By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   IN the NGO community, an umbrella organization is a big organization large enough to manage the interests of its member NGOs, who, individually, could not access funding on their own because they lack the necessary financial and operational documents required by the funding agencies. The…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo     ON the bus bound for Pangasinan to attend an important event, I sat beside a woman who, among other things started telling me about her life. When we encountered a flooded portion in Bulacan, she engaged me in a conversation: “Mga corrupt kasi nasa…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   THE poem below was written ten years ago, on 21 July 2015. Time has a way of blurring memories, sometimes deleting, sometimes overlaying events with more recent interpretations, depending on newer experiences, depth of understanding and compassion. Looking back now that the feeling is gone…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo    I’M in Pozorrubio with the sound of the crickets. Or is it just the ringing in my ears? I think of you, inside a car, driving to the north, cellphone in hand. I also see my sister Lydia in a yellow flowing dress, with a…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   THROUGHOUT history, the written word, including poetry, has proven to be a powerful weapon for change. It has been used to “express dissent, inspire action, and preserve the memory of those who have been silenced or forgotten.” Poetry can challenge injustice, encourage reflection, and eventually…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   INDULGE me a bit. At times when I look at the moon in the dead of the night, I wonder if, my life, as little as the lights in the houses from a distant mountain, still matter to the universe. Perhaps, this is why I…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   THE clouds hid the glittering sky for two days. I am without the moon, the mesmerizing ball of calm that shares its existence with the trees, the leaves and the flowers in the garden, most of all to me, kissing my heart. You are silent,…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   THERE is no scientific evidence that we can sense what happens to a loved one whom we have not seen for a long time. This heightened sense of awareness is explained away by science as anticipatory grief. However, science does not explain the sudden thud…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   LAST night, I waited for the rain. I knew it was coming our direction because the clouds blanketed the southern horizon, moving slowly towards the north, slowly deleting the sight of taller buildings. I miss the rain splashing on my face, my whole body, and…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   IT may happen unnoticed in other countries without a term for it, but in Japan, it has a name. That’s because more than any other country, Japan has nearly one hundred thousand of them yearly, individuals choosing to vanish, leaving behind their identities, their loved…