By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   WATCHING Pulang Araw (Red Sun) makes me juxtapose the Japanese occupation of the Philippines (1942-1945) and the insidious, creeping occupation that is happening, being peeled layer after layer, during the hearings on Philippine Offshore Going Operators (POGOs), through the relentless efforts of the Senate and…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   LAST Thursday, I had a discussion with Elvira Bautos Estravo, former official of the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (KWF), on how languages can serve to facilitate understanding in a fast-evolving world where new terminologies in science, commerce and trade are emerging. We are witnessing new…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   IN celebration of Pangasinan’s Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa 2024 (Filipino: Wikang Mapagpalaya) a flyer of “Manjalteng” was sent to me with two important questions: Is it something necessary for the promotion of the Pangasinan language? Is it necessary and appropriate for culture education? According to…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   THERE are many things I have learned, skills that I can command to this day. However, like my friends Teresita de Venecia (Tess) and Armi Bangsal, I haven’t learned how to drive. I tried but ended up confusing left and right, and ended up driving…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   FOR most, long-distance relationships (LDRs) don’t last. But there are success stories. I know some who met only several times and spent long years sustaining it. I know others, especially overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) whose marriages and relationships prevailed, despite so many challenges in between….

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   TODAY, I flow with the wind sweeping the green fields, enveloped by the mist along NLEX and TPLEX. Sitting by the window, I sense the sun, trying to break through the thick layers of overlapping clouds, and trees, whose identities blur in the speed of…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   EACH time I visit Dagupan, Gwen makes sure I stay in a room with a view of the Pantal River. I remember in the evening of 29 November 2023, I saw a beautiful moon dance in the water from Room 431, inspiring a poem, Descent….

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   THE poem Asawa (Pupok ti Kapia) was inspired by Cage of Peace, one of the paintings of Belgian surrealist artist René François Ghislain Magritte, known for his provocative “depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts”. My interpretation of his work was based on the…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   I opened the veranda to see the sky and the mountains below it. It was still dark, and the tall trees covered a portion of the lights that dotted the mountains. They have grown so tall, the trees, allowing only a view of the sky….

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   I’M moving. At least most of the things I treasured. It took a year to contemplate on the decision. My mind was almost ready, but my body dragged. I can recall transition points in my life, but not the physical movement of things. They were…