November 16, 2023

Hitler on Lazada

By David Haldane Nov. 16, 2023   It felt like someone had yanked out my kidneys. Unable to sleep, I’d opened my cell phone to Facebook […]
October 20, 2023

Filipino Love

By David Haldane October 19, 2023     She could have been my sister-in-law. Angelyn Aguirre, a 32-year-old native of Pangasinan, had spent the last six […]
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 […]
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 […]
December 2, 2021

The Mexico of Asia

By David Haldane Dec. 2, 2021   I still remember the first time I set foot in the Philippines. My immediate reaction: “Wow, this is the […]
January 7, 2021

Landlocked

By David Haldane Jan. 7, 2021   The official notice came on New Year’s Day. “Ban on Entry of Travelers from the United States,” screamed the […]
February 13, 2020

Reveille

By David Haldane February 13, 2020 I have never been an early riser. Where I live, mornings are like hell on earth filled with the damnable […]
October 31, 2019

Drum Rolls

By David Haldane Oct. 31, 2019 It never gets old. No matter how many times I hear the drum rolls, see the flags raised, marvel to […]