THERE is always a value and a heartwarming element to situations where humility and respect surfaces, rather than witnessing ego prevailing upon a conversation. This is the essence of inter-personal relations which is built not only on trust but on the degree of courage to be honest about what has fully transpired. Last week, I …
What is the most important thing that you could do for yourself even for just a few hours each day? It could be setting aside time to walk around and keep those beautiful muscles moving, before idly starting the day in front of the work desk. It could be gifting yourself with an hour just …
Terrorism has no religion. The recent bombing of a Catholic Cathedral in Jolo that killed 20 and the blast in a mosque in Zamboanga City which left two preachers dead and four people wounded was meant to divide a wedge and breed mistrust among peoples. On Sunday last week, two explosions tore the Our Lady …
Listening is justice. Hope springing forth and the courage of individual survivors—indigenous peoples and Bangsamoro to speak out and share their experiences, the group was reminded on the third day of the Mindanao Survivors Solidary Assembly (MSSA) led by the Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID), that while there are shared pains and trauma as a …
Congress representatives have moved to lower the minimum age of criminal liability of a child offender from 15 to nine years of age, to ‘deter them from taking part in organized criminal activities.’ The recent amendment of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 which exempts minors 15 years of age and below from …
We have monsters in Congress who wants to punish children, as young as nine years old for its failure to put in place an environment where they can grow without being used by adults for criminal activities. It wants to incarcerate children not only for the failure of its parents to raise them well but …
FOR the last two weeks, I was caught between the transition of the New Year and in putting in place some things with my daughter who was on her 38th week of pregnancy. I was also running through a deadline, one for a report and another, for an upcoming project evaluation workshop. Like most instances …
DESPITE the effort to rectify misconceptions and myths, the stigma and discrimination on those infected with HIV and Aids in the community continue to persist which further create a barrier to prevent infection and provide adequate care, treatment, and support. Among those infected, there is difficulty to come out within their immediate family due to …
Notice how we tend to lose our focus on any given moment. The impulse to check on our phones while talking to a friend or family member, or while eating or even when working. The tendency to scroll through the status update on social media. The habit of cutting off people in mid-sentence to interject …
UNPROTECTED sex heightens the risk of unwanted pregnancy or acquiring sexually transmitted diseases. The recent UP Population Institute survey on sexual practices of young people shows about 5.4 million engage in premarital sex without protection. Out of 1.4 million involved in casual sex, more than half a million young men have sex with men. The …
