Notes on a Nation

let them pee in peace

August 17, 2019

Manila, 17 August—Filipino transgender woman Gretchen Diez is at the forefront of something remarkable. After being barred from using the women’s restroom in...

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a postscript on family

August 12, 2019

Manila, 12 August—Something strange happened to me over the weekend: I witnessed a family showdown. I know I don’t usually talk about my family, outside of...

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t.g.i.s. (+ hey queer makers)

August 11, 2019

Manila, 11 August—Coming of age in the mid-to-late 90s is incomplete without television. As a child who lived in the outskirts of Metro Manila (pre-city...

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information diets

August 3, 2019

Manila, 3 August—How does the rain make you feel? It’s been raining nonstop for days, and I’ve been feeling a bit… slowed down by it. It’s been ten years...

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we were in el nido

July 30, 2019

Manila, 30 July—I may not be much of a traveler, but believe it or not, if there’s one thing I do enjoy, it’s traveling for work. Last week, work took me to...

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Straddle or swerve?

July 21, 2019

Manila, 21 July—We caught the Friday night staging of Diana Son’s play “Stop Kiss” at the Power Mac Center Spotlight in Circuit Makati, my first play in this...

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The biggest lie I was ever told

July 14, 2019

Manila, 14 July—But first, I want to open with something true: my teammates and I were in Argao, Cebu to hold a Millenniors program there with their seniors....

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one hell of a time

July 7, 2019

Manila, 7 July—How’s your weekend doing so far? We have been deliberately avoiding Stranger Things Season 3, which is perhaps the biggest debut on Netflix...

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pride as protest

June 30, 2019

Manila, 30 June—It rained hard all day on Asia’s biggest Pride Parade but it did not matter to the 70,000 people who trooped to the Marikina Sports Center to...

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pride

June 22, 2019

Manila, 22 June—One of my favorite moments from last year was attending the Pride March at the Marikina Sports Center. Touted the biggest Pride March in...

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puddle season

June 16, 2019

Manila, 16 June—When I was younger and more protective of my summers, I dreaded June the most. For decades, June meant going back to school and waking up...

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i am not a traveler

June 8, 2019

Manila, 8 June—It’s taken me all of these years, but for now I can safely say that I am not a traveler. There are people who enjoy the thrill of discovery...

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championship heart

June 1, 2019

Manila, 1 June—I suppose anyone may rightly assume that my old high school alma mater, now called San Beda Alabang, has always been some sort of basketball...

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borongan's best-kept secret

May 26, 2019

Manila, 26 May—We were in Eastern Visayas for a brief work trip earlier this week, and our main destination was Borongan City in Eastern Samar. To get there,...

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now what?

May 19, 2019

Manila, 18 May—It’s been almost a week since the midterm elections, and I’m still heartbroken at the results, no matter how unsurprising. I mean, how could...

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pool season

May 11, 2019

Manila, 12 May—When I was younger, way before easily accessible beaches were a thing, my mother used to take us to the hot springs in Pansol, Laguna. Every...

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brief notes about endgame and winterfell

May 5, 2019

Manila, 5 May—How do weekends zip past us just like that? It remains a mystery. But here I am, back on a Sunday night, trying to gather thoughts before I...

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citizen panic

May 1, 2019

Manila, 1 May—An old panic usually overtakes me whenever May comes around during an election year like this one. I thought this year, my first elections...

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on rising

April 21, 2019

Manila, 21 April—Happy Easter greetings! How did your long-ish weekend go? Holy Week has always been a big vacation, even during my newspaper days—Good...

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bikes and birthdays

April 14, 2019

Manila, 14 April—To mark C’s birthday this year, we went on a sunset bike tour around Intramuros with Bambike Ecotours and their fleet of bamboo bicycles....

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