By Herman M. Lagon Fans of the “John Wick” films will remember a recurring phrase: “a seat at the table.” In that fictional underworld, the High Table is where power sits. Those who have a seat help shape the rules. Those who do not are forced to live with them. It is a dramatic way …
OPINION
Contemplative life in ordinary life
By Fr. Roy Cimagala What lesson can we learn from that rather amusing gospel episode of the two sisters, Martha and Mary, welcoming Christ to their home? (cfr. Luke 10:38-42) Martha was doing well in busying herself welcoming their special guest. But when she complained about her sister, Mary, who seemed to be doing nothing …
Golden milestones, shared legacies
By Ignacio R. Bunye Fifty years is a long journey for any institution. A golden anniversary is more than a marker of endurance; it is a celebration of vision, service and the people who carried a mission forward through changing times. This week, I find myself doubly blessed to commemorate two milestones that are deeply …
Mindsets, not miniskirts
By Herman M. Lagon Some debates fade away with time. Others keep coming back, like a stain that refuses to leave a white shirt. The debate about how women dress belongs to the latter. Every few years it returns — after a celebrity remark, a viral post or a lecture that sounds more like a …
Advocacy groups back bill requiring warning labels on unhealthy food
Civil society groups and health advocates are pushing for the passage of a bill that would require front-of-pack warning labels on packaged food products in the Philippines, arguing the measure could help curb the country’s rising obesity and noncommunicable disease (NCD) crisis. The proposal, Healthy Food Marketing and Labelling Act of 2026 (House Bill 8284), …
Rural dentist, global leader
By Dr. Joseph D. Lim Dr. Adekemi Adeniyan is a rural dentist first and foremost. She works in one of the world’s most challenging settings, in Nigeria where fewer than two in 10 persons have access to oral health care where dental health remains one of the most neglected areas of public health. Dr. Adeniyan …
Let’s be ready to carry Christ’s cross
By Fr. Roy Cimagala If Christ is the pattern of our humanity, then we have to be ready to carry his cross which is his ultimate expression of love for us. To carry his cross is the ultimate way we can identify ourselves with Christ as we should. We should not be afraid of the …
Health experts push controls on sugary foods, drinks
Health experts called for stronger measures to limit the consumption of sugary foods and beverages as part of efforts to curb rising obesity rates in the Philippines. During a media conference in Manila, Philippine Heart Association board member Dr. Louella Santos proposed imposing higher taxes on sugary drinks to discourage consumption. “Just like with smoking …
Remember the EDSA People Power Revolution
By Dennis Gorecho “Let us retell the story of EDSA.” Archbishop of Lipa Gilbert Garcera, D.D., president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said in his pastoral letter marking the 40th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution that “our first duty is to remember.” “The fire of EDSA, set aflame 40 …
The war that reaches our pockets
By Herman M. Lagon You do not need to live in Tehran, Tel Aviv, Caracas, or Washington to feel a war. Sometimes it reaches you while you are standing at a gasoline station in Jaro, watching the numbers jump faster than your patience. Sometimes it arrives in the market, where a vendor apologizes for the …