By PIO S. VERZOLA JR.

The juice is cooked for about two hours in a large cast-iron vat, over a large earthen oven fueled by the crushed and dried cane stalks.

If the batch is for sugar, the syrup is cooked until it crystallizes. Then it is broken down into powder form. Each batch produces about 25 gantas. If it is for panocha or ente, the syrup is poured into coconut-shell molds or bamboo tube containers. Read the rest of this entry →

By ARTEMIO DUMLAO

Let us resume this “Point and Shoot” column, after a long vacation, with a light yet educating piece.

Circulating in the Internet, it was emailed to me and presumably to countless others. But not all have email access, so let our readers be entertained yet “educated” too. Read the rest of this entry →

By REV. LUNA L. DINGAYAN

“But because of our sins he was wounded, beaten because of the evil we did. We are healed by the punishment he suffered, made whole by the blows he received.” — Isaiah 53:5

The Mendez case

Cris Mendez is the latest among the countless victims of brutal and senseless deaths by fraternity hazing in colleges and universities in our country. The Mendez case has opened our eyes once again to the evils of fraternity.

Fraternity per se is not evil, but it becomes demonic if it would cause the loss of precious lives. Neophytes are saying that they are persuaded to join the fraternity due to the rewards of political or economic security they could get. They say that hurting the neophytes through hazing is a way of strengthening the bond of brotherhood. Unless you are ready to be hurt, you don’t take the fraternity seriously, they say. Read the rest of this entry →

By INNABUYOG-GABRIELA

Editor’s note: The following is Part 1 of an abridged version of a paper on violence against women and indigenous women, presented by Vernie Yocogan-Diano to the Asia Consultation with the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women. The consultation was held in Manila from September 10 to 14. Ms. Diano is acting chairperson of Innabuyog (an alliance of indigenous women’s organizations in the Cordillera), national coordinator of BAI (national network of indigneous women’s organizations in the country), and convenor of Task Force Women and Environment (TFWEN). Part 2 will be published next week.

Land is life!

Indigenous women, like other women in the Cordillera, Philippines and in Asia, suffer from different forms of violence, in the homes, farms, shops, and public places. These maybe physical, emotional and psychological violence. The violence can also be economic and political.

Innabuyog’s long experience in pursuing women’s rights and welfare affirms that violence happens to women because of existing power structures led by the state, corporations, and other forces of globalization, which create injustices and biases against women and the various oppressed classes they belong to. Read the rest of this entry →