I was sitting at my workstation doing my routines at work peacefully when I overheard a conversation that two of my officemates had. They were talking about money. That was not uncommon, especially for us Filipinos who are trying very hard to make the most out of what is left of our salaries after we send our money to the Philippines. But something other than that caught my attention. They were talking about currencies of other gulf countries… countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain. I decided to listen in, trying very hard to confirm the suspicions on my head. And when I finally heard one say something about one currency, it was more than enough for me bear. I twisted my seat to face the two people talking at the workstation just beside mine. I interrupted them, still trying to make sense out of the incoherent things that I’ve heard. “Who’s going to have one currency?” I asked the guy who seemed to be the person who was spreading the news. “The GCC countries, Saudi Ar...

A hate mail has been circulating in the web right now against Filipinos and Philippines as a country. It is clearly a product of ignorance and I am greatly outraged and that the same time saddened by the contents of the open letter. The letter was written by a man named Art Bell who is reportedly a radio commentator. I don't know where he based his opinions but they are really ridiculous! His letter entitled "Filipinos Make Me Puke" is in blue below. A response to the letter by a fellow Filipino is in green while my own response is in red. Filipinos Make Me Puke By: Art Bell As we've all come to notice, in the past few decades, Filipinos have begun to infest the United States like some sort of disease. Their extensive involvement in the U.S. Armed Forces is proof of the trashy kind of qualities all Filipinos tend to exhibit on a regular basis. You can see this clearly by studying the attitudes and cultural Icons of most Filipino Americans. Origins of Pinoys/Pinays...

Two of my sisters are in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. One of them has been working in the city for almost three years and the other one for almost two. They earned relatively well which made us able to live quite comfortably. A few months ago, my eldest sister was also dreaming about going to that great Muslim city and tried to persuade me of going there too. When she asked me the ultimate question, I was a little surprised with my response. It was a big NO. "Why?" she asked. For one, I never really dreamed of leaving my comfort zone for anything, especially for money. There was nothing I wanted but to be able to live as comfortably as I can and at the same time be contented with what I have. But that reason was actually not the one that I told my sister. "The Lord's second coming is near," I told her, "and when that time comes, I don't want myself to be surrounded by Arabs." It surprised me and my sister as well. But it was a very truthful an...

Carl Lee Hailey murdered two white men who gang raped his ten-year-old daughter, and was acquitted from the said crime by the jury despite his obvious guilt. This was the story of a responsible father turned vigilante killer in John Grisham’s “A Time to Kill.” Just like the reasons of the acquittal of Hailey, the vigilante killers and their supporters believe in putting justice in their own hands; that a crime is justified on the victim’s criminal record. But what do we call these people who are solving crime through crime? Isn’t the definition of the word criminal, someone who is guilty of a crime? Isn’t the murder of a person a crime? If the answer to these questions is yes, then vigilante killers are criminals. It was said that even implementors of the law tolerate and accept vigilante killing as a means of eradicating criminals. Many ordinary citizens are slowly approving the idea. No one knows, maybe tomorrow, vigilante killing will be legal. St. Thomas Aquinas’ validity of la...

this is an article about an extraordinary rehabilitation center in Gun-ob Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu Giving Home to the Hopeless How many times have we heard of drug addicts rehabilitated and re-rehabilitated? Surely, drug addiction is an extremely difficult problem. Most often, the firm and exacting rehabilitation centers prove ineffective in restoring the lives of the users of prohibited drugs. Believing that drug addiction is not only a physical and psychological problem but also spiritual, the House of Hope provides a different kind of rehabilitation. House of Hope is an affiliate of Helping Hand, a rehabilitation center in Singapore founded by the late Bro. Robert Yeo, a former heroine addict himself. Established in May 1997, the House of Hope is now on its 8th year of operations in Gun-ob, Lapu-Lapu City. “Here in House of Hope, we believe in the power of God’s Word to transform lives,” said a member of the project staff who refused to be named, himself also struggled ...