By Virginia Pasalo   SO many desperate attempts to have everyone vaccinated without a satisfactory explanation for the concerns raised. Some are outright ridiculous, requiring commercial establishments to offer discounts to those who can present a vaccination card. Some want it as a precondition to avail of certain government health…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   IT was good to see them again, the trees, the flowers, the herbal “weeds”. The symphony of smells brings me back to a time when, the garden had seen its best days, with Tatay and Nanay caring for them. It has been years. The garden…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   IT was big. The moon in the pale lavender sky. Not as big as the one Sr. Mary John Mananzan and I saw in Albuquerque, New Mexico. That moon was so big it filled the whole window where we both sat watching in awe. It…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo     LATELY, I have difficulty adjusting to the heat. It gets so hot that no matter how many times I change my clothes, my back sweats like a flowing river.  It does not help that the trees along the sidewalks had been cut to allow…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   A friend was going through a difficult period in her life, deciding whether she would end or continue with a 7-year-old relationship. The couple decided to cool it off for a while, focus on their personal concerns and explore experiences outside their current circles. But…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   WE are bound to meet for a short period of time, before we move on, to places we have never been, or to places we have been before. The experiences are unique, appearing to have come from the same source, but may be coming from…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   ROYGBIV, a guide my mother made me memorize to remember the colors of the rainbow, in the same manner that “Man Very Easily Makes Jokes So U Never Pout” ingrained itself in my memory as a guide to the first letters of the 9 planets….

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   A few hours from now and the Maginhawa Community Pantry shall begin to share the goods it received from various individuals and groups from all parts of the country. All the other pantries that have sprouted all over the country will open as well, some…

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo   WHEN I listen to Dr. Tony Leachon, former Special Adviser to the National Task Force on COVID-19, the conclusion is that the Philippine Healthcare system is on the verge of a collapse. To him, and most of the scientific community, there is no other conclusion…