Features

Being hooked anew in Baguio’s crocheted products

Being hooked anew in Baguio’s crocheted products

December 20, 2023, 8:58 pm

BAGUIO CITY – High school learners in this city in the 80s and 90s used to be seen with either knitting needles or crochet hooks with rolls of colorful threads packed in their school bags, with thread-based products as among the popular souvenir items here then. Melanie Aquino or Lanie, a Baguio… Read More

Partners leave jobs to start profitable seedling production

Partners leave jobs to start profitable seedling production

December 18, 2023, 9:07 pm

LAOAG CITY – Two young farmers in Batac City, Ilocos Norte now find fulfillment in being engaged in farming after leaving their respective jobs in 2022. Kevin Wayne Baga, 27, and his girlfriend, Ana Cristina Guiang, 26, are owners of KA-Bukid Propagation Farm, which produces seedlings for local… Read More

Why Christmas is merrier in Albay

Why Christmas is merrier in Albay

December 13, 2023, 8:31 pm

LEGAZPI CITY – From a whimsical Christmas wonderland to exhilarating carnival rides, a festive food park and a bustling local bazaar that captures the holiday spirit, there are several reasons why Albay province is the best place to be during the most wonderful time of the year. Christmas… Read More

Christmas comes early for Albay town handicraft makers

Christmas comes early for Albay town handicraft makers

December 11, 2023, 4:03 pm

DARAGA, Albay – For a group of women handicraft makers in Albay town, Christmas starts in July. Like Santa's tinkering elves tirelessly working round-the-clock all year round, these women craft their holiday magic months before the festive season begins. Turning passion into profit In the humble… Read More

Batac City preserves gastronomic heritage through the years

Batac City preserves gastronomic heritage through the years

December 8, 2023, 8:11 pm

BATAC CITY – Native delicacies such as "lubi-lubi," "suman," "bibingka," "bilo-bilo" and "dudol" took residents and visitors down memory lane during the opening of Batac City's fiesta celebration at the Imelda Cultural Center on Friday. In the Ilocano tradition, lubi-lubi calls for a… Read More

Skilled artisans sustain Baguio’s silver craft

Skilled artisans sustain Baguio’s silver craft

November 24, 2023, 9:37 pm

BAGUIO CITY – Over 40 years in the business of hand-crafted silver and sustaining one of the things this city is known for have become the driving force of Pilak Silver Shop amid challenges. Rommel Marcelo, the 47-year-old manager of the family-owned business, said the craft shop is the lone… Read More

Taiwanese ‘agri envoy’ to Pinoy youth: There is future in farming

Taiwanese ‘agri envoy’ to Pinoy youth: There is future in farming

November 23, 2023, 9:36 pm

MANILA – With food security wholly dependent on agriculture, farming is indeed the world’s present and future. However, with an aging farmer population and a growing lack of interest in rural communities to pursue this line of work, many countries like the Philippines are faced with the huge… Read More

 It takes a 'Christmas village' to share holiday cheers

It takes a 'Christmas village' to share holiday cheers

November 17, 2023, 2:20 pm

BAGUIO CITY – Gaye Vergara, a native of this city who has been working as a medical technologist for 27 years in the United States, has been collecting Christmas houses since she started working abroad in 1996. “When I went to the States I started to buy collectible Christmas houses. I told… Read More

Prayers for the departed absolve their sins

Prayers for the departed absolve their sins

November 2, 2023, 4:42 pm

MANILA – Remembering and celebrating the life of a departed loved one is as important as praying for their souls, in the hope that they gain eternal life with God. Fr. Fernando Egargo, a professor of Theology and Philosophy at St. Johns University in New York, said the tradition of commemorating… Read More

SPARK PH bolsters girl power through sports

SPARK PH bolsters girl power through sports

November 2, 2023, 10:56 am

MANILA – While many women excel in sports these days, there are still young girls who have limited opportunities to engage in a sport they love. Girls Got Game coach Gybel Agregado told the Philippine News Agency this could be due to the notion that "girls are not fit for sports" spoken by the… Read More

Returning to the roots of Filipino 'Undas'

Returning to the roots of Filipino 'Undas'

October 31, 2023, 7:09 pm Updated on October 31, 2023, 7:27 pm

MANILA – Once again, Filipinos observe "Undas" to remember their departed loved ones, as well as partake in merry-making over the spooky, macabre, and fun side of the supernatural. "Undas" is the Filipino term for All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, both of which are religious holidays.… Read More

Ex-rebel: Choosing path to peace ‘imperative’

Ex-rebel: Choosing path to peace ‘imperative’

October 29, 2023, 3:45 pm Updated on October 29, 2023, 6:22 pm

DAVAO CITY – Arian Jane Ramos, a former member of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) known as Ka Marikit, cherishes the path of peace she chose as she joined the commemoration of the first anniversary of the declaration of Davao Region as “insurgency-free”… Read More

Memorials for departed Filipino journalists at NPC grounds

Memorials for departed Filipino journalists at NPC grounds

October 29, 2023, 1:12 pm Updated on October 30, 2023, 10:36 am

MANILA – When the founding members and officials of the National Press Club of the Philippines (NPC) decided in the 1950s to construct their clubhouse, which eventually became the National Press Club of the Philippines (NPC) building today, they had the foresight to make the planned structure a… Read More

Meet Albay's 'grave branding' artist

Meet Albay's 'grave branding' artist

October 29, 2023, 9:58 am

DARAGA, Albay – For years, Jafryl Refran's "grave branding" artworks have sparked conversations both in the online and offline worlds. On All Saints' and All Souls' Days, when rows of austere tombs in white and gray usher in a sense of somber reverence, his colorful logo-inspired grave art at a… Read More

Self-sufficiency hinges on science use

Self-sufficiency hinges on science use

October 29, 2023, 8:37 am

MANILA – Time and again, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has been pushing for the application of science in food production to enable the country to attain its goal of self-sufficiency of 97 percent. He raised this point anew during his keynote speech at the recently concluded 6th… Read More

Scholarship: preserving culture, improving IPs’ lives

Scholarship: preserving culture, improving IPs’ lives

October 26, 2023, 10:24 pm

BAGUIO CITY –  Khyru Egyab, 25, of Sagada, Mountain Province is a first-year Bachelor of Science in Criminology student who is all hopes for his future in law enforcement. He is a new member of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)-Cordillera’s dance troop. Being part of this… Read More

'Undas' puts spotlight on Albay town's flower industry

'Undas' puts spotlight on Albay town's flower industry

October 25, 2023, 4:48 pm

DARAGA, Albay – With Mayon Volcano displaying signs of restiveness, spewing red hot lava down its slope just days before All Saints' Day and All Soul's Day, flower farm owner Eleanor Alaurin is in a race against time. "We hope to harvest all the flowers by Oct. 29 in time for the 'Undas' to… Read More

Nurturing the youth’s love for books amidst tech advances 

Nurturing the youth’s love for books amidst tech advances 

October 20, 2023, 9:21 pm

BAGUIO CITY – The advent of technology has made libraries farther from the heart of the youth, with preference now on gadgets.  However, personnel of this city’s public library are not letting their books to just remain untapped.  “We try to evolve. We do not wait for the public,… Read More

Rising together: Italy touts deep links with PH in commemorative book

Rising together: Italy touts deep links with PH in commemorative book

October 14, 2023, 8:19 am

MANILA – The relationship between Italy and the Philippines is expected to further flourish in the years to come, banking on their deep people-to-people connection that spans decades if not centuries, Italian Ambassador to the Philippines Marco Clemente said. The two states are committed to… Read More

4Ps is chance to have better life, says beneficiary 

4Ps is chance to have better life, says beneficiary 

October 12, 2023, 11:00 pm

BAGUIO CITY – At a young age, Cris Reshon Guiral, now 30 years old, has experienced poverty, which he described as eating rice paired with just salt, and going to school without supplies and allowance.  He said having rice with oil and soy sauce is already a treat for their family, who hailed… Read More