We Filipinos needed to re-calibrate our understanding of what’s usual or normal, the instant we began to move out into the world en masse. Unfortunately, that has been difficult, because of the re-feudalization accompanying migration, particularly for women.

Biglang naglaho ang tuwa ko nang malaman ko kinabukasan rin mismo na ang nasa likod pala ng konsyerto ay isang kumpanya ng sigarilyo. Kung gaano ako kasaya noong gabing nakaraan, ganun din ako kalungkot nang malaman ko kung sino ang sponsor. Ganun na lamang ang aking panlulumo nang malaman kong kakailanganin ko palang tangkilikin ang paninigarilyo para mapanood kong muli ang paborito kong banda of all time.

By Fr. Shay Cullen
While a young girl was recovering from a horrific life of sexual abuse and trafficking, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo gave the state-of-the-nation-address to the Philippine congress last week and list the many achievements of her government for the past year curtailing the trafficking of women and children is not among them. She is [...]

By Fr. Shay Cullen

The selfless commitment Christians of all denominations to live, risk their lives and suffer for the gospel values, human rights and to live out the mission of Jesus Christ to save the poor and the oppressed from pain and exploitation inflicted on them by the irresponsible rich and powerful, is at the [...]

Several years ago, I was able to get inside several highly secured jails for the first time. I was so shocked by what I saw I couldn’t sleep for nights after. The jail visits revealed children as young as ten were being held in detention with adults and many suffered degrading physical and sexual abuse, [...]

A pet shop at the Metrowalk mall in Ortigas uses an eye-catching name that can be offensive to some conservative Filipinos but, when you think about it, apropos. (Photo by Carlos Conde/pinoypress.net)

Many people with heart disease do not know the symptoms of a heart attack, even though their risk of suffering one is five to seven times higher than those with no such history, researchers reported on Monday. Read the full story here.

The New York Times called it a “rambunctious, noisy film.” One critic thought it was “a shabby piece of video verite from the Philippines” and wondered why it “inexplicably” competed in Cannes. The critic of cinematical.com headlined her review “Live from Cannes: Gratuitous Yuckiness…”and goes on to narrate why, for the first time, she walked out of a screening at a festival. And, according to the critic, it was not just because of the sight of a boil being popped using a Coke bottle — no pun intended — but also because of the gratuitous and exploitative sex scenes in the movie. Yet another critic called it the worst film in competition in Cannes in recent memory.

Amado Hernandez (Photo courtesy of tinig.com)

A mini-controversy has erupted in the blogosphere. It involves blogger Connie Veneracion who, in a recent column in the Manila Standard Today newspaper, trashed Amado V. Hernadez’s “Mga Ibong Mandaragit” because she, her daughter and her husband didn’t get it.

Blogger Exie Abola wrote what Newsstand has called a “cogent” response to Veneracion’s tirade (”a complete evisceration” of Veneracion, Newsstand says). Others have weighed in, but of course. There’s Stuart Santiago, calling Veneracion “lazy,” “stupid” and “anti-Filipino.” Ouch.

iPhone will soon be available in the Philippines, thanks to Globe Telecom and its partner, SingTel. In a short statement on Monday, Globe said “Globe, SingTel, Bharti Airtel and Optus today announced that they have signed an agreement with Apple to bring the iPhone to the Philippines, Singapore, India, and Australia later this year. More information will be released at a later date.”

This, of course, is great news to Filipinos who’ve been holding their breaths since iPhone’s launch.

A curious thing is happening over at Brian Gorrell’s. Gorrell, as you should know by now, put up his wildly popular blog to collect money that he claims the “social climber” DJ Montano stole from him. For weeks since he put it up last month, Gorrell posted exposés after exposés on Montano, the so-called Gucci [...]

LOS ANGELES - Sharon Sarmiento knew it was time to unplug when she realized she was blogging in her dreams and hearing imaginary instant messages.
For Ariel Meadow Stallings, it was the hours lost while surfing the Internet that left her feeling like she had been in a drunken blackout.
Both women are part of a new [...]

PinoyPress Blog: If the Sottos don’t remove their name from the hospital, I will declare that the act of sodomizing somebody with a foreign object should be called “sotto,” as in “He sottoed me last night.”

A visit to the Fort in Taguig would not be complete without these delectable cupcakes available at Cupcakes by Sonja, a small store at the Serenda. A bit pricey, to be sure, but definitely worth it. (PinoyPress photo)
(PinoyPress photo)

1) Were you and Brian Gorrell lovers (as opposed to “friends”)?
2) You said the money Brian sent you was for the “bills.” Brian said he lived on Boracay only for a few months. Even if we assume that the monthly upkeep was 100,000 pesos and let’s assume that Brian spent that amount each month for [...]

LITTLE DIVA. Charice Pempengco, the Filipino child-diva, has been wowing audiences around the world ever since she guested on the Ellen Degeneres show. Next month, she will be guesting on “Oprah” in an episode on child prodigies. (Photo courtesy of www.charicepempengco.com)

More details here .
Below is a teaser of the episode.

PinoyPress Blogs: Make no mistake about it: politics is the only reason Lozada is still alive. If he’s murdered or harmed at this point, it would be a political disaster for Arroyo. And she needs that disaster like a hole in the head.

TAMED EDITION. The Church and some “guardians of public morals” are up in arms over the Philippine edition of Playboy magazine, whose first issue came out this week. But they have been largely silent on the existing sex magazines that are way raunchier than Playboy, such as Playhouse magazine (right) published by Atlas Publishing, the komiks giant. Read the story.