From France to Albania, social unrest is setting Europe's streets ablaze | ||
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Rising fuel costs, discontent with the state of schools, declining public services and a housing crisis are fueling an autumn of protests in Europe. Crowds have protested for weeks in major cities, with some demonstrations marked by arrests, looting, injuries and violence across France, Italy and Albania. In Spain and Portugal, tent camps have sprung up to protest unaffordable housing. Read more | ||
The retrospective exhibition brings the pioneering choreographer’s neo-ethnic vision to Panay, exploring the intersections of indigenous tradition, colonial history, and contemporary Filipino identity.
The Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art (ILOMOCA) presents Dance Is My Life, a retrospective exhibition tracing the five-decade artistic journey of Agnes Locsin, 2022 National Artist for Dance. Opening on October 17, 2026, and running through January 2027, the exhibition arrives in Iloilo as the final stop of its national tour before returning to its home city of Davao. Its presentation in Panay introduces Locsin’s influential body of work to a new regional audience, highlighting the connections between her choreographic vision and the cultural histories that inform contemporary dance.
Conceived as a research and curatorial project by Igy and Pam Castrillo, in collaboration with Biag Gaongen, Associate Artistic Director of Locsin Dance Workshop, Dance Is My Life examines the human body as a site of cultural memory and transformation. Through Locsin’s choreographic practice, the exhibition explores how indigenous traditions, colonial histories, and evolving ideas of modernity intersect in contemporary dance.
At the center of this inquiry is Locsin’s development of neo-ethnic choreography, an approach that draws from indigenous Filipino traditions, rituals, and narratives and reinterprets them through contemporary movement. Her work examines what happens when inherited cultural forms encounter modernity: what is preserved, what is transformed, and what risks being lost. The body becomes both a bearer of cultural memory and a medium through which tradition can be continually reimagined.
These questions take on added significance in Iloilo and across Panay, where regional histories and cultural traditions offer audiences points of connection to the exhibition. Works such as Babalyan, Hinilawod, and Labaw Donggon engage with spiritual traditions and epic narratives from the Philippines, bringing ancestral knowledge into conversation with contemporary artistic expression.
Presented at ILOMOCA, they invite viewers to consider how stories and traditions endure across generations and find new expression through dance. The exhibition also reinforces Iloilo Business Park’s growing role as Iloilo City’s center of arts and culture, bringing Filipino artistic practices closer to local audiences.
More than a retrospective of an extraordinary artistic career, Dance Is My Life presents dance as a living archive of cultural experience, where traditions continue to evolve and the past remains present in the moving body.
Discover Dance Is My Life at ILOMOCA from October 17, 2026, through January 2027. For more information about the exhibition and the museum’s latest happenings, contact ILOMOCA at 0968 291 8676, email ilomoca.ph@gmail.com, or visit www.megaworld-
By Liza Jocson
CORPORAL Efren Lagmay of the 45th Infantry ‘Gallant’ Battalion receives full military honors during his interment in Sulu. (45th IDivision)
ZAMBOANGA CITY – A member of the 11th Infantry “Alakdan” Division killed in ambush in Basilan last week was accorded full military honors in his hometown of Sulu on Sunday, Oct. 11.
Corporal Efren M. Lagmay of the 45th Infantry “Gallant” Battalion was honored when his remains arrived at the Jolo Airport in Jolo, Sulu on Sunday, Oct. 11.
A three-volley rifle salute was rendered during his burial ceremony as a final military tribute to his courage, dedication, and faithful service to the nation, the 11th Infantry Division said.
Lt. Col. Genesis Gabrido, commanding general of the 41st Infantry Battalion, paid his respects to the fallen soldier who was laid to rest in Sitio Gapus, Barangay Panabuan, Indanan.
Lagmay was the lone fatality in the ambush against the 45th Infantry Battalion on Thursday, Oct. 8.
OCD orders disaster councils to activate response measures as super typhoon 'Rosal' enters PAR | ||
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The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) has directed regional and local disaster risk reduction and management councils to activate preparedness measures, preposition emergency supplies, and mobilize personnel following the entry of super typhoon “Rosal” into the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Read more |
Lastly, spend your time doing absolutely nothing (where you can find peace) in a place like this.
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By Fr. Shay Cullen, Founder since 1974 |
On June 22, 2026, something shocking shattered the peace at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City. At around 9:13 a.m. that day, two young boys, ages 14 and 15, opened fire on campus. The horrifying attack claimed the lives of three students and left 20 others injured. The teenage shooters were believed to have been influenced by violent content on the internet. Social media platforms are not public services. They are moneymaking machines owned by moguls whose sole desire and purpose in life, it seems, is to make billions of dollars and further enrich themselves, never mind the consequences. Internet service providers (ISPs) use engagement-driven algorithms designed to lure young audiences and make them addicted to watching harmful content. Algorithms are computer instructions like “digital robots” that gather information about you and know your likes and dislikes, your habits, and what you search online. Then they track you and know what and how long you watch a video. It combines your viewing data with personal information — age, device type, location — to predict what you want to see next, or not. They will send you unwanted, sensational and extreme content showing violence, pornography, child abuse, and even violent extremism, like what those two Tacloban boys imitated. ISPs have done little to block such evil and damaging content despite Philippine law demanding them to do so. An estimated 500,000 Filipino children — or about one in 100 in the country — were trafficked to produce new child sexual exploitation material or subjected to livestreamed abuse in a single year. Assessments from the United Nations Children’s Fund say that up to 2 million internet-using children aged 12 to 17 have experienced some form of online sexual abuse or exploitation. Offshore sex offenders pay as little as $15 to $25 a session. According to the Philippine Anti-Money Laundering Council, transactions originating from the United States trigger the largest volume of suspicious financial reports related to the online sexual abuse or exploitation of children. The Philippine law is strict but largely ignored. Republic Act 11930, or the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials Act, instructs telecommunications companies to install state-of-the-art blocking software, but they don’t. Corrupt officials take bribes to ignore the violations of the law. These intrusions into the life of users can cause severe psychological harm in children, including rising rates of anxiety, depression and sleep deprivation. These can also drive young people to violent actions. Banning young people from social media is like stopping a bird from flying. Besides, there are fundamental rights to be respected, like those of free speech and freedom of expression, which good, positive and educational platforms provide and give access to educational material. Besides, smart young people nowadays can use virtual private networks, which shield them from detection when using the internet to access certain websites. Such a ban would prevent young people from accessing help sites. It would also entice children to visit restricted sites and become all the more vulnerable and subject to online sexual abuse, grooming and blackmail. It is the providers and enablers of the dangerous material online that must be curbed more. Restrictions for children from accessing certain sites are welcome; they can help save children from abuse. More importantly, those sites should be identified and blocked. Restricted use Another recent internet-related problem arose with the alleged interference of a high-ranking United States official that ordered the restricted use of the military version of the satellite internet service by the Ukrainian army, which is fighting a brave battle for their nation’s survival. The US military and the White House ordered the restriction of the Starshield satellite internet system — the military variant of Starlink — used by Ukraine. This prevented Ukrainian drones from attacking Russian oil refineries. US President Donald Trump, who is a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, made a deal to buy Russian diesel. Diesel is in short supply in the US, impairing the efforts of Trump’s Republican Party to keep control of Congress in the Nov. 3 midterm elections this year. The internet restriction pressured Ukrainian leader President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop attacking Russian oil refineries. Oil sales are the source of Russia’s wealth, and helping to fund Putin’s war on Ukraine. The internet restriction prevented Ukrainian drones from reaching their targets while Russian drones and missiles rained down on Ukraine’s cities and power stations. Zelenskyy has spoken out against the deal, saying it empowered the Russian economy and, by extension, Putin to continue its attacks on his country. In effect, Zelenskyy said President Trump was helping Russia attack Ukraine. The internet restriction also put Ukrainians in greater danger, as there were no warnings of Russian attacks. The satellite restrictions severely compromised Ukraine’s defense systems. Without proper connectivity, Ukrainian forces were unable to receive early air raid warnings or properly intercept a subsequent barrage of over 850 Russian drones. More people died in the bombardments. The US explicitly threatened to stop exchanging critical military intelligence if Ukraine refused to halt its drone attacks on Russian refineries. Following Ukraine’s resumption of strikes against a Rosneft refinery in Ryazan, Trump labeled the actions a “disgrace” and publicly declared that Ukraine needs a new president. Zelenskyy said in an interview that the moves mean “Ukraine is losing a strong partner in the US” and that Trump is being pushed onto the wrong side of history. European allies have also expressed intense frustration and anger, viewing the US actions as a major stab in the back to the Western coalition. |
Learning to stand up for yourself means that you’re looking out for your well-being and bettering your mental health. You’re defending your self-worth when you take up this action. When you’re too passive under difficult situations, you may feel like you’ve let yourself down.
While being a columnist of “Tinig ng Bayan” (published in Abra) during the 1980s, I remember our Taiwanese coordinator Cristina Lising-Geronga, who expressed herself in innumerable write ups about the topic loneliness. Sure, “Tinig ng Bayan” has been a publication for Filipinos abroad. Loneliness, borne by Filipinos living abroad while missing their families in the Philippines, became a very “normal” expression.
During that time, my late mentor Monsignor Professor Dr. Dr. Hermogenes E. Bacareza, Chaplain of the Philippine Community in Berlin, started together with me publishing “Ang Mabuhay”. Believe me, “loneliness” became a main topic in many write-ups.
How come loneliness is still a general topic in so many families?
Loneliness has been called one of the main diseases of this century. It really doesn’t strike not only the Filipinos abroad and their loved ones back home. Too often loneliness is being followed by alcoholism, drug abuse and even suicide. Yes, loneliness becomes a modern day plague. I observed several people trying to surround themselves with so-called “friends” only to find that such relationships are often shallow and unsatisfying.
Loneliness can be painful but being lonely or alone at that is not always a bad thing. Ask yourself, how do you use your time, if you are really alone? Do you simply let the time pass without doing anything at all? Why not use such time productively? There are many worthwhile activities to engage in, even if you are alone, such as reading, writing, listening to good (light) music, playing an (forgotten?) instrument, gardening… .
Reading the bible can be also very particularly beneficial. The Word of God is “alive and exerts power” and can take our minds off ourselves.
To break the cycle of loneliness, one must be a giver. Let’s keep an eye, not only and always on our personal interests but also on the interests of others. Look around and watch out who needs help, or who needs a real friend or good listener. Once you have spotted such a person, act! Thus, in order to have friends, you must act like a friend. Luke 6:38 says, “Give to others, and God will give to you!” Besides, “There is more happiness (and less loneliness) in giving than receiving”, says Acts 20:35.
