A Tribute to Leonardo Caparas Panganiban And Virginia Juco Panganiban

My cousin, Roy Gaviola, sent me this photo of my maternal grandparents in 2009.  It immediately brought tears into my eyes as I remember them from the time I was a kid in Tondo, Manila to the day I left the Philippines to join Gulf Air for my first job.  My grandfather was a humorous, happy go lucky kind of guy and was gentle.  I remember lolo taking me and my brother, Rafael, to see the MRR (Manila Railroad) rolled on its tracks every morning when we were still very young.  Lolo was the coolest grandfather because he was not strict with us.  As I got older, I liked the time spent with him discussing Philippine politics and the Tagalog language.  You see, my Lolo Nardo, was a Tagalog orator and a poet.  My grandmother, on the other hand, was a headstrong woman.  She had a lot of sympathy and compassion for her children and grandchildren who needed her help.  Though financially unable to help them, Lola Viring, as she was fondly called by us, was always there, somehow with food for my poor cousins.  She lived very simply, ate very little, mostly with fish and vegetables.  She also cared for animals....she would feed and bathe our dogs whenever she was around the house.  Lola was my TV soap partner...I remember watching Filipino soap operas and variety shows with her in the afternoon after lunch.  Lola Viring taught me how to cook Kapangpangan dishes when I was a mere 11 year old who had nothing to do during summer time.  She would scold me gently, whenever she would see garlic skin in my saute.  She showed me how to cook Kare Kare, Pinaksiw na Bangus, Munggo Guisado, Apritadang Manok and boil rice. 

Quirino Hostage-Taking and Miss Universe 2010

Hostage-taker, Rolando Mendoza

San Francisco was in the 90s this week, the Philippines was in the news! Not good news, unfortunately....the hostage taking bloodbath & the loss of Miss Philippines as Miss Universe.

I was moved to tears when I read about Rolando Mendoza's⁽¹⁾ background. I also read from Inquirer.net that his appeal⁽²⁾ for his case addressed to PNP Internal Affairs Service was "returned to sender". Supposedly, there was a peaceful way out for Mendoza's case⁽³⁾.  But, how?  Did he know that he could approach the "Court of Appeals" as stated in this article?  I question the Ombudsman, the PNP....so many things are going through my mind right now. I'm angry, I'm sad, I was affected emotionally by this whole thing. Imagine, I saw this whole thing on GMA!

Is Noynoy Aquino Really For The Better Philippines?

At last, I'm seeing a lot of commentaries about Noynoy Aquino. I agree with the author of the post that Noynoy Aquino has to change his act. He doesn't have any other strategies to think of but to incite the masses to stand up for something worthless....him. I hate to say this but the man doesn't have the guts, the attitude to become the president of a country that needs a lot of changes. His slogan, "I will put a stop to corruption and poverty" is so old and so generalized, you don't really know what his platform or vision is.