May the caves and slopes of Buga-Buga, once places of conflict, now echo prayers of harmony.’

AT the commemorative luncheon for the Leyte Gulf landings anniversary, Gregoria Equipaje Badeo shared her personal experience and her historical notes during the Japanese Occupation: “In Barrio Santa Ana, 13 men were burned to death…Luckily, one man (half-burned) was able to escape the torture and narrate the news to the neighborhood. But this man died, also.”

“The Guerrillas, very much in rage at the cruelties of the Japanese, paved their way to the Japanese garrison at Burauen North Central School. This encounter started in the last week of October 1942 and lasted for almost a week. Soldiers and guerrillas surrounded the garrison and blockaded the Japanese forces.” Mrs. Badeo’s testimony at the Leyte Convention Complex, Barangay Pawing, Palo is part of the permanent record of the Burauen History Club and the commemorative luncheon was sponsored by [READ]

Pambungad na Pananalita

Atoy M. Navarro | UP Manila | 3 Oktubre 2025

Sa ating mga panauhin mula sa Constantino Foundation at Knights of Rizal at sa kaguruan at mga estudyante ng Area Studies Program (ASP), Master of Management (MM) Program, at Department of Social Sciences (DSS), isang malaya at mapagpalayang hapon sa ating lahat!

Matapos ang ilang postponement dahil sa mga bagyo, sa wakas, dumating na tayo sa closing event ng ating Area Studies Week 2025 na may temang “BA Social Sciences @ 55: Kritikal at Makatuturang Agham Panlipunan para sa Bayan.” Nagkaroon tayo ng Area Studies Exhibit, Area Studies Practicum Conference, Organization of Area Studies Majors (OrgASM) Application Program: Eryamazing Race, OrgASM Career Talk: Area Studyakan, Book Talk ng mga librong “Beauty Spectacle” at “Visual Culture in the Philippines,” Commemorative Lectures, Brown Bag [READ]

In Frankfurt last night, a welcome dinner at a Persian place for Atef Abu Saif, former Palestinian Minister of Culture, and Tarik Hamdan, Palestinian poet and journalist. Both will speak later today in a Palestine-specific session at the Philippine Pavilion.

The night was organized by many, but we all took the lead of novelist Gen Asenjo, who will be speaking with Atef and Tariq later, and we were joined by Jay Ignacio (comics historian, writer, photographer), Dorian Merina (poet, and preserver-promoter of the Ivatan indigenous poetry laji), Chuckberry Pascual (fictionist-professor), Dani Florendo (children’s book illustrator), Aljo Joseph Lumen (caregiver-writer),

Elmer Grampon (nurse in Germany, writer, and our German translator especially for the Sisa performance yesterday). #FreePalestine #EndTheOccupation #Solidarity