Illustration of a storm breaking over dark floodwaters that recede to expose a gold peso coin, flanked by silhouettes of protesters holding placards, a flag, and an umbrella

The Floods That Expose

September 25, 2025

They tried their best to hide their corruption. Then God sent the rains. They tried their best to hide their corruption. Then their kids flaunted the wealth online. Hearing after hearing, the pressure built. And then the storm broke — not the rains this time, but people. They flooded the streets. And like the rains, they were unpredictable: some peaceful, some forceful, some outright violent. A Storm That Broke Nationwide The floods of outrage culminated on September 21 — the day we commemorate the declaration of Martial Law, the start of one of the darkest chapters in Philippine history. The date was no accident. It felt like every sector of Philippine society showed up that day — including factions that, as I’ve written before, usually

A Reason to Come Back Home: Building Padada’s First Library and Museum

September 10, 2025

Setting up a public library and museum in my hometown of Padada, Davao del Sur, is my ultimate dream. Currently, there are no public museums in Padada. The only libraries belong to the town’s two private schools. Because of this, finding someone who reads for fun is rare. Smartphones offer instant gratification, easily winning out over books. Without other local recreation options, people often default to idle chatter or drinking to pass the time. Why Padada Needs a Public Library and Museum Small-town libraries and heritage museums exist in other countries, but they are incredibly rare in the Philippines. We see great initiatives like free pop-up libraries in Metro Manila, but you rarely see these projects reach the provinces. For someone living in a rural

Jackstone: How to Play the Filipino Game of Ten Stones

August 27, 2025

Series: Game of Titos and Titas – Part 5 Key Takeaways Jackstone is played with ten six-pointed metal stones and one small bouncing ball Ten numbered rounds — picking up one stone, then two, then three, and upward — are only the qualifier The real game is the exhibition round, where the leader sets a trick move and everyone else must copy it exactly Into the Cave, or kweba, is the hardest of the ones we played: you arch one hand on the floor and sweep the stones underneath it Nine named exhibitions are set down here — three from my own memory, six reported by players elsewhere You don’t win by being flawless. You win by imagining something nobody else can do. All

A boy crouching with the long stick in a game of syatong, the short stick airborne above him as other children watch

Syatong: How to Play the Filipino Stick Game

August 20, 2025

Series: Game of Titos and Titas – Part 4 Key Takeaways Syatong is played with two sticks and a shallow ditch — and it produced more bruised hands than any other game we played Three phases, and you must survive all of them before a single point is counted Two scoring systems were in use — shrink the ruler, or apply a multiplier — and which one applied had to be agreed before play The short stick — the one that gets struck — is the whole game The losing team must run the field shouting “syatong” in a single breath, restarting wherever it gives out Every summer, back when video games and computers were still a rarity, you would see children and teenagers

Boys crouched in a ring on a narrow street playing holen, glass marbles scattered on the ground between them

Holen: How to Play the Filipino Marble Game and Pamato

August 13, 2025

Series: Game of Titos and Titas – Part 3 Key Takeaways Holen is the Bisaya word for glass marbles — jolen in Tagalog-speaking areas Your pamato is your shooter: the lucky marble, never traded at any price Two ways to play: the ring, won by accumulation, and the duel, fought straight at your opponent until bankruptcy or surrender The winner takes his opponent’s marbles, which is why nobody could ever stop at one round Holen was the boys’ game. Holen is the vernacular for marbles — and mind you, not the marble used to make floors and countertops. A holen is a small glass sphere with a design suspended inside it. The most common carries a ribbon-like twist of colour at its centre. Some

A moonlit provincial neighbourhood at night where children play birus, a Filipino team game of hide and seek

Birus: The Filipino Hide-and-Seek Played by Moonlight

August 6, 2025

Series: Game of Titos and Titas – Part 2 Key Takeaways Birus is hide-and-seek escalated — played in teams, and finding someone isn’t enough You have to chase them, tag them, then sprint back to base and call it out before the catch counts It was a full-moon game, and the reason is more practical than mystical It has largely died out because it needs three things that are now hard to assemble: open space, a crowd of children, and an entire free evening Everyone has played hide and seek. Very few can say they’ve played birus. Birus takes the ordinary childhood game and adds teams, tagging, a sprint back to base, and a running time measured in hours rather than minutes. Winning takes

A long rope of braided rubber bands coiled on a wooden table, with loose coloured lastiko scattered around it

Lastiko: The Filipino Rubber Band Games We Played as Kids

July 30, 2025

Series: Game of Titos and Titas – Part 1 Key Takeaways Rubber bands — lastiko — were currency, trophy, and equipment all at once, and a long braided stash was a visible record of every game you’d won Three games ran the season: dampa, pitik, and card games with rubber bands as bets Mothers fought back with two weapons: the threat of rubber band soup, and vivid folklore about amputated hands Having no money to buy rubber bands is precisely why I had to get good at winning them Kids today rarely play outside. Most of the time their noses are pressed to a screen — tablet, smartphone, console. They rarely see the sun or shed a drop of sweat. Looking at the children

The Internet Hasn’t Killed the Radio Star – the State of Radio in the Time of Social Media

July 16, 2025

Disclaimer: this article is lifted from a talk I gave 10 years ago. Entitled “Radio: Living and Breathing in the New Digital World”, it was a reflection on the state of Radio at a time when the internet and social media was already becoming the norm. Some statements and ideas here may no longer be applicable now, as internet connectivity continues to challenge Radio as a medium. Nonetheless, I hope this provides an insight into a time when trends were shifting, and Radio was trying to maintain its relevance in an ever-shifting world. *** In this day and age of social media and streaming services, we may think radio is dead. Why would the airwaves still matter when almost everyone has 5G on their phones?

We must choose the Philippines in the midst of the Israel-Iran Crisis

June 23, 2025

During this period of escalation in the Israel-Iran War, I shared Rob Rances’ post on my X page, as he raises very valid points. It’s really food for thought, as our leaders are supposed to be focused on mitigating its effect on our country. Instead, the teleserye of Philippine politics continues. Here’s a quick summary of his article: The Philippines is dependent on imported oil – 90% of which is from the Middle East. Despite this, we don’t have fuel reserves, and our laws give the local oil companies complete power to set prices. If the oil imports stop, we have a week before the whole country is paralyzed. What are our leaders and politicians doing? Using Rances’ words – “holding masses to sanctify the

How Expensive Is It to Build A Classroom?

June 22, 2025

Does it really cost ₱4-7M to build a classroom? Yes, according to Congressman Zia Adiong. There are documents doing the rounds on social media of a proposal of Congressman Adiong of some ₱285M to fund the construction of 8 buildings, at around 62 classrooms. One even shows a building worth ₱30M, which has only 4 classrooms: Looks expensive to me. Are they building “luxury classrooms” with high-end materials and smart TVs instead of projectors? If the Department of Education (DEPED) grants this request, will they not become a party to the overpricing?

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