Stacked inside Manila, often found in shopping malls, are sanctuaries to Knowledge. Their sizes range from tiny chapels to grand cathedrals. They have different ways of recruiting the devotion of buyers. Some sell overpriced coffee and food as a message that they offer books of high quality. Some merely stack the books into their respective [...]
The poor are flooding Manila. They flock to the city hoping for a better life than what they had in the provinces. Too often they are greeted by a harsher life in Manila. They cramp themselves in squatter settlements, risking life and health under squalor conditions. Very few of their children grow up to escape [...]
Everything is expensive in Manila. What I can buy cheap in Iligan can cost twice as much in Manila. Food I can eat for less than P40 in Iligan can be bought for twice as much in Manila, and to think I’m still referring to ordinary fare. Borderline fancy fare in Manila can cost more [...]
Drive around the streets of Northern Mindanao* and you may find wooden crosses supported by rocks. These are not shrines to obscure Catholic saints nor are they remnants of the Stations of the Cross displayed during the Holy Week. These are in fact analogous to gravestones, except that there are no bodies under them. They [...]
For my foreign readers, this is what a jeepney looks like. Photo taken from: http://www.bohol.ph Jeepney drivers are probably the best guides one can find in any Philippine city. This should come as no surprise considering that it’s their job to drive people around. Plus they also frequently change routes. With this in mind, I [...]
