My mother always knew her name to be Belen, that is, until she needed a Philippine Statistics Authority-certified birth certificate to renew her passport. No birth record could be found, prompting us to presume she was born at home rather than in a hospital. Her...

I have filled many columns on the historical significance behind street names in Metro Manila. These columns often lament thoughtless changes in old street names that have been “sanctified by usage.” Many of the historic names in Intramuros should be restored; for...

Retracing Rizal’s footsteps in Madrid yet again, I do so now imagining him in Madrid in 2025. Would he be posting on Facebook, Instagram, or X? Or would he prefer writing long-form on a blog or recording on a vlog? I know he won’t gyrate shamelessly like Harry Roque...

We landed in Madrid ahead of schedule. As soon as the seat belt sign was turned off, passengers scrambled for their luggage in the overhead bins. Traveling in cattle class, it was sensible to wait in our seats and watch, with a mix of amusement and irritation, as...

Nineteen days to Christmas Eve, “noche buena.” I must find the energy to battle traffic and crowds for some last-minute Christmas shopping. I envy the organized who, like Santa in the Christmas song, draw up a list way in advance. This is checked twice to adjust or...

One of the attention-catching items in the forthcoming Leon Gallery auction is former President Manuel L. Quezon’s passport. Two young boys were peering into the display case when I came to examine and document the lots, and one of them remarked on the size of the...

All I remember from a childhood trip to Macao are boredom and recollections of church ruins on a hill. I would not have revisited Macao if not for the invitation of Philippine Consul General Edna May Lazaro, who organized a lecture at the University of Saint Joseph...

Apolinario Mabini is a hero who should be brought out of Jose Rizal’s shadow to be better appreciated. His times were different, more complex than the situation Rizal had to face. During his exile in Guam, solitude gave him time to brood. He licked his wounds and...

Fake news and disinformation are often discussed in relation to social media, where they spread faster than the truth. It is a tragedy that social media apps were originally designed to connect people and foster community, yet the misuse of these apps has produced the...

Over the years, I have come across surveillance records in libraries and archives. These cover the late 19th century to contemporary lists of drug users, addicts, and pushers used to justify extrajudicial killings in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs....