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My visit to Mang Nanie’s street library – the Reading Club 2000

The first time I heard about Mang Hernando “Nanie” Guanlao’s house-cum-library, I knew I wanted to go there. One day, armed with a stack of books, a result of decluttering efforts, I Waze’d my way to Balagtas Street in Makati City, in search of the Reading Club 2000.

A sign outside Mang Nanie’s home prominently states “A good book is easy to find. FREE READING TO THE PUBLIC.”

Unlike the usual libraries we know, Mang Nanie’s street library was totally different. In normal libraries, there are rules to follow. Here there were none. In fact, the books have no borrower cards. There is no card catalog. You like a book? You can bring it home and keep it. Normal libraries have operational hours. Mang Nanie’s library is open 24/7.

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Our Grab experience highlights the need for better women safety

Are women safe taking transport network vehicles (TNVs) in the Philippines?

I thought so. In my extended family, we are overwhelmingly female — sisters, cousins, nieces. It has been more convenient for most of us to take a TNV around the metro. I also know of some female friends who gave up their cars in favor of TNVs. My kids took Uber until they closed shop. We had no issues then with Uber. These days, with Uber gone, they have no other option but to use Grab. The newer TNV companies, while an option, are not as established as Grab which has a wider network of vehicles. I was confident they were all safe taking this mode of transport.

It had to take an incident with my daughter a few weeks before Christmas, involving a Grab car, for me to sit up, pay attention, and ask the hard question. Just how safe are women passengers in TNVs?

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Goodbye, Byahilo — pioneer travel blogger and dear friend

A dear friend, a pioneer travel blogger, Eric Dormido (known in the blogosphere as Byahilo) passed away yesterday, October 5, 2018. He suffered a cardiac arrest while undergoing routine dialysis for his Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). He was 39.

Eric, all smiles always (taken from his Facebook page)

Eric was one of the first bloggers I got to know when I began blogging in 2006. At that time, he was already starting to make a name for himself as a travel blogger. There were very few travel bloggers like him back then.

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Meet the winners of the ‘Hope in 40 Seconds’ video competition for mental health awareness

DEPRESSION. So many suffer from it these days and yet, many times, it goes unrecognized and unchecked. And even when it is discovered, both the patient and the family tend to hide it because of the social stigma that it still carries. The Mental Health Act has already passed, allowing the funding of programs geared towards supporting mental health awareness. But we still have a long way to go. Meanwhile, there is need for a go-to place where depression sufferers can go to ask for help.

Based on data from the DOH and the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 300 million people are experiencing depression, up by more than 18% from 2005 to 2015. In the Philippines alone, an estimated 3.3 million Filipinos are suffering from depression. Only 1 out of 3 who suffer from depression will seek the help of a specialist and one third will not even be aware of their condition. Also, the most vulnerable sector is the youth, with ages ranging from 15 to 29 years old.

Globe and its partners for Hopeline 2919

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From law enforcer to vigilante: Will there be a redeeming factor for Cardo on Ang Probinsyano?

Ang Probinsyano on ABS-CBN is one of the longest running television series (teleseryes) I have ever watched and it started out on the right foot. Until a few months ago.

I have been following Cardo (Coco Martin) on Ang Probinsyano for about 2 years now. I’ve seen him pretend to be his deceased twin, Ador, a policeman killed by a fellow policeman, the son of a drug lord. I also marveled at the transformation of Cardo into an undercover ‘woman’. I followed his blooming relationship with reporter Alyana (Yassi Pressman) and rejoiced when they got married. Qhen they lost their baby, Ricky Boy, in a mall bombing,I grieved along with Cardo and Alyana .

Ang Probinsyano, in my view, started out as a series that taught many lessons. I especially loved Lola Flora (Susan Roces) because her character always stood as the family’s moral ground.

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