Karina Lagdameo-Santillan

I was born and bred a Catholic living in Metro Manila, Luzon, far from the on-going conflict in Mindanao But last year, watching the Marawi siege on TV in the safety of my home, seeing fellow Filipinos fighting each other, an entire city bombed to the ground, thousands of residents… »

When President Duterte assumed office, he promised that his administration would look into the state of minng in the country, especially with regards to its impact on the environment and on the surrounding communities. He nominated a staunch environmental advocate as Secretary of the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources)… »

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Emma Lazarus (1883) America, the New World. Land of promise and… »

It was a Saturday afternoon, usually the busiest day of the week in Metro Manila. Streets were jammed as people went about their weekend activities and chores. Amidst the hustle and bustle, a motley group of people braved the traffic and converged in a humble center located in a quiet… »

Millions, yes, millions of devotees converge in the navel of Manila, Quiapo, every January 9 to celebrate the Feast of the Black Nazarene. Once a year, the streets of downtown Manila along the route of the Traslacion is transformed into a seething, swarming mass of barefoot devotees who re-enact the… »

“Human rights do not have the universal application that would be desirable because they do not flow from the universal power of the human being, but only from the power that one part now exercises over the whole. If even the most elementary claims to the governing of one’s own… »

How do we deal with the diversity? When we do not respect diversity, we tend to claim that ‘ours’ is superior to ‘theirs’. This stand fosters division among us and promotes bitterness. Each country, each culture, each family and even each individual is unique.  We can choose to view diversity in… »

Andres Bonifacio, Filipino hero and founder of the Katipunan which launched the Philippine Revolution to gain Philippine Independence from centuries of Spanish Rule during which time a revolutionary government was formed, is commemorated as a yearly National Holiday on his birthday, November 30. Today, one mainstream newspaper reported that pro-government… »

This morning, I woke up and found this lovely note from an old college friend on my Facebook page which, for some reason, touched my heart. Sure, we receive notes and posts like these which at times may sound mushy and sentimental. But this rang true, coming from an… »

Yesterday, Mohammad Nazrul Islam, a humanist friend from Bangladesh, and country representative of The Community for Human Development currently developing volunteer educational and livelihood initiatives in the seaside district of Cox’s Bazaar, sent me some pictures of the Rohingya refugees who have made their way to this region. »