EVERY now and then, I find myself wondering about the houses we admire from the outside. Tall gates. Perfect lawns. Expensive cars tucked neatly into
Category: FromWhereIStand
When ‘be your best’ becomes ‘you must be perfect’
SOME of the saddest conversations I’ve had with young people never began with the words, “I’m depressed.” Instead, they would say, “I’m afraid of disappointing
The Republic is Watching
THERE are moments in a nation’s life when the courtroom ceases to be merely a room. It becomes a mirror. The impeachment trial of Vice
What 43 Years of Marriage Taught Me
THE sight of twenty-eight couples standing before the altar of the Dumaguete Cathedral last June 30 was more than a beautiful ceremony. It was a
The children we are losing
THERE is something especially heartbreaking about a crime committed by a child. It leaves behind more than victims. It leaves behind questions that refuse to
Remembering Rizal, forgetting his message
LAST Friday, June 19, marked the birth anniversary of José Rizal. Had he lived beyond the bullets that ended his life in Bagumbayan, he would
Concrete roads, fragile lives
IN THE Philippines, progress often arrives with a bang. It comes with the rumble of heavy equipment, the smell of fresh asphalt, and a ribbon
When Citizens Stop Listening
AT SOME point, people stop paying attention—not because they don’t care, but because everything starts to sound the same. One controversy follows another. Accusations, defenses,
A City That Knows How to Breathe
DATELINE May 29, 2026 – Da Nang, Vietnam. Sometimes, what people need most is not a grand adventure, but a quiet pause from life. That