Standing her ground

Rina Jimenez-David 02/02/2018

Killing time in a mall, I saw a group of young office-goers clumped together by the steps of an open-air plaza. They were all gazing upward, some holding up their cellphones, while others were pointing at something…

A quiet New Year

Rina Jimenez-David 01/02/2018

For the last few years, we’ve celebrated a relatively “quiet” New Year’s Eve. Where before we used to spend P1,000 or so on fireworks — from harmless luces (or hand-held flares) to turumpo (or wheeled mini-flares nailed…

Thank you, Isabelle

Rina Jimenez-David 12/19/2017

We face serious problems as a nation: the continuing spate of drug-related (or so authorities say) killings; the threatened impeachment of the heads (all women) of all the independent bodies created to check presidential abuse (and the…

Where should blame fall?

Rina Jimenez-David 12/05/2017

The hottest controversy on the local health (and political) front these days involves the suspended dengue vaccination program. The program was suspended after Sanofi Pasteur, the drug manufacturer, released findings that Dengvaxia (the trade name of the…

Talking coffee

Rina Jimenez-David 11/28/2017

Coffee has a rich heritage in the Philippines. The first coffee tree was introduced in Lipa, Batangas in the 1740s by Spanish Franciscan monks, and so enthusiastically did farmers take up the challenge that the province soon…

‘Tokhang’ goes Hollywood

Rina Jimenez-David 10/03/2017

Who would have thought that “tokhang,” albeit in a sanitized, glossy depiction typical of Hollywood, would suddenly show up in a spy flick that aspires to comedy but ends up in lameness? “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” opens…

Not for all

Rina Jimenez-David 07/25/2017

A comfortable life for all” was the theme set for yesterday’s State of the Nation Address, the second for President Duterte. The theme hinted at the accomplishments of the administration in the year since Mr. Duterte took…

Surviving with dignity

Rina Jimenez-David 07/18/2017

Last weekend a group of women turned over the second batch of “dignity kits” to Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial intended for the women of Marawi. These women fled their beleaguered city where street battles and bombardment are…

A new day of peace?

Rina Jimenez-David 07/11/2017

Comments on social media have been noting the rather odd confluence of events that has placed people from Mindanao in almost all the important positions in the government: President Duterte, Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, and…

Memories of a pro-American childhood

Rina Jimenez-David 07/04/2017

Filipinos my age will surely agree that what we had was a “pro-American” childhood. I went to a Catholic girls’ school run by American nuns, so I suppose the bias is not unexpected. But if learning to…

Hope in the midst of fighting

Rina Jimenez-David 06/27/2017

  To all my Muslim friends here and abroad, Eid Mubarak (or Blessed Celebration)! It’s a common greeting on the feast of Eid al-Fitr that marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting and good…

Our ‘Tatay Digong’

Rina Jimenez-David 06/20/2017

  Time was when the President of any country was recognized as the “Father” (or “Mother”) of the Nation. Indeed, a favorite way of referring to President Duterte, mostly by his avid followers, is “Tatay (or Daddy)…

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