Christmas news story: Aquino among the Mangyans

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo SOMETHING GROUNDBREAKING and historic happened on December 15. But there was no mention of it in the national media. No news stories, no photos, no TV coverage. But so what. For the community of Hanunuo, Gubatnon and Ratagnon (Hagura) Mangyans of Occidental Mindoro it was a day they will never forget. President Benigno Aquino III flew to Magsaysay town to make the day very special. The Mangyans...

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'The Masses are Messiah'

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo LAUNCHED LAST week was Karl M. Gaspar’s latest book, “The Masses are Messiah: Contemplating the Filipino Soul.” I was asked to write a blurb for the book’s back cover. After looking at the title I was discombobulated. But I thought I’d try. How does one distill into five sentences the essence of a book that was several years in the making and took the author over mountains and valleys, across...

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Where advent means waiting with joy

Sunday Inquirer Magazine/FEATURE/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo THEY come from different walks of life and circumstances—each with a special life story to tell. Somewhere, sometime, at a certain point in their lives, they had reached what looked like the end of the road. For most of them, there was no one and nothing left except a last painful stretch of a life that had yet to be spent. To whom will they go while they wait? The residents of Anawim, Home of...

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Blood under the bridge

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo THE SUPREME Court’s verdict is out, and it is final. Webb et al., accused and convicted for the crimes of rape and murder now known as the Vizconde massacre, have been acquitted and are walking free after spending 15 years in prison. One of the things that bothered me about this case (and I have not heard it being stressed enough) is that the suspects, who became the accused in this case, were identified in 1995 or thereabouts, some four years after the crime happened in 1991. Four years is...

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'The only way is up'

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo CONGRATULATIONS TO the Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation Inc. (AIDFI) and the villages in Negros Occidental where the ram pump was introduced and changed the lives of so many people in need of clean and continuous water supply.AIDFI won first prize in this year’s BBC World Challenge, a global competition aimed at finding projects or small businesses from around the world that have...

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Taal: A Marian heritage site like no other

Philippine Daily Inquirer/FEATURES/Lifestyle/by Ma. Ceres P. DoyoNO OTHER town in Batangas is like Taal. Walking down its streets is like walking down through history. Declared a heritage town by the National Historical Commission, Taal offers many come-ons.There is the basilica of Saint Martin of Tours, known to be the biggest in Southeast Asia; the Spanish-era structures and homes of great Filipinos; the lake and its active volcano; the exquisite...

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10 things that make PH ugly: readers react

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. DoyoI GOT interesting e-mail from readers, both Filipinos and non-Filipinos from here and abroad, all of them male, who reacted to last week’s column piece, “10 things that make PH ugly.” One thing I’ve known all along: when you make a list, you are likely going to be swamped with items to add to it. I GOT interesting e-mail from readers, both Filipinos and non-Filipinos from here and abroad, all of them male, who reacted to last week’s column piece, “10 things that make PH ugly.” One thing I’ve...

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