Philippine History – David Haldane

March 3, 2025

The Cap with the Shining Red Star

By David Haldane March 3, 2025 It was the cap that got my attention. There it was on the front page of a […]

July 1, 2024

The Sea Gypsies Come Ashore

By David Haldane July 1, 2024 The joke made me cringe. “Are you a goodjau or a Badjau?” my companion asked the pretty young girl […]

June 17, 2024

On God’s Orders: The Eruption of Mount Pinatubo

By David Haldane June 17, 2024 It was almost Biblical. First came the earthquake, one of the most powerful the Philippines had ever […]

March 11, 2024

Zamboanga Reimagined

By David Haldane March 11, 2024 Hanging out at the mall. That’s how thousands of Zamboaguenos spend their weekends these days. You see them […]

June 24, 2023

Hey, Joe!

By David Haldane June 15, 2023 It happened again the other day. I was riding my motorcycle along the coast towards downtown Surigao, minding my […]

June 12, 2023

Slaughter, Slaughter Everywhere

By David Haldane June 8, 2023 The headline was a grabber. “We had our own holocaust here,” it grievously intoned. The story that followed–on the […]

February 17, 2023

American Expat Launches Book on Finding Island Home

Cebu Jose Joya Gallery LITERARY TREATS 2023: A TOOTH IN MY POPSICLE BY DAVID HALDANE BOOK LAUNCH APRIL 12th, 15th, and 25th. […]

November 3, 2022

Standing In

By David Haldane Nov. 3, 2022 I had an entirely different lede in mind for this column. I expected it to say that the […]

September 15, 2022

Dancing in the Streets

By David Haldane Sept. 15, 2022 It happened again. People wearing ornate, many-colored costumes swirled in the streets to the cadence of drummers in […]

May 19, 2022

Bongbong Marcos: Forward to the Past?

By David Haldane May 19, 2022 I don’t mind telling you that a recent Manila Times headline made me smile. “Marcos, Biden vow stronger […]

February 10, 2022

Who Do You Trust?

By David Haldane Feb. 10, 2022 When I was a college student in Southern California, the name Ferdinand Marcos evoked visions of hell. Wasn’t […]

January 26, 2022

The Past Swept Away

By David Haldane January 27, 2021 There was something comforting about living across the street from a monument to history. On Tuesday mornings, we’d […]