i don’t hate indigenous peoples, but i never learned to love them either

  an essay on the absent narratives of indigenous peoples in the philippines, by jari The plight of indigenous peoples (IPs) against the reality of ethnic cleansing is a battlecry some people are willing to take to its bitter end [1][2]. Since the inception of nation-states as we know them, indigenous peoples have been fighting…

Rights to Padre Faura (a rant on inconsiderate rallyists)

Many destructive elements and relationships exist in modern Philippine society. The coercive and oppressive framework of organized religions is one of them; the muddied relationship of the State and of the Church is another (the problem is still mostly in favor of the Church). Democracy in the Philippines and the right to accessible information are…

#LoveWins: Love is more than just a word.

People should be careful with their language. Words have power, and meaning transcends what is written. When religious conservatives write their reaction posts on social media, do they mean “I do not support same-sex marriage –in the context of my religion” or “I do not support same-sex marriage –on the level of the secular state”? Because…

Writing Desk

To be quite honest, I’ve got nothing. That’s all there is on my writing desk: miscellaneous poetry and lyrics, essay seedlings for some contests here and there, an empty travel blogpost. (You know, I’ll only start working on my Bali 2015 blog post after I finish the video. So I can’t do that yet, because some people…

To the people who always want to be somewhere else, I dare you to stay. Just one time. Just one place. With just one person, for a while. I dare you to stay put long enough to let whatever you’ve been running from catch up. To realize whatever it is inside of you that has…

It’s a matter of definition.

The phrase cultural appropriation is gaining weight in the criticism of popular media, a provocation brought about by hipster smokers dancing to music festivals while wearing First People attire, by the music videos of the likes of Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift ostensibly mocking the ways of African Americans and ghetto communities. And now –which…

Response: U.P. is so iba na

Originally posted on Sankage Steno:
Like I was in the University of the Philippines kanina in Diliman, and I noticed that my Alma Mater is so iba na. It has changed talaga, like a total makeover! Gosh. And I’m not talking about the bagong structures ha or the monorail that was made paandar here and…