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When I go to work here in Mexico City, I take the Metro Bus. It's a bus that has its own lane, like the BRT that Cebu City has been trying to construct for many years now, without much success. When I go to the boxing gym, I take the subway. For a one-way trip, the fare for the Metro Bus costs 6 Mexican pesos or 20 PhP, while the subway costs 5 pesos or 16 PhP. The Metro Buses and the subway system will take you virtually anywhere here in the city, and are supplemented by smaller feeder microbuses and vans called peseros or transporte colectivos (what used to be the Volkswagen Combis of old, but which have since been replaced by newer vans or shuttles).  Both the Metro Bus and subway are affordable, practical, and relatively reliable mass transit systems that ensure mobility for Mexicans (and immigrants like me) living and working here in the capital, particularly for those in lower-income areas. (Side note: both systems are not perfect and they have their flaws, and I've heard...

Sara Duterte is gunning (wink, wink) for the Philippine presidency in 2028. Did her announcement really come as a surprise, though? We all knew she wanted the top post way back, even before the 2022 elections, when she decided to slide down to vice president -- a compromise that gave rise to the short-lived and now meme-worthy UniTEAM (and countless tasteless tattoos that have since -- I assume -- been lasered off by now, thank God). In giving way to Bongbong Marcos, Sara counted on something that she and the Dutertes could always count on from the registered voters of Davao City since time immemorial: undying loyalty. That undying loyalty has resulted in multiple terms as mayor and vice mayor in Davao City for both Sara and her father, Rodrigo Duterte, as well as a congressional seat for Paolo Duterte in Davao City's 1st District, a congressional seat for Omar Vincent Duterte in the 2nd District, and a council seat for Rodrigo "Rigo" Duterte II. And guess who's the c...

  These authors are some of the people I idolized growing up. As a kid I was small, frail, and unathletic, and I preferred to stay indoors and read books and comics rather than play sports (that came much, much later, when I could actually hold my own physically at basketball [as a Filipino, you're expected to play basketball, no questions asked] against other boys [boys who were still bigger and stronger than me, but hey, at some point you have to try, right?]). In my room at my desk or in my bunk bed (or on jeepney rides, or concealed in a textbook inside the classroom) I read these authors' works and absorbed what they wrote, believed in what they believed, picked their brains through their writing, aspired to be some sort of writer like them someday. At a young age I chose a side early on, that of the artist vs. the loud and obnoxious and thieving, conniving politician; and I carried that until now, which is why I still loathe loud and obnoxious and thieving, conniving poli...

I've never heard of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) until I had to attend a CFO seminar, which is a requirement for Filipinos who want to live abroad with their foreign partner. Apparently, this certificate helps you clear Philippine Immigration (among other required documents, a shitload really), so rather than risk being offloaded on the day of my flight, I decided to go to a seminar and get it over with. If you were born in the Philippines, and then subsequently went to school and worked (but also drive a car or a motorbike in the Philippines, or vote or collect your retirement pension in the Philippines), most probably you're already well acquainted with the country's "love" of red tape. Applying for your driver's license, tax identification number, PRC ID, voter's ID, and NBI clearance (or that infamous PhilSys National ID), etc., will subject you to a painful experience akin to having your toenails ripped off -- okay, maybe I...

The NBA season is almost upon us (preseason games are already happening as we speak), and I couldn't be more excited. Mostly because there hasn't been a back-to-back NBA champion since, well, the Golden State Warriors when they clinched their fifth and six titles in 2017 and 2018 (at that time, franchise player Stephen Curry's second and third rings), and that feeling of uncertainty certainly lends itself to more excitement. My gut tells me, though, that perhaps this is the first time since 2018 that a defending NBA champion might repeat (I'm looking at you, Oklahoma City). Since 2019, here's what the championship picture has looked like: 2025 – Oklahoma City Thunder 2024 – Boston Celtics 2023 – Denver Nuggets 2022 – Golden State Warriors 2021 – Milwaukee Bucks 2020 – Los Angeles Lakers 2019  –  Toronto Raptors I'm sticking to my very early prediction of the OKC Thunder successfully defending their title this season, but I wouldn't mind being proven wrong. T...

After the Philippines was battered by tropical cyclones and heavy southwest monsoon rains a couple of months ago, which resulted in predictable but deadly flash floods, Filipinos are now suddenly -- ironically -- hopeful. And why wouldn't they be? When the water subsided, anger rose, and President Bongbong Marcos just had to douse the collective rage during his State of the Nation Address. (After spending most of his term thus far gallivanting abroad [a la Sara Duterte] in the name of "generating investments," but not much to show for it, Marcos didn't have a choice. He was already earning the ire of the eagle-eyed; it's easy nowadays to track the frequency of his foreign trips and the corresponding travel expenses.)  "Mahiya naman kayo," Marcos intoned (an ironic choice of words, don't you think?), singling out those involved in anomalous flood-control projects. Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto went a step further in a Facebook post, and zeroed in on Sar...

To break bad means to turn to immorality or crime. Walter White in "Breaking Bad" turned to the illegal drug trade -- transitioning from chemistry teacher to meth cook and eventually drug lord -- out of necessity. He thought he was dying, and was worried for his family's future. Walter broke bad. These contractors, politicians, and corrupt DSWD heads are just, well, naturally evil.