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What poverty looks like in the Philippines, according to VP Leni Robredo
By Cristina DC Pastor If poverty in the Philippines had a name, it would be Agutaya. An obscure island town in the northeastern part of Palawan, Agutaya has a population of more than 12K people spread across 10 barangays. To get to Agutaya, one travels 10 hours by boat from the larger and more tourist-friendly […]
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The magnetic Lolita Valderrama Savage: Nature artist, Chairman’s wife, mother of three
By Cristina DC Pastor Corporate chairmen’s spouses are known to stay at home, raise the children, manage the household, and still look elegant for after-dinner parties. Artist Lolita Valderrama Savage, who has been married for almost 40 years to retired chairman of global asset management company, Alliance Capital Management International, Frank Savage, recast that traditional […]
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Ilocanos to serve up their dishes in June 16 festival. ‘Mangantayon’
Warek-Warek and Dinardaraan may sound like tongue twisters only because we do not know that they are the Ilocano renditions of Sisig and Dinuguan, respectively. On June 16, A Taste of Ilocano Food & Culture will unveil culinary specialties from the Philippines’ northern region. If Dinengdeng is the only Ilocano dish you know, you will […]
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The radiant realism in Miguel Miranda’s photography
By Cristina DC Pastor For a photograph to be able to express a thousand words, it needs a good eye, a patient mindset, and a willingness to explore. Miguel Miranda, 38, has all that and a discipline for details, diligently making sure each image is, in cliché parlance, “picture perfect.” This practice of being meticulous […]
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Social Security trust fund projected to start drying up in 2034
The Social Security Board of Trustees has released its annual report on the long-term financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds. The combined asset reserves of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds are projected to become depleted in 2034, the same as projected last year, with 79 percent of […]
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A taste of Maryland Chickan in Makati
By Wendell Gaa With his trademark grin, cap and sci-fi T-shirt, Washington D.C. native Fred Corder — affectionately known as “That Guy” — was more than delighted to share with me the mouthwatering taste of ‘Maryland Chickan.’ It is chicken the way his grandma would make it: fresh, fried, with no MSG or extenders. The […]
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After 9/11, Carlos Esguerra took the unpaved path to nature photography
By Cristina DC Pastor Carlos Esguerra’s photographs are hypnotic. His Flatiron Building has the gothic look a la Sleepy Hollow. His Manhattan skyline has the appearance of a stack of Lego blocks arranged according to color. The viewer is riveted, wondering how the photographer succeeds brilliantly in presenting his images differently. If you ask Carlos, […]
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Gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon wants driver’s licenses for all New Yorkers
By Rene Pastor Cynthia Nixon sat listening intently at the head of a table as dozens of students poured out their frustrations at what they described as an overbearing police presence in their schools. She had come to the Center for Popular Democracy in Troutman Street in Brooklyn, a road festooned by colorful graffiti covering […]
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Filipino chefs mourn the death of ‘idol’ Anthony Bourdain who inspired them
By Rene Pastor Filipino chefs in NYC are mourning the death of celebrity chef and travel writer Anthony Bourdain who, according to news reports, hanged himself June 8 in a hotel in France. “Anthony Bourdain’s death is a tragic loss to the culinary world,” said Jappy Afzelius, executive chef at Tsismis, a Philippine-inspired tapas & […]