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Duterte’s threats and shades of 1971

Diokno joins Caloocan march Oct 1971
DIOKNO IN CALOOCAN MARCH. Senator Jose W. Diokno marches with rain-drenched activists from Avenida Rizal to Monumento during a particular mass action in October 1971 to protest the violence of Mayor Asistio’s goons and still in line with the struggle for civil liberties against fascist attacks by the US-Marcos regime.

In case Duterte carries out his threat of suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, it will turn into a scenario that’s a near-parallel of 1971 under the presidency of his idol, then-President Ferdinand Marcos. Continue reading “Duterte’s threats and shades of 1971”

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Kangkong tips, literally

Miniature kangkong garden
CHINESE KANGKONG. Throwaway stems are revived in a miniature semi-aquatic environment made of recycled 1-liter plastic bottles.

When you buy a bunch of kangkong tops from the market, and prepare it in the kitchen for, say, sinigang or adobo, don’t throw away the thick and tough but still-green stems from which you pinched off the tender shoots and leaves. Continue reading “Kangkong tips, literally”

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Bamboo shoots

bamboo grove
Poems like this are like a bamboo grove, planted and nurtured by half-forgotten old folk, relentlessly tossed by the wind and rain, their foliage shed in the worst seasons of drought. But hopefully they’ll endure, for children to discover the ancient nooks and crannies where they will play and build their own dreams.

BAMBOO SHOOTS

Many years have carved these slopes.
It was around this time in March when
North Wind tarried on, defying summer thirst,
and a thousand shoots of green rejoiced.
They’d passed the test, and cried for joy, and raced uphill.
And we, who nurtured them, were about to shout
our wildest greetings when the thought struck us: Continue reading “Bamboo shoots”