• Why are news reports quoting translations? WTF is “he said in Cebuano?”
    For former Cebu City mayor Alvin Garcia, a thing wasn’t just very good, it was “very, very good.” I’m not sure if he still has that verbal mannerism today but it was very, very evident when I covered him at City Hall when he was mayor in 1996.
  • Papal Nuncio: Sugbuswak proposal needs fine tuning on finances
    The proposal to break up the Archdiocese of Cebu into three territories needs fine tuning on priest assignments and finances, the Papal Nuncio Archbishop Charles John Brown wrote Archbishop Jose Palma.
  • How not to write about a food and wine festival launch
    The buzz was mainly on two dishes prepared by top-notch chefs married to each other but occupying stations at opposite ends of the sprawling three-ballroom setup that was the grand launch of Cebu Food & Wine Festival 2024 at NUSTAR Resort.
  • It’s not my job to make the Church look good
    On Sunday, the priest who had me barred from entering the Archbishop’s Residence apologized and explained what happened. I won’t be naming him. He’s young and I hope he moves on and learns from this episode as much as I have learned from it.
  • Boljoon parish inventory missing
    (UPDATE: I have been told by members of the parish that the inventory was in the custody of a lay volunteer who died of COVID at the height of the pandemic. It wasn’t turned over and the parish only thought of looking for it when the issue on the pulpit panels broke out. They are… Read more: Boljoon parish inventory missing
  • Can Archbishop Palma set aside church ownership of Boljoon pulpit panels?
    Let the panels from the pulpit of the heritage church of Boljoon in southern Cebu be the property of the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) but displayed at the parish from which it was taken, that’s the proposal of NMP Director General Jeremy Barns.
  • Who’s your daddy?
    By Dad, the writer of this The Freeman headline meant a Cebu City Councilor. “After child fell to death: Dad wants condos’ permits checked.” The presence of the word “child,” however, makes one assume that the Dad in the headline refers to the father.
  • Cebu Capitol to write to OSG over legal opinion on pulpit panels
    The Cebu Provincial Government will write to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to clarify its legal opinion on the pulpit panels from the heritage church of Boljoon in southern Cebu that are now with the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP).
  • Transcript: Interview with NMP Director General Jeremy Barns
    The following is the transcript of my interview with National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) Director General Jeremy Barns. I have decided to publish it in full to serve as reference on the issue over the Boljoon pulpit panels. The interview is too long to be contained in a single news article.
  • Cebu Capitol set to file case against National Museum officials over church panels
    The Cebu Provincial Government is preparing a case against officials of the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) on the issue over the four pulpit panels stolen from the heritage church of Boljoon in southern Cebu.
  • Binignit trends as country marks Maundy Thursday
    Binignit, that dish of root crops cooked in coconut milk, finally broke out among the trending Google search terms for the Philippines today. Today is likely its peak.