Mayon Volcano have blanketed several towns and cities

 

Thick plumes of ash from Mayon Volcano have blanketed several towns and cities in Albay and nearby provinces, prompting authorities to raise alert levels as the volcano continues to show signs of unrest.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) reported that the volcano has been emitting steam-driven plumes and ash, driven by prevailing winds towards the southwest and west. This has resulted in heavy ashfall in Legazpi City, Daraga, Camalig, Guinobatan, and other areas within the 6-kilometer Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) and beyond.

While Mayon is one of the most active volcanoes in the country, this latest eruption is considered one of the more significant events in recent years. Authorities remain on high alert, continuously monitoring seismic activity and ground deformation to assess any further escalation.

PSEi climbs on easing US-Iran conflict

 

BY EMMANUEL JOHN ABRIS

MAY 5, 2026

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Local stocks closed higher on Monday as easing concerns over the United States-Iran conflict helped lift market sentiment.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) climbed 108.52 points or 1.86 percent, to finish at 5,942.16.

Philstocks financial research manager Japhet Tantiangco said the broader market traded in positive territory following reports that Iran proposed a 14-point plan to the US in a bid to reach a diplomatic resolution.

Gets mo ba?—How we Filipinos talk to each other

 

BY CARL LORENZ CERVANTES

APRIL 18, 2026

Art by Tine Paz-Yap

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People communicate in so many different ways. Words are one way. We can say things or write them down. If we are not that close with someone, we have to be clear and direct about what we want. But we still want to be polite, so we will say “please” or “po.” For example: “Makikiraan po!” “Paki-pasa po ng tubig.” “Pabili po ng tatlong kendi.”

A lot of miscommunication happens when expectations do not match or when communication is not as clear as we want it to be. This is why we have “mixed signals” with other people. They say one thing, but they do another. For example: “Sabi niya mahal niya ako, pero bakit may kausap siyang iba?”

There are also things that we say can “remain unsaid.” Of course, we cannot read minds as they do in the movies, but we can “feel” what other people need. This is the dynamic of pakikiramdam. In our culture, a lot of things are “hindi na kailangang sabihin.”

So, now we see that there is another kind of communication: a communication that does not involve words. It is more about reading behaviors and being sensitive to the moods of others.

Filipino forms of communication

In Filipino culture, communication is not just verbal. As writer and social anthropologist Melba Maggay points out, there are multiple forms of Filipino social communication, each showing various degrees of care and self-expression.

The most indirect form of communication is pahiwatig, which is used to express a hidden desire. This is usually only applicable when people are close enough to be aware of each other’s needs. Tampo is a kind of pahiwatig. For example: “Uy, ang sarap ng kinakain mo ah…” or “Aba, ang ganda ng damit na ito. At saka malapit na birthday ko…”

Pasabi involves an intermediary who can act as a neutral ground for people separated by distance or interpersonal conflict. A parent might also leave advice (bilin) for their child through another relative. For example: “Pakisabi naman sa kapatid mo na miss na miss ko na siya at sana naman magparamdam na siya” or “Alam kong galit siya sa iyo, kaya ako na magsasabi sa kaniya at baka mag-away na naman kayo.”

The direct expression of one’s true feelings is pagtapat, which is the revelation of a truth—usually prefaced with “Sa totoo lang…” (In truth…). The word “tapat” refers to something in front of you, but it also means “honest.” A secret admirer admits their love, or a guilty person admits their crime. “May ipagtatapat sana ako…”

And the most open form of communication is pangangalandakan, which is to spread information without care, like scattering trash (pagkalat). A frequent topic of conversation is “bukambibig,” which literally refers to something that comes out every time a person’s mouth opens up.

Why do we communicate?

The point of communication is to convey ideas and influence perceptions, and we cannot limit that to just words, whether said or written down. There are other ways people “talk” to each other—even just through their eyes! Only a few of us still remember that powerful movie scene between Vilma Santos and Nora Aunor, as they communicated just by looking at each other.   

In mind science, there is a theory that says we developed consciousness and awareness because we had to learn how to communicate with each other. Our earliest ancestors had to collaborate with fellow humans to survive harsh conditions. They had to talk to each other. They had to learn who is the “I” and “me” and who is the “you” and “we” so that we can give directions to each other and take care of each other.

It is poetic, even, to think that the reason we know who we are as individuals can be traced all the way back to our ancestors, who sought ways to connect with their kapwa in order to thrive in a chaotic world.

Freedom of spirit

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

LET’S hope that more and more of us get familiar with this freedom of spirit which is actually the true freedom meant for us. It’s not a freedom that is guided only by our own estimation that is steered only by our reason, by some social trends and ideologies, and much less by our animal instincts and urges.

To arrive at this knowledge about our true freedom which is the freedom of spirit, we need to ask ourselves the existential questions of where we came from, what the meaning and purpose of our life are, etc. For this, we just have to go from the natural and social sciences and to launch into the philosophical, metaphysical and theological.

This freedom of spirit is where we act in accord with God’s truth and goodness. It is exercised at the instance of the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Our freedom is not simply the power to act or not to act, and so to perform deliberate acts of our own. Our freedom attains its perfection when directed toward God, the sovereign Good, from whom we come and to whom we are destined to share in his very life and nature.

This is the freedom that was won for us by Christ who redeemed us from the bondage of sin. That is why St. Paul said: “For freedom Christ has set us free.” (Gal 5,1) And it is in Christ that we share in the truth that would set us free, as again articulated by St. Paul in his Second Letter to the Corinthians where he said: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (3,17)

This is the kind of freedom that springs from an inner habit of virtue and not merely from some external command. This is when we do things under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and do it willingly, with our whole heart.

This can only mean that our true freedom is the result of our docility to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, the promptings of the grace of God, making us free and effective collaborators in God’s continuing work of human redemption that would complete our creation by him. Our freedom is not meant only to achieve an earthly and temporal goal.

In other words, this freedom of spirit enables us to grow in docility to God’s grace, and to collaborate freely with God, serving others with love and building a society on the basis of truth, justice and charity. It also protects us from the slavery of sin, from worldly pressures and false liberties that lead to license.

We can have this freedom of spirit if we live by faith in God. It is made alive especially through the sacraments—Baptism, Penance and the Holy Eucharist. It is nurtured in prayer and the continuous growth of the virtues.

The role of prayer is crucial because that is where we can discern and embrace  God’s will. St. Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, said in effect in this regard that we must pray to be able truly to know what God wants. (cfr. 8,27)

It’s clear that this freedom of spirit is a matter of being docile to the promptings of grace. It is what perfects our natural freedom, aligning it with the will and the ways of God. It’s important that we form our conscience according to the truths of our faith. For this, a lifelong formation of conscience is needed. Our freedom of conscience should be the freedom of spirit!

What is life like in the Philippines?

 

Ghemma Marie

 

Working NomadApr 7

This question was originally posted 15 years ago but its been revised and merged by Quora moderation. If I’m going to answer this base on my situation 15 years ago, I would say life in the Philippines is like living in a bubble.

Btw I’m not an expat, so my answer is base on a different perspective. But living outside the Philippines for a short while, I can see the difference how Filipino culture makes them standout, but at the same time, its the same reason preventing them/us from overcoming poverty.

Your quality of lifestyle there depends on your capability to sustain a certain “average” standard of living. There are rich, upper/middle/lower class, poor, “poorest” of the poor. So which one? Speaking as someone who live in the rural north, I can say its pretty exciting and challenging. I experienced the perks of simplicity living in the rural.

Life is good for sure to those rich and in those living the middle class range. They can afford to travel, unwind from time to time and they don’t worry that much when calamity strikes. The Philippines is a tropical paradise to those who can afford it but a total shithole to those who can’t.

At least that’s how I can see it. The only thing that makes the Philippines “remarkable” is how friendly and approachable most people are. You can ask anyone for, say, a direction of specific location and they don’t hesitate to help you.

Now, the reason why I say living there is like living inside a bubble is almost everyone is super occupied with themselves. Gossip. Systemic problems. There's nothing wrong with that, only we are distracted with all those systemic problems and how to survive on our own, we don’t know what’s happening outside our perimeter, we focus on how we provide the next dinner on the table – and honestly, that’s convenient for those in power. When was the last time Filipinos talked as a country about where the world is going?

Iran assures PH of safe, unhindered passage of Filipino vessels in Strait of Hormuz

 

(Photo from DFA)

Iran has assured the Philippines that it will allow the safe, unhindered, and expedited passage of Philippine vessels, energy sources, and Filipino seafarers through the Strait of Hormuz, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) bared. Read more

Ivy Reyes Padilla

 

Ivy Reyes Padilla, a 25-year-old Filipina beauty queen and entrepreneur from Cagayan de Oro City, proudly stands as an official candidate for Binibining Pilipinas 2026. Known for her dedication to empowering modern Filipina beauty, she continues to inspire through her advocacy on fitness, nutrition, and holistic well-being.

Her pageantry journey reflects both passion and perseverance—from competing in Miss Teen Philippines 2019 alongside notable candidates, to earning the title of 1st Runner-Up at Miss Fit Philippines 2025. Today, she carries her hometown’s pride, representing the “City of Golden Friendship” on a national stage.

Beyond the spotlight, Ivy is the founder of Project Second Sunrise, a platform that promotes purpose-driven living and self-improvement. As she steps into this new chapter, she embodies grace, strength, and a commitment to meaningful impact.

#BinibiningPilipinas2026 #IvyPadilla #ModernFilipina #BeautyWithPurpose #PageantJourney #CagayanDeOro #WomenEmpowerment #FitnessAndWellness #ProjectSecondSunrise #PhilippinePageantry #pageantbulletin #fblifestyles

Übersetzerdienste - Translation Services

Übersetzerdienste - Translation Services

Even after retiring as German Consul, I am still accredited as a German translator and interpreter for the German, Swiss and Austrian Embassy as well as for Regional Trial Court Davao City and all courts nationwide. Please pm for via doringklaus@gmail.com further information. I'll be answering your messages as soon as possible. Please be patient. Auch nach meiner Pensionierung als deutscher Konsul bin ich weiterhin als deutscher Übersetzer und Dolmetscher für die deutsche, schweizerische und österreichische Botschaft sowie für das Regional Trial Court Davao City landesweit akkreditiert. Für weitere Informationen senden Sie bitte eine PN an doringklaus@gmail.com. Ich werde Ihre Nachrichten so schnell wie möglich beantworten.

Saint Patrick and freedom fighters of the anti-slavery movement

 

© Jacob Popcak

By Fr. Shay Cullen, Founder since 1974

There have been celebrations held around the world this past week to mark the feast day of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. People displayed the Irish flag, wore green clothes, and pinned on them sprigs of shamrock, an Irish plant associated with Ireland’s conversion from paganism to Christianity. For some, it is a religious festival; for others, a secular tradition. In Chicago, which has a large Irish immigrant population, city officials turned the river green using dye. In Ireland’s capital Dublin, there were parades and parties joined in by thousands of people, yet few of them knew what they were celebrating or why. It should be a celebration of the bravery of a young man named Patrick, who was 16 when human traffickers abducted him in Wales in the year 410. They took him across the Irish Sea to Ireland to be enslaved. He was truly a victim of human trafficking — a common practice then that even persists today. Patrick then learned to speak Gaelic, the Irish language, and after some years as a slave herding sheep, he found the courage to escape and walked across Ireland to find a ship and worked his passage back to his home in Wales. He later became a missionary, went back to Ireland, and persuaded the rulers there to embrace the values of Jesus of Nazareth. Over time, these leaders were converted and freed their slaves. In the Philippines, there was a famous female freedom fighter named Gabriela Silang. She was the first woman who led a rebellion against Spanish forces in 1763 to free her people from oppression and slavery. After the assassination of her husband Diego Silang, she took command of his forces and fought to liberate the Ilocos region, until her capture and execution later that year. She is known as the “Joan of Arc of Ilocandia.” Jose Rizal was a highly educated and renowned ophthalmologist. He was also a novelist who exposed the oppression of his people by the Spaniards and inspired Filipinos to oppose colonial rule nonviolently through his writings. He exposed the injustices committed by the Spanish regime that imposed what can be called de facto slavery. Thanks in part to Rizal’s works, his fellow Filipinos rose up to oppose the Spaniards. However, American forces landed in the country after defeating the Spanish fleet on Manila Bay, and pretended to be supporters of the Filipino revolutionaries and made a treacherous deal with the Spaniards. They attacked the Filipino freedom fighters and waged a bloody war against them, committing many atrocities. The United States eventually conquered the Philippines in 1901. After granting independence to the Philippines in July 1946, America made it a neocolony, which it still is today. Consider: there are nine US military bases inside Philippine ones today, with the approval of the Philippine government, which is run by an oligarchy. American multinational firms, with Filipino tycoons, control the archipelago economically. There are more than 800 member-companies in the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines. Slavery: A way of life Slavery was a way of life in the US starting in 1661, when it was officially recognized by law in Virginia. The beginning of wealth generation in the US was built on slavery. But by 1804, all northern US states had passed legislation abolishing it. The southern states claimed it was their right to own people as personal property and put them to work without pay. More enlightened North American people who believed in Christian values believed that owning another human being was immoral. In December 1860, 11 southern states eventually broke away from the US to form the Confederate States of America. That sparked the American Civil War. Then-president Abraham Lincoln campaigned nonstop for Congress to pass the 13th amendment to the US Constitution to abolish slavery. The amendment was passed in January 1865, and he signed it. During the years of slavery, brave black men and women escaped slave-owning farms in the southern states and fled to northern ones to relative safety. One of them was the remarkable and courageous Harriet Tubman. She was born into slavery in 1822, escaped in Dorchester County, Maryland, and fled to Philadelphia. She was 27. She made secret return trips to the South and became a famous “rescuer of slaves.” She was supported in her rescues by the so-called Underground Railroad, a movement to rescue slaves and help them win freedom. In about 13 secret trips to slave-owning plantations at great personal risk, she rescued and led 70 enslaved people to freedom. She also provided specific instructions that helped and inspired another 50 to 60 more to escape on their own. During the Civil War, she became a leader of a black contingent of Union soldiers and helped lead the Combahee River Raid, which liberated more than 700 enslaved people. After a lifetime of saving slaves, Tubman died at about 93. Her legacy lives on and her life is dramatized in the Oscar-nominated 2019 film “Harriet.” In the Philippines, the Senate voted against the renewal of the treaty allowing US bases in the country on Sept. 16, 1991. The final US military ship, the USS Belleau Wood, departed Subic Bay on Nov. 24, 1992. The campaign to free the sex slaves in Olongapo City and close the US bases and convert these into economic freeports started in 1983 by the anti-bases campaign led by the Preda Foundation. After the bases closed in 1992, an estimated 1,000 women and children were freed from sex slavery in bars and brothels, where many of them were held in debt bondage. Today, 171,653 employees work with dignity at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. However, human trafficking persists as a common crime in the Philippines and elsewhere in the world. There is a kind of economic slavery among the 17 million Filipinos who eat only one meal a day. Many are forced to be sex slaves in bars and brothels catering to local and foreign tourists. Slavery is very much still with us today. The United Nations Children’s Fund reports on child slavery estimate that 12 percent of children in South Asia — over 41 million — are involved in unpaid child labor. Modern-slavery figures are provided by the International Labor Organization and Walk Free Foundation. In Asia and the Pacific, approximately 29.3 million people live in slavery as of 2021. This region alone accounts for nearly 60 percent of the effectively enslaved people in the world.

IT is never too late

 

“IT IS never too late to be what you might have been” is a famous, encouraging quote often attributed to novelist George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), emphasizing that personal growth, reinvention, and achieving dreams are possible at any age, regardless of past setbacks. It acts as a reminder that the future is yours to shape, urging you to overcome fears, challenge self-imposed limits, and start pursuing your aspirations now.

t suggests that no matter what stage of life one is at, there is always the opportunity to evolve, change direction, and pursue one’s true potential. Often, societal expectations or personal setbacks may cause individuals to feel as if their dreams or aspirations are unattainable, particularly as they age.

“Never Too Late” is a song by Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. It was released on May 7, 2007, as the third single from the band’s second album One-X. “Never Too Late” is about not giving up. Adam Gontier stated, “I guess it’s like feeling like you’re at the end of your rope and deciding whether or not to completely give up or whether or not to try and sort of keep making it through another day.”

I know a lot of pensioner expatriates living in the Philippines for good. Many of them have a big problem – after staying here for only a couple of months, they get bored.

I believe it’s important, as we grow older, to stay active instead of just lying around. I realize that some older individuals have health issues and cannot do what they would like to do, but many are in decent shape, but just choose to do nothing. It seems the more a person gives in to their excuses of how they are tired from paying their dues, the worse they feel. Inactivity is alright when we are resting, but the more we get up and get going, the better we feel. I encourage everyone to find something really important to you and see how you can get involved.

We’ve heard it said that we must not live to work but work to live. Your goals are achieved the moment you commit yourself to them, so no matter how old you feel, or how many times you’ve officially retired, it’s never too late to give the world a little more of what God has given to you. We should pray and ask for God’s inspiration, strength, and wisdom, but hopefully, a person will eventually discover that he or she is the master-gardener of their soul and the decision-maker of their destiny.

PH waters; Makabayan opposes creation of ammunition depot

 

Two Philippine Air Force A-29B Super Tucano aircraft fly above USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) during the bilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity on March 20, 2026. (Photo by Edward Bungubung/PAOAFP)

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the United States Indo-Pacific Command (US Indopacom) carried out joint maritime drills in Manila Bay and waters off Mariveles, Bataan over the weekend to improve their interoperability. Read more

Meanwhile, the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives is imploring President Marcos to reject proposals for the construction of a United States (US)-backed ammunition factory in the Philippines. Read more