Maniolas

If these buildings could talk, they’d be like, “Rescue us!” We hear you, beautiful creatures. And, not to get your hopes up, but now that Luneta Hotel has been fixed and expected to reopen after decades of neglect, who knows, maybe the next restoration project could be you! READ FULL STORY

The city is caught in a spiral of deprivation that will be hard to break, especially given the scope of a catastrophe that killed at least 6,000 people and was the deadliest natural disaster in the world last year. READ FULL STORY

By Niki Yarte BABALIK ka rin, Gary Valenciano’s anthem for Filipinos abroad, speaks volumes to a special segment of the diaspora: Retirees who have spent significant number of years away from the motherland. With more time and resources on their hands, they may now choose to heed the call of family and the familiar and retrace their steps back to the Philippines. Re-establishing their life in the country also comes with the practical benefit of stretching the buying power of their monthly pension. Aside from cheaper cost of living, the Expanded Senior Citizens Act also gives eligible retirees discounts to a variety of services – from healthcare, transportation, and lodging to tourism and entertainment. With these in mind, we’ve compiled a list of ten things retirees can do to maximize their time in the Philippines and even make up for lost time.  Go Rural A quiet retreat in the countryside Retirees longing for the quiet retreat may not find it in cities as busy as Metro Manila. Hence, many choose to retire in places like Tagaytay, which was developed enough to provide access to quality healthcare and leisurely activities while maintaining its serene atmosphere. Retirement communities are also being developed in Laguna and Cavite that would give retirees access to healthcare and leisure within the villages themselves. Beachfront properties in Batangas, Zambales, Ilocos, and Cebu are also popular with retirees. Open a Small Business  Bibingkinitan’s main product is the Filipino snack “Bibingka”. Retirees can open small business like bake shops, Read More …

It’s 2014! The Mayan calendar ended on December 21, 2012, suggesting that cataclysmic or transformative events would occur on or around that time.  We have now officially survived the Mayans’ end-of-the-world prophecy for over a year! Since then, the Philippines has faced a series of events that elicited a fusion of reaction from our countrymen – from shock and anguish to outrage and defiance. The past year has been one of the toughest in recent memory.  Our country was devastated by natural calamities. Earthquakes shook Bohol and Cebu. Powerful storms lashed at large swaths of the Visayas. On the political stage, the pork barrel scandal rocked the nation and brought the level of public loathing for some elected officials to a new low. Over in Mindanao, the siege of Zamboanga cast a pall over peace negotiations. Through it all, Filipinos have remained steadfast, resilient and hopeful. The youth, particularly, still feel that they can hurdle the challenges and move onward to a brighter future. With all these catastrophes still fresh in mind, several college freshmen got together to create a list of the top 10 things that they want for the country in the coming year. Like it or not, it is our generation that will be running the country in the near future, and it is because of this that we must be aware of what is going on beyond our comfort zone. The following wishes for the new year were chosen based on the issues that we, as Read More …

By Ana Villanueva-Lykes It’s the night before Christmas and children are singing carols at the door. “Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh, through the fields we go,” they belt out, laughing all the way. Inside, People watch, smiling, not thinking that if the kids were indeed dashing through the snow, their toes would freeze in their tsinelas while jingling, not bells, but makeshift tambourines. None of them have ever seen real snow either. Next door, a little girl is dreaming of Santa leaving gifts under the tree. She is not worried that Santa may not be able to get in their locked house without a chimney.    Filipinos don’t worry about freezing toes or how Santa can’t get in the house. None of these matter, yet we embrace St. Nick who would probably die of the tropical heat or the Snowman who would melt in an instant should we set him in our front yard (if we can find the snow to make one). We make these characters and traditions our own even when they are not applicable to us or have no significance to us. Cards and décor are festooned by Western icons that do not apply to us. We deck our halls with fake garlands and sing about white Christmases, the ones that we’ve never known before. Even singing “Ang Pasko ay Sumapit” at people’s doorsteps, like the giving of cards and gifts and the commercialization of the holiday, are copied from the Americans.  Inside Read More …