By Farah G. Decano   “PAKURONG” is a Pangasinan word which literally means “to allow the crawling of a person, animal, or thing.”   Nowadays, the term refers to goods or money furtively given to the electorate at least hours before the voting process stars in exchange for the candidates’ names included in…

By Farah G. Decano    “TRUST your gut,” the saying goes – that subtle, nagging feeling, the instinctual nudge that guides decisions without logical explanation. In Filipino, it’s called “kutob,” a rapid flash of unease or certainty. Have you ever felt an inexplicable aversion to someone, a feeling that defied…

By Farah G. Decano   IT has been seven years since my father had passed on. I cannot help but be reminded of his last moments on earth, how ephemeral life is, and how tough that “final” battle was. My two older sisters took care of my father during that…

By Farah G. Decano   “SON, behold thy mother.” That was Jesus Christ entrusting his mother, the Virgin Mary, to his beloved disciple John.  This is also interpreted as the Lord’s instruction to the faithful to consider her as the mother of Christianity. Such is His love for His mother. …

By Farah G. Decano             WHEN women started discarding their roles as damsels in distress, they did not ask for men to discontinue being knights in shining armor.  Awakened by their worth, the maidens wiped their tears, picked up their spears and shields, and donned their cuirasses.  They just wanted…

By Farah G. Decano   I was speaking to a confidential security detail of a VIP in a restaurant in Dagupan when the security’s knees suddenly vigorously moved up and down.  I had to inquire what triggered his annoyance.  He puckered his lips and used the same to point to…

By Farah G. Decano   I recently watched an impassioned call for the return of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (FPRRD) to the Philippines by a mother whose child was raped and killed by a drug addict. To her, illegal drug users do not deserve a day in court and…