Calauan in 1993 (1)

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo   “That characters deteriorate in time of need possibly did not occur to Henchard.” —from Thomas Hardy’s “The Mayor of Casterbridge” “We are all cowards,” sighs a woman. “Cowards,” she repeats. Mea culpa, mea culpa. She is beside herself with regret, beats her breast now that Calauan, the quiet town where she blossomed into a woman, is in the headlines as the “killing fields” of Laguna, its deep, dark secrets being exhumed and brought out in the open air. She believes that something...

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Tempest in a toilet

Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo   The case of trans woman Gretchen Diez is now the subject of discussions in social media, among lawmakers and gender equality advocates. And homophobes, too.   Diez was berated and dragged by a janitress at Farmer’s Plaza in Araneta Commercial Center in Quezon City when Diez tried to use the women’s rest room or toilet. That is, despite the fact Quezon City has an ordinance protecting...

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Sabtang's secret

Philippine Daily Inquirer /OPINION/by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo   While we mourn the loss of human lives and age-old structures during the recent earthquake that rocked Itbayat Island in Batanes, my mind and pen go back to Sabtang, a neighboring island that was spared.)   1992. Savage beauty. Tucked at the foot of storm-swept hills, there where ocean meets cliff, where the brightness of blue meets the softness of black, is a place, a secret place. Here, the marriage of water and rock. Here, the fire of the sea embraces the coldness of stone....

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Q & A with Sr. Maria Cecilia Tuble on her depression and advocacy for mental health awareness

Global Sisters Report/Q & A/ by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo Drawing from her personal battle with major depressive disorder, Cenacle Sr. Maria Cecilia "Cecille" Tuble now advocates for greater mental health awareness and help for people who are depressed and suicidal. Cenacle Sr. Maria Cecilia Tuble. (Ma. Ceres P. Doyo) Tuble, 50, recently completed her master's degree in theology at the Loyola School of Theology of the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila...

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