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“Tradition and Transformation: Studies on Cordillera Indigenous Culture” by June Prill-Brett, edited by Delfin Tolentino Jr. and published by the Cordillera Studies Center of UP Baguio in 2015 is one of those books I purchased a few years back but never had the time to read until recently. The Japanese call this tsundoku, which means acquiring books and allowing them to pile up without reading them… immediately, I hasten to add.
The title of this coffee table book is “Tayo ang Liwanag” or “We are the Light: Journeying through our People’s Campaign.” It is by Leni Robredo on the story of her storied presidential campaign.
This Christmas, I decided to indulge in one of my favorite pastimes, which is reading books. I decided to look for books on Christmas. My first discovery in this journey is that I could not find any meaningful book about Christmas written by Philippine authors. I find this unusual because the Philippines is reputed to be the country with the longest Christmas celebration from September to January.
On Dec. 7 Br. Armin Luistro FSC was awarded the Bukas Palad Award by the Ateneo de Manila University at its Traditional University Awards. The award is significant and appreciated because Br. Armin is from De La Salle University, which is considered Ateneo’s premier academic and rival competitor.
I have read many books about the Philippines during the Second World War. This book “Children of War” by Joan Orendain (Vibal Foundation, Inc., 2023) is one of the most interesting, comprehensive and unique books I have ever read. The contents are actually narratives of memories of surviving the war by people who were children or teenagers during those years. The other unique feature of the book is that the children were primarily those from the upper class of that era.
Last Monday, Nov. 27, the government declared it as a special holiday. It was supposed to be a day for honoring our national hero, Andres Bonifacio. Whether by design or by coincidence, that day, Nov. 27, was the 91st birth anniversary of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. Although I suppose it was unintentional, we ended up celebrating the life of another hero, assassinated exactly 40 years ago.
I have always believed that income inequality is more critical in facing the economic problems of any nation, as compared to the growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Traditional economists still insist that the solution to inequality is by first increasing economic growth to the extent that the wealth of the upper class will “trickle down” to the poor. This theory has become highly controversial and there are many examples that show that it does not work.
Definitely, the most important news this past week was the release on bail of former Sen. Leila de Lima. She has been incarcerated for almost seven years, mostly during the term of Rodrigo Duterte. It is not surprising that she has been released under the new President.