'The man who planted trees'

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo I wrote the piece below for this space 20 years ago, in 1991 (with a different title). I share this again to honor those who have been guarding our forests with their lives, in memory of the thousands (almost 2,000 dead and some 1,000 still missing) who perished in the Dec. 16 flash floods, landslides and log slides that roared into parts of Northern Mindanao and the Visayas, and in solidarity...

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Season of immense grieving, immense giving

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo Storm “Sendong” struck in the wee hours when most people were asleep. Weather experts and forecasters were stunned upon beholding the aftermath of Sendong’s force and fury. But it was not Sendong’s wrath from the sky alone that caused the destruction. Elements on the ground conspired—silted rivers and congested riverbanks, poor urban drainage systems, denuded forests. It was not all Sendong’s...

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'Dominus est!"

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo “But in our weariness the Lord comes.” That is a quote from the homily of newly installed Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio G. Tagle DD delivered on Dec. 12 at the Manila Cathedral.At that moment of recognition, at that moment when we finally see clearly, we gasp in awe, “It is the Lord!” Dominus est! This exclamation, Tagle reminds us, is drawn from the Risen Christ’s appearance to some of his weary disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. It is, I must say, one of the most dramatic post-Resurrection...

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25 Years: Nobody told me it'd be like this

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo Twenty-five years and some 2,000 feature articles, special/investigative reports, and column pieces later, here I am still asking: Why didn’t anyone tell me it would be like this? I’ve had an amazing time. Amazing, meaning I have been privy to so many things of this world that other mortals are not because “they are not there.” Oh “to be there” where people live and die, feast and famish, laugh and cry, to be there where events unfold and to watch history leave its tracks behind for us to...

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Bukid Kabataan: A place to be strong, to belong

Sunday Inquirer Magazine/FEATURES/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo The happy shrieks of children blend with the sonorous mooing of the cows. The striking green of the fields compete with the blueness of the sky. The patter of little feet, the chorus of voices in the classrooms, the rising of the nuns’ chanted prayers at eventide… Space, quiet, fresh air, dew on the grass, good food, warm arms and the healing embrace of nature. But here above all, is the child,...

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Gawad Kalinga's European tour of hope

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo As stories about corruption, crime and violence continue to hog the limelight like telenovelas gone awry, we become filled with disgust and search for answers to the question, how have we come to this? But out there are countless stories of hope that remain untold simply because we choose to look at the noisier, bloodier, sexier, more scandalous and titillating side of things. I recently spoke...

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Filep Karma, prisoner of conscience

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo Again, to explain: The columnists’ mug shots show closed eyes this entire week, our way of proclaiming solidarity with victims of crimes and their families who have doubly suffered because of the culture of impunity which has allowed those guilty to remain unpunished or to be above the law. This week also marks the second anniversary of the massacre of 58 innocents, 32 of them media practitioners,...

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Smokey Mountain's rainwater eco-laundromat

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo Smokey Mountain, the internationally known garbage dump that the media, social scientists, activists, environmental advocates, politicians and religious groups had so often visited, is no more, but the name, the symbol, the actual spot remains. For a long time, many visitors who experienced the shocking poverty and amazing endurance of those who earned their living through scavenging there had hoped that Smokey Mountain, this shameful symbol of Philippine misery, would vanish, if not transmogrify...

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Crime, showbiz, politics and 'other families'

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo Also guns, money, power and treachery. They make for a long-running telenovela. The only telenovela I ever followed closely was “Falcon Crest,” which ended in the 1990s. The plot got so corny and convoluted toward the end that I lost my interest in the final episodes. That’s why I don’t remember how it ended. I only remember the earthquake that rocked the wine valley. That was before Mexican telenovelas became so popular and addictive here. After the success of “Mari Mar,” Philippine TV networks...

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He sees dead people & they confess to him

Sunday Inquirer Magazine/FEATURES/by Ma. Ceres P. DoyoAt three o’clock in the morning, while the world sleeps, troubled souls rouse this priest to relay important messages or confess their sins so they can move on gently and finally to eternity. The otherworldly messengers include Navy officer Phillip Pestaño who came back to tell the world that his death was not a suicide as some officials would have us believe. Another group of souls gathered...

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7 billion stories

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo After the official announcement by international population experts that the number of human beings living on Planet Earth reached the seven billion mark on Oct. 31, 2011, after events have been staged and symbolic 7 billionth babies have been presented, photographed and assured of a good future, after the number crunching has been done and pop population puzzles have been created and solved...

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Martyrdom is cinematic

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo When I learned of the killing of Italian missionary Fr. Fausto Tentorio on Oct. 17 in Arakan Valley in North Cotabato, my thoughts went back to the killing of Fr. Tulio Favali in 1985. I still have the human rights postcard that shows a bloodied Favali, his brain splattered on the ground. Father Tentorio, 59, fondly called Father Pops, was the third priest belonging to the Pontifical Institute...

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Readers write

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo Rarely do I use readers’ letters in this space. Readers send feedback via the Inquirer online, email, snail mail, text or to my blogsite. I get surprised when a piece that I thought would not get much reader reaction—whether negative or positive—would elicit reflective feedback, sometimes laden with personal insights. Last month I wrote about Welcome House and the Heart of Mary Villa, both run by the Good Shepherd Sisters, and their services for “the last, the least and the lost” (“For PCSO...

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One woman, 15 pregnancies, 12 children

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo She is 42 years old, has had 15 pregnancies, two of them miscarriages and one induced abortion. She has 12 children who are alive, the eldest of them aged 26 and the youngest about four or five. She has three grandchildren, two of them children of single mothers. I met Yoling (not her real name) last week. A friend brought Yoling with her from a town in Rizal where both their families reside. Yoling stayed overnight in Quezon City while waiting for someone to pick her up. She was going to...

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Mattress peddlers, NPA hostages

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo A heart-rending sight for me is that of a lone man carrying a whole bed or aparador on his back and walking the streets of the city, hoping to sell the homemade furniture, be relieved of the load on his back and go home with some money. A Philippine version of the Carrying of the Cross, indeed. I see this every now and then, and I wonder if bad elements would even think of divesting such peddlers of their wares and money like they do to taxi drivers, pedestrians and students.This thought played...

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'Ina': What price family, faith, love

Sunday Inquirer Magazine/FEATURES/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo Love, commitment. The self, comfort, material possessions. Family. Occasionally, these are put to the test. Which will endure? At what price? Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s latest film, “Ina: Ikaw ang Pag-ibig,” does not beg for obvious answers as it follows what looks like separate journeys of individuals whose lives are inexorably linked with one another. Although familial, emotional and spiritual ties...

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For PCSO to know

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s (PCSO) announcement on the “delisting” of more than 100 beneficiary institutions made headlines and raised eyebrows. Many of these institutions are run by religious congregations and church-related groups that minister to the poor. The reason the PCSO gave was the “misuse” (not necessarily “abuse”) of funds. There was a problem with liquidation on the part of the beneficiaries, PCSO chair Margarita Juico explained. A big issue was the use of PCSO...

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When breast friends gather

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo We had a blast. ICanServe’s 3rd national Silver Linings gathering held at the Grand Regal Hotel in Davao City last weekend was awesome, amazing, inspiring, heart-tugging. One is at a loss for adjectives in describing the experience. More than 1,000 participants from all over the country, most of them coming from Mindanao, came to be part of “a sisterhood like no other.” The majority,...

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Painting the word beyond

Sunday Inquirer Magazine/FEATURES/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo Printed stampita-size versions of a painting of EDSA People Power of 1986, with the figure of the Blessed Virgin Mary dressed in yellow, went around during that time when most Filipinos were aglow with patriotic fervor. The original painting was later presented as a gift to the then newly-installed president, Corazon C. Aquino, the widow swept into power by an almost bloodless uprising.Now,...

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