Parental Duties and Matters of the Heart.....

        The recent falling out between a pretty and sosyal actress and her parents, over the parents’ disapproval of the actress’ current politico-beau has led me to this question: up to when should parents involve themselves in the lives of their children? I initially wanted to use the word meddle, but eventually realized that it is too straightforward a term to be used, and thus, had to do a bit of sugar-coating here. So after some while in deep thought and thesaurus browsing, I was able to stumble upon a word with the kindest meaning – involve (but the two mean the same thing don’t they?). 

On Kristel Tejada's Death: Is UP Manila Liable?

        It has been a week since a Behavioral Science student of UP Manila took her own life allegedly because of tuition fee woes. Perhaps, many of you are wondering why I have not said a thing about the tragic death of Kristel Tejada (will my opinion matter?). I have been contemplating on writing something about it, but unfortunately, cannot find the right motivation to string all my thoughts into sentences. Blame it on other news that hogged the headlines, such as this perpetual spat between an actress-host and her estranged basketball player-husband, and the tirades made by the parents of a Kapuso actress towards their daughter’s politico-boyfriend (will I write something about them too?)

The Sad Story of an Elephant Named "MALI"

        I have been hearing a lot about Mali, the lone female elephant at the Manila Zoo. Over time, she has become as controversial as our politicos and artistas. So why is she the talk of the town as of late? A lot of animal rights activists and groups, here and abroad, are clamoring for her release from her cramped enclosure at the said zoo and be transferred to a sanctuary somewhere in Thailand (Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary). This petition has already reached the halls of Congress, wherein three resolutions had already been filed in support of Mali’s release and transfer. But despite such individual, group, and legislative efforts, Mali is still very much around at the Manila Zoo.

YOU DON'T DO THAT TOO WILLY

        

        Last February 28, Willie Revillame unceremoniously interrupted a segment of his show to let off some steam. On “his” stage, the program host berated Ethel Booba and Ate Gay for their not so sportsmanlike behavior when the two did not win in a contest on the show. All the complaining of the two mainstays allegedly took place backstage, and such incident did not sit well with Willie most especially when Ethel shouted at him. This infamous happening drove Willie to criticize them live on national television (it’s all over Youtube). Ethel and Ate Gay may have shown unpleasant behavior, but they do not deserve such outright condemnation from Willie. The latter narrated to his audience how and why he reprimanded the two comediennes, with his litany laced with hurtful words:

IN DEFENSE OF THE FILIPINO NURSE (Cynthia Villar and Her "Room Nurse" Remark)

        Senatoriable Cynthia Villar is currently in hot water for crafting a statement that has insulted the ego and pride of Filipino nurses. The said statement, which she uttered as a matter of factly on television, is now being widely discussed in various websites. Her video is currently doing the rounds of various Facebook pages, and concerned people are not pleased with how she responded to a question in the said video.

Villar vs. CHED

        In the cable program Pagsubok ng mga Kandidato, Villar was asked why she contradicted the plan of the Commission on Higher Education to “close” nursing schools in our country which do not have the required tertiary hospital during her time as Chairman of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education. Villar argued that it was not proper to put down such schools since the owners have already made a huge investment in terms of facilities for the Nursing program. As a businesswoman herself, I think that it was natural for her to sympathize with the owners of such schools and actually gave a good justification: such schools were already awarded permits by CHED. Villar further added that a tertiary hospital will only be needed by nursing schools once their students are done with their pre-nursing education (first two years). Her suggestion then to CHED, was not to "close" the pre-nursing education program of nursing schools, since a tertiary hospital is not yet needed during the first two years of nursing study.