A gift of story

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Opinion/by Ma. Ceres P. DoyoDURING A QUIET MOMENT this Christmas week, I pulled out from the shelf and read again the tiny book “The Gift of Story: A wise tale about what is enough” by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. It looked so small beside the big, thick “Women Who Run with the Wolves,” a groundbreaking book also by Estes. On the same shelf level was my first children’s book—“Toby Runs Away”—that my mother read to me when I was...

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Can heaven and nature sing?

Philippind Daily Inquirer/Opinion/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo HAVE A QUIET and truly meaningful celebration of Christmas. And please pause and remember those who cannot celebrate because they are in deep pain and sorrow.Yesterday, two days before Christmas Day, journalists led a nationwide candle vigil for justice to mark the first month of the unspeakable crime that gave the Philippines the infamous reputation as the most dangerous place on earth for journalists. That now sounds cliché. But unspeakable grief is never cliché. Here in Metro Manila vigils...

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Global editorial on climate change

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Opinion/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo LAST WEEK, one day before the Copenhagen summit (Dec. 7-18) on climate change opened, 56 major newspapers in 45 countries spoke with one voice. They came out with a common global editorial written in 20 languages on climate change. I was hoping that Philippine newspapers would join major newspapers all over the world and carry the global editorial that London’s The Guardian had initiated. But last week the Philippine media were just too caught up in the brutality without compare that visited...

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Journalists rage: Stop the killing

Philippine Daily Inquirer/News/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo ENRAGED JOURNALISTS clad in black, both local and foreign, took to the streets of Manila Wednesday, becoming newsmakers themselves by denouncing the massacre of at least 30 media workers and 27 others on Nov. 23 in Ampatuan, Maguindanao.At the same time in Maguindanao, journalists briefly took a break from covering military operations and trekked to the massacre site in Sitio Masalay, Barangay Salman to light candles in honor of their colleagues killed in the country’s worst case of election-related...

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How they love one another

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Opinion/by Ma. Ceres P. DoyoWISHING YOU ALL a meaningful Human Rights Day. It’s been 62 years since the International Declaration of Human Rights was signed and adopted by nations the world over. And where are we?Last week’s Time magazine cover story was about “The Decade from Hell”. Indeed, in the past 10 years, terrorist attacks, wars, financial melt-downs, natural and man-made disasters, viruses, diseases, hunger and all kinds of violence have visited this planet and sent humanity running for cover. Humanity continues...

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Journalists and women as safety shield

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Opinion/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo IF I COULD GET HOLD of even only one of the perpetrators of the Nov. 23 broad daylight mass murder/massacre of 57 human beings, 30 of them from the media, I would ask only one question. (And I shudder to think that I know the answer to my own question.) My question would be: What or who made you think or believe that you could commit this evil deed and get away with it? I cry out, de profundis: President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, how have we come to this? For the 21st century or for just...

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Cory Aquino, nun, 4 activists join Bantayog heroes

Philippine Daily Inquirer/NewsFORMER PRESIDENT Corazon C. Aquino leads this year’s batch of heroes and martyrs whose names will be inscribed on the Wall of Remembrance of the Bantayog ng mga Bayani (Monument of Heroes). Besides Aquino, the latest additions to the roster are Sr. Asuncion Martinez, ICM, and activists Antonio G. Ariado, Melito T. Glor, Alfredo L. Malicay and Ronald Jan F. Quimpo. The yearly Bantayog rites are held either on Nov. 30,...

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Mangyans, mining and betrayal

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Opinion/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo COURAGE, HUMILITY AND COMPASSION. These, Bishop Broderick Pabillo prayed, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Lito Atienza would have so that he would correct his mistake. Pabillo is chair of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace and auxiliary bishop of Manila. He was one of the hunger strikers who joined the Mangyans and priests of Mindoro to oppose large-scale mining in watershed and ancestral domain...

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The Pope at the hunger summit

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Opinion/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo AROUND 1.02 BILLION people are suffering chronic hunger today, said a report released last week by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme. This sharp rise in hunger triggered by the global economic crisis has hit the poorest people in developing countries hardest, revealing a fragile world food system in urgent need of reform, the report added. FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf warned: “The silent hunger crisis affecting one-sixth of all...

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Remembering Berlin

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Opinion/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo I OWN A PIECE or pieces of the Berlin Wall. A friend who went to Berlin shortly after the fall of the wall in 1989 brought home a piece for me. Two years later, in 1991, I and several journalists were in Germany for a two-week cross-country tour—courtesy of a German press association, Germany’s department of tourism and Lufthansa. This was my second time in Germany. Berlin was one of the places we visited. We were there for the first anniversary of the reunification of West and East Germany...

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Reflections on kidnappings past and present

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Opinion/by Ma. Ceres P.Doyo AS IRISH COLUMBAN missionary Fr. Michael Sinnott enters his 24th day of captivity, people from all walks of life continue to pray that his kidnappers would have compassion and free him soon. That is, without ransom being paid. His kidnappers have asked for a $2-million ransom. Fr. Pat O’Donoghue, regional director of the Missionary Society of St. Columban, has insisted again and again that Sinnott would not want that money be the reason for his release. The no-ransom policy stands.As O’Donoghue...

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Juan Tama, virgin voter

That’s Tama (right/correct) indeed, we didn’t miss out on the letter d. But before that d disappeared, there is Juan Tamad of Philippine fable, the stereotypical lazy, lethargic Filipino who just waits for the proverbial guava to fall from the tree and into his mouth. Once again, Juan Tamad takes center stage on a circa 2010 life, but this time he metamorphoses into Juan Tama. And indeed, it takes a village, so to speak, to transform him from obduracy into advocacy.“Si Juan Tamad, ang Diyablo at ang Limang Milyong Boto” (directed by Phil M. Noble),...

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Dam lessons from Yu Xiaogang

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Opinion/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo Three weeks after Chinese expert dam watcher, activist and 2009 Ramon Magsaysay awardee Yu Xiaogang left the Philippines, the dam broke, so to speak. I wish I had asked Yu all the dam questions that are plaguing us now. I wish he were here for the Senate hearings and the forum debates to witness the dam-damning, blame-throwing, finger-pointing and breast-beating.He could listen to the torrent of words from government officials, soothsayers, feel-gooders (they announce on TV how very good...

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‘Pakikipagkapwa-damdamin’

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Opinion/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo (This piece is the continuation of last week’s column, “Deep calls to deep.”) IN 2005, after killer landslides and flash floods brought the provinces of Quezon and Aurora to their knees, I wrote about the groundbreaking book, “Pakikipagkapwa Damdamin: Accompanying Survivors of Disasters,” (Bookmark) by psychologist Dr. Lourdes A. Carandang. The book was the result of her and her Ateneo de Manila University team’s efforts (funded by Unicef) to give psychological aid to survivors of the 1990...

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Father Mick: A fighter for victims of injustice

Philippine Daily Inquirer/FeatureTWO MONTHS SHY of 80, Irish priest Fr. Michael Sinnott has worked as a missionary in the Philippines for more than four decades, devoting the last few years helping disabled children, whether Christian or Muslim. His abduction by armed men on Sunday night has shocked not only his fellow priests belonging to the Missionary Society of St. Columban but the leaders of the Philippine Roman Catholic Church. Fondly called...

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‘Deep calls to deep’

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Opinion/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” (Psalm 42:7) These words were roaring in my head all throughout last week, rising and crashing like a thundering symphony. Like a movie sound track gone awry. Brutal, majestic, exploding like Mozart’s “Rex tremendae.”Like the psalmist and Job, thousands of Filipinos were left helpless in the face of the unprecedented rage of nature that swept Metro Manila and Rizal Province to the edge. There...

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Odette and Ondoy

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Opinion/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo So many pieces have been written about Odette Alcantara and her life and times since her sudden passing on Sept. 22. She was going to turn 69 tomorrow. I last saw Odette on Aug. 31 at the Ramon Magsaysay Awards at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Although I attend the awards every year and write about the awardees, this year was special because our common friend, environmental lawyer Tony Oposa Jr., was one of the awardees. Odette was there, wearing her “10MM” dog tag which one got by...

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PCIJ at 20

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Opinion/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo This week the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) is celebrating its 20th anniversary. How time flies. The past 20 years have indeed been colorful, dangerous years for this journalistic endeavour which is an Asian first and which continues to be not only investigative but innovative as well in its reporting and use of new forms of media technology. Part of the celebration is a seminar for Asian journalists. The theme is “Peace, Human Rights, Good Governance: East Asian Democracies...

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Stem cells from me, for me

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Opinion/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo AVOIDING BEING MAUDLIN, I say, this is as straightforward as I can get:Few people knew about what I went through from October 2007 to May 2008. During that time I was quietly battling a dreaded threat: cancer. I had lived a relatively happy, healthy lifestyle for many years. And then for some strange reason, I was going “lo-batt.” An enemy had struck. As I had disclosed earlier, I found myself next door to the pre-departure area. (See my four-part series on stem cell therapy, Inquirer, p.1,...

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(PART 4) Stem Cells: Regenerative medicine--Hope or just hype

Read Part 1: Amazing healing power within our bodies  (with side bar, "What are stem cells?")Read Part 2: From science fiction to realityRead Part 3: Lab nerd tweaks tiny particles to renew lifeHuman Face column: Stem cells from me, for me  (Part 4-Conclusion)Philippine Daily Inquirer/Special Report/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo IS THIS THE HOLY GRAIL of medicine in the 21st century? Is this new emerging field going to provide dramatic changes in the way diseases and injuries are studied and treated? Stem cells and regenerative medicine are...

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(PART 3)Stem Cells: Lab nerd tweaks tiny particles to renew life

Read Part 1: Amazing healing power within our bodies Read side bar to Part 1 Read Part 2: From science fiction to reality Read Part 4: Regenerative medicine: hope or just hype Read Human Face column: Stem cells from me, for me (Third of a series) Philippine Daily Inquirer/Special Report/by Ma. Ceres P. DoyoMANILA, Philippines—Physician, lawyer, chemist, molecular biologist, Ph.D. and MBA holder, professor of medicine, cancer director in US hospitals,...

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(PART 2) Stem Cells: From science fiction to reality

Read Part 1: Amazing healing power within our bodies Read side bar to Part 1: What are stem cells? Read Part 3: Lab nerd tweaks tiny particles to renew life Read Part 4: Regenerative medicine: hope or just hype Read Human Face column: Stem cells from me, for me (Second of a series) Philippine Daily Inquirer/Special Report/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo IN THE PHILIPPINES, a name that has become synonymous with stem cells, and in a bigger dimension, with molecular and regenerative medicine, is Dr. Samuel D. Bernal.  “Molecular medicine,” Bernal proclaims,...

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(PART 1) Stem Cells: Amazing healing power within our bodies

Read side bar: What are stem cells? Read Part 2: From science fiction to reality Read Part 3: Lab nerd tweaks tiny particles to renew life Read Part 4: Regenerative medicine--hope or just hype Read Human Face column: Stem cells from me, for me (First of a series) Philippine Daily Inquirer/Special Report/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo MANILA, Philippines—Who’s afraid of stem cell therapy? Not me. I went through it—with the use of my very own adult stem cells....

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What are stem cells? (Side bar to Part 1)

STEM CELLS ARE the primary cells in the human body from which all other tissues “stem” from. They could be programmed in the laboratory to potentially become any other kind of cell and could be used to repair damaged tissues and replace diseased organs. Stem cells are found in most, if not all, multicellular organisms and are characterized by their ability to renew themselves into a diverse range of specialized cell types. The field developed from the findings of Canadian scientists Ernest A. McCulloch and James E. Till in the 1960s. There are...

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Stop poison rain, foreign experts ask PGMA

Two hundred signatories from 44 countries, among them, noted scientists and health experts, have asked Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo “to end poison rain” or the aerial pesticide spraying of banana plantations in Mindanao. “We are writing to register our support for the ongoing effort of rural poor communities in Mindanao, Philippines to stop the aerial spraying of agrochemicals in banana plantations,” the signatories said. “In the spirit of global citizenship,” they added, “we state our solidarity with the women and men of the Mamamayan Ayaw...

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RM Awardee Antonio Oposa Jr: RP lawyer uses law to protect Mother Nature

Phiilippine Daily Inquirer/Feature IF HUMANS IN NEAR-DEATH situations need CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), ailing Mother Nature also needs CPR (conservation, protection and restoration/rehabilitation).That’s according to environmental lawyer Antonio Oposa Jr., who uses medical jargon to call attention to the alarming state of the Philippine environment. But more importantly, he uses the law to protect LAW (land, air and water).The play on words and meanings is vintage Oposa, one of this year’s six recipients of the Ramon Magsaysay Award who...

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Batangueña refuses to pay taxes

A good friend of mine, Emma Alday, refuses to pay her taxes. She has not paid a cent for four years now. Emma is a guardian of the environment and has worked very, very hard to clean up rivers and other waterways in her hometown of San Jose , Batangas. I have seen for myself the efforts she has put into her advocacy. A former nun, Emma is an NGO worker who has received a number of citations for her work among farmers. She runs Casa Rap, a small garden-restaurant that serves organically grown food plus art from nature’s excess. She is also a former...

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Burma's Ka Hsaw Wa: RM Awardee fights for human, nature's rights

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Feature/by Ma. Ceres P. DoyoMANILA, Philippines—ONLY A SCAR remains on the right arm of Ka Hsaw Wa where there used to be a tattoo of the word “zeal” in Burmese. When he became a hunted man, he scraped it off his skin. Not many people have gone through the suffering and dangers this man went through in his youth. He has lived to boldly tell the tale and more importantly, he has made it his goal to make life better for those...

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RM Awardee Deep Joshi of India:Using head and heart to fight poverty

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Feature by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo MANILA, Philippines—“IF ALL YOU HAVE are bleeding hearts, it wouldn’t work. If you only have heads, then you are going to dictate solutions which do not touch the human chord.” Words to remember from India’s Deep Joshi, one of the six recipients of this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Award.Development workers, civil society advocates, and social activists take heed. You need both head and heart in order...

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RM awardee Krisana Kraisintu: Cheap drugs for poorest

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Feautre/by Ma. Ceres P. DoyoMANILA, Philippines—Thai pharmacist Krisana Kraisintu vividly remembers coming to the Philippines many years ago and visiting a large Filipino-owned drug manufacturing facility. Someone generously shared with her the formula for a tuberculosis medicine that she took back to her home country and worked on so that the sick poor could avail of it. It was a display of Filipino generosity Kraisintu...

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RM award for China's water guardians

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Feature by Ma. Ceres P. DoyoMANILA, Philippines—Two Chinese activists who have literally immersed themselves in turbulent waters are among this year’s six Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation awardees. Working separately and through different means, Ma Jun and Yu Xiaogang have devoted their lives to reversing the threat to China’s water systems, for many the source of life and livelihood. Ma, 41, a former journalist, is being...

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OFWs’ quest for healing

Father Robert Reyes, the so-called “running priest” who is now working with a human rights group in Hong Kong has come out with a collection of his reflections on his late younger brother Vincent who died of lung cancer in 2004 at the age of 47. A case has been filed against a giant tobacco company which must answer for the illness and death that cigarettes have caused and which Reyes is pursuing on behalf of his brother. But that is another story. The book, “Vincent, Dying and Living” contains personal reflections, recollections as Robert accompanied...

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Hidden cameras and Cory’s huge suitcase

If you were one of those who visited Ninoy Aquino during the eight years (1972 to 1980) that he was in military prison, chances are a photograph of yourself was among the hundreds that the military studied and kept in their dossiers for whatever purpose they might have served. And chances are your photo is now in the archives of Ninoy’s widow, former President Corazon Aquino, who passed away on Aug. 1 and had a massive send-off that could rival Ninoy’s. Hadn’t Cory sent you a copy when she was alive? During her presidency that started after the...

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Bad bananas and collateral damage

I do not understand why there are people who vigorously defend aerial spraying of banana plantations even though it adversely affects communities that live and farm in the vicinity of these plantations. I do not understand why they do not realize that what is poisonous and deadly for pests and fungi in bananas is also poisonous and deadly for human beings, farm animals and plants. I do not understand why they do not want to use safer methods which are just as effective and are being used in places where aerial spraying is banned. The banana growers...

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Aerial spraying: People run for cover when crop dusters fly

Philippine Daily Inquirer/FeaturesMANILA, Philippines — “Dili kami peste (We are not pests.)” This is the cry of communities near banana plantations in Mindanao who have to suffer the adverse effects of regular toxic aerial spraying meant to kill pests in bananas. School children on their way to school, farmers cultivating their small farms, people drinking coffee al fresco and families doing their daily chores are among those who suffer indirect...

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Sainthood for Cory

Blessed Corazon. Santa Cory. Saint Cory Aquino of the Philippines. Filipinos will have to get used to the sound of it. The renewed groundswell of adulation and fervor directed toward former President Corazon C. Aquino who died on Aug. 1 could point to a new direction: Rome. Already, many people, Church leaders among them, are putting religious significance in the manner, time and timeliness of her death. It will not be farfetched if many Filipinos begin to consider Cory a candidate for canonization, or at least for beatification by the Roman...

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Food sovereignty

By Ma. Ceres P. Doyo Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 01:45:00 07/30/2009 "Why should we prioritize the production of corn to feed animals in Korea when we cannot even feed all the Filipino people?" asked Arze Glipo, lead convenor of the Task Force Food Sovereignty (TFFS). Think about that. A number of readers sent feedback on last week's column piece ("Global land grab, agricolonialism") and expressed alarm. One came from a Korean who felt shame that Korean companies are out to take over vast tracks of land in the Philippines and in other...

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Global land grab, agricolonialism

Last week the Inquirer had a front-page story, “S. Korea leases 94,000ha in Mindoro; agri execs surprised”. It coincided with the July 2009 cover story of World Mission Magazine (“The Global Land Grab”) whose cover blurb says: “Huge amounts of farmland in poor nations are being bought or leased. The Philippines is on the map as a lease hotspot.” World Mission (WM) is a Catholic monthly published by the Comboni Missionaries “as part of their ministry and program of missionary awareness in Asia.” It is not a pietistic publication. It deals with...

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Art in the time of swine flu

Sorry for corrupting the title of a great novel but just now I can’t think of how to describe a great and daring effort to showcase Philippine art in these dreadful times when health and home are under threat. Manila will have its first international art fair, “Manilart 09”, starting today until July 19 at the NBC Tent, in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. At last we have our own, and we don’t have to envy our next-door neighbors Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Taipei which regularly hold international art fairs and attract art lovers from...

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'Biskwit'

Welcome back, Mildred Perez. We are very proud of you. And you, Chip Tsao, what say you? (We have not forgotten.) Back two days ago from Hong Kong was the praiseworthy 38-year-old Filipino domestic helper who returned P2.1 million (HK$350,545) in cash and checks which she found in a garbage bin several months ago. Why in a garbage bin? Because Mildred was scavenging. Because she had quit her job. Because she had an abusive employer. She had been rummaging through garbage piles for scraps in order to support herself and find means to pursue her...

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'We are the world'

THE YEAR was 1985 when I first watched the TV documentary on how the song, “We are the world,” was made, line by line, note by note, part by part. While watching the final version being sung by 45 pop artists, individually in parts and as a chorus, plus the images of hunger and poverty, I had a very profound experience. The earth broke open, the landscape in my heart moved and I sank to the floor and wept. Being more of a classical music listener, I was not a Michael Jackson follower, but I can say that I bought at least one Jackson recording,...

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My text friend, Bro. Ceci

THIS column was supposed to be on the 2009 World Food Summit and the human right to food but … that can wait. I was stunned when I read on Tuesday the half-page obituary on the sudden passing of De La Salle Brother Ceci Hojilla. It had a big picture of him laughing. Cecilio Montelibano Hojilla served as a De La Salle Brother for 48 years, the obit said. “Br. Ceci left a legacy of being a teacher, a mentor, a storyteller, a photographer, a friend, and a brother to countless young people.” He was 65. I met Bro. Ceci face to face only once. He invited...

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‘Kamoteng Kahoy’

The other day I went to see the movie “Kamoteng Kahoy” directed by Maryo de los Reyes and written by Ricky Lee, both veterans and multi-awarded. I went because the movie was based on a real-life tragedy that happened in Mabini, Bohol in 2005. It is a good film to watch these days when deathly horror flicks seem to be all there is. The theaters are drowning in blood, gore and green vomit. I had written about the tragedy that claimed the lives of 27 school children and downed more than 100 after they ate fried cassava snacks sold by a vendor....

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In death Saro-Wiwa triumphs, Shell pays

Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nigerian writer, poet, martyr and activist who was hanged, along with eight others in 1995, has triumphed even in death. When you gas up at Shell, think of Saro-Wiwa. A news report the other day said: “The oil giant Shell has agreed to pay $15.5 million in settlement of a legal action in which it was accused of having collaborated in the execution of the writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other leaders of the Ogoni tribe of southern Nigeria. “The settlement is one of the largest payouts agreed by a multinational corporation charged...

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Land, a hunger

As I write this, it is one day to go before the deadline for the passing of CARPER (comprehensive agrarian reform extension with reforms) in the House of Representatives. The good news is that two days ago, the Senate passed on third reading the CARP bill extending for another five years the land acquisition and distribution program of the government. The budget is at P147 billion. If CARPER was passed before the House adjourned yesterday, then all the last-minute efforts on the part of the farmers and their fellow advocates in the church, academe,...

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IP barefoot doctors

Ethnic and modern blended as indigenous healers in their tribal finery descended via the steep escalator of the posh SMX Convention Center at the SM Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City. I ran and descended ahead of them and waited with my camera to capture the colorful sight. Some of them were profusely ornamented, a few were almost bare with only their G-strings on. It was ethnic chic set against the modern. But this was not a fashion show. More than 100 experienced healers from different indigenous communities all over the country attended...

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Free book on sustainable rice agriculture

Whenever sustainable agriculture and organic farming are taken up in this space, quite a number of readers send in feedback and queries, or even offer information about what they are doing in their own farms and backyards. Which means that sustainable agriculture, natural farming, organic farming, or in the new Filipino jargon of enlightened farmers, “likas-kaya at organikong pagsasaka” (LKP) is gaining adherents and advocates. (I do backyard organic gardening and have lately been eating so much patola—the short, gourd-like type which looks like...

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Maribojoc

It is not very often that one gets out of the city to find and experience the pristine and the primeval. Last week, I was in Maribojoc in the island province of Bohol to enjoy not just the fiesta and behold its ancient landmarks but to also experience its “secret places,” the blue and green quiet spaces that glide in and out of one’s dreams. While Bohol now figures big on the tourism map because of the beaches of Panglao, the Chocolate Hills and the cultural sites, it has other little-known spots that could draw a different breed of visitors,...

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Highwaymen

According to Wikipedia, the word highwayman came to be in the 1600s. The term is mainly applied to robbers who travelled on horses, as opposed to those who robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to those who walked. Slang names for them included “knights of the road” and “gentlemen of the road”. Such robbers operated in Great Britain and Ireland from the Elizabethan period until the early 19th century. In the mid- to late 19th-century American West, highwaymen were known as road agents. In the same time...

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‘Yes you can’

‘Tis summertime and many people are taking a break, going off to distant or secret places in order to heal, to be healthy, to help themselves and others, to try to become whole again. You too, and take a book along. One good summer reading fare would be the gem of a book “Yes You Can Prevent and Control Cancer” (332 pp., First NuConsciousness Publishing, 2009) by Christine E.V. Gonzalez, Ph.D., co-founder of the Wellness Institute. The book, subtitled, “a personal journal for daily living and total wellbeing” was launched last Saturday at the...

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Suicide

I wrote about suicide a couple of years ago when a 12-year-old named Mariannet Amper of Davao City took her own life (“Suicide has no heroes”, Nov. 15, 2007). Poverty was initially thought to be the main reason for her suicide. The distraught and poverty-stricken family had to deal with the media frenzy and the blame game that attended the tragedy. Mariannet became a poster girl for poverty. As it turned out, and as the psychotherapists later discovered, the reason the girl killed herself was not as simple as it appeared and poverty was not all...

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Mother Nature’s RP lawyer hailed

MANILA, Philippines—Environmental lawyer Antonio Oposa Jr., he of varied and risky advocacies for Mother Nature, is this year’s recipient of the Environmental Law Award (for 2008) from the US-based Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL). He is the first Asian and Filipino to win the award. Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations and former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide was expected to attend the ceremonies to be held Tuesday (Wednesday, Manila time) in Washington, D.C. The award “recognizes individuals who have made...

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Happy

Wishing you a glorious, shimmering Easter. Stunned by God’s love, I, too, cry out, Rabboni! As the financial crisis creeps worldwide and economic depression touches people’s lives in the most personal way, the subject of happiness is frequently studied by experts, by psychologists, psychiatrists and sociologists mostly. What does it really take to make one happy? Early last year, just before the economic crunch badly crunched us all, there was much ado about new research findings that challenged the long-held Easterlin Paradox—that happiness does...

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On the street whey they live: From Paraiso to Paris

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Feature/by Ma. Ceres P. DoyoMANILA, Philippines – From the time they met some five years ago, Marvin Benosa and partner Pamela, both in their early 30s, have been living on the streets of Manila. They have been cohabiting, procreating, and raising their two children, one aged 3 years, the other, 10 months, in the outdoors. Namamasura (scavenging) is how Marvin describes his way of earning a living. Elizabeth Sanchez, 38,...

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From Paraiso to Paris

MANILA, Philippines – From the time they met some five years ago, Marvin Benosa and partner Pamela, both in their early 30s, have been living on the streets of Manila. They have been cohabiting, procreating, and raising their two children, one aged 3 years, the other, 10 months, in the outdoors. Namamasura (scavenging) is how Marvin describes his way of earning a living. Elizabeth Sanchez, 38, also lives on the street and sells cigarettes for a living. Last year, doctors at the Ospital ng Maynila discovered she had Stage 4 breast cancer and performed...

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Low carbon Holy Week

By Ma. Ceres P. Doyo Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 00:08:00 04/09/2009 IF WE feel drawn to contemplating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ this Holy Week, we might as well also contemplate the crucifixion of Mother Earth. But we must bear in mind that the high point of Christianity is not the crucifixion but the resurrection. The whole of creation, too, must rise in triumph. We cannot leave Earth to grovel and groan behind us. Theologian and ecologist Sean McDonagh who spent years in the Philippines wrote in his book “The Greening of the...

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