By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   IN 2016, I delivered a speech in Bayambang for the celebration of the Singkapital, the 402-year-old town’s commemoration as the fifth capital of the First Philippine Republic and the final seat of the short-lived First Philippine Republic. Bayambang also served as provincial capital during the…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   EVERY morning, I open the sliding doors of the veranda to see the different shades of the sky and the mountains before sunrise. The gradation of colors of the mountains enthralls, appearing to be on top of one another, defined by lines that blur with…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   I was told that the Senate hearing on the subject of extra-judicial killings (EJKs) is a waste of money. This is because the hearing was literally hijacked by former President Duterte with his curses. Senator Koko Pimentel, who chaired the session, no matter if he…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   SURPRISINGLY, the rain didn’t flood EDSA. We drove to the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) to accompany my niece Ashang for an important appointment, anticipating a little flooding, having watched videos on TikTok and FB, but the heavy rain seemed to be absorbed by the pavement…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   YESTERDAY, I came across Farah Decano’s post on FB which showed a photo depicting the positions of four presidential aspirants regarding the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or (POGOs) during the campaign period with the caption: Papayagan mo ba ang POGO Operations?/ Nakakamiss ang mg panahong/…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   THE party list system empowers those already in power. A politician or businessman can represent the disempowered and the marginalized just by espousing their advocacy. As a result, most of those who represent the party list system are entrenched family dynasties and representatives of big…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   I never doubted the evolution of the human race. We are born, we live, we die. Or we take another form. We become something else, to sustain human existence. Others believe that our spirits join the larger spiritual dimension, the superconsciousness, becoming one with God….

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   CONTEMPLATION. That is what birthdays mean to me. An occasion to be grateful for the many things, good and bad, that continue to weave into our human life. Often, we celebrate with friends and family, or with a special person whose presence inspires, or with…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   I knocked in a room where some students were cooking as we were about to use the room at 3pm for rehearsal. The lady in charge was surprised and annoyed and blurted, “shit!” Keeping my cool I told her, “You should vacate, and why are…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   PARTICULARLY numbing is the realization that most people rely on memes and soundbites from the social media to form their opinions, without watching the context of the issues at source. It requires enormous efforts for those who try to explain, as they also get dragged…