I Am Buraot

It was as hot as the hottest summer, the air was dry and the atmosphere humid. The ceiling fan stood motionless, as I was, having spent its own usefulness probably eons ago.

The only air you can find was being sucked by the unseen but chugging noisy exhaust in the corner of the room. I guess that helps, taking some of the heat out.

I just wished it could also take the raging fire out of my belly.

I soon realized I was having lunch in the middle of nowhere. It was a cheap and dingy restaurant that reminded me of those small Chinese places I used to frequently go some previous lives ago. The place was obviously run by thieves and scums. Believe me, I know scums when I see one. I can even smell one. Yeah, they have that distinct smell. Continue Reading…

I was still a kid back then.  I didn’t know anything outside my personal scope. I remember a few years back when a certain Ninoy was shot  dead. Seeing him on TV moments before his death made me realize that this surreality is a signal of a wrong. Something tremendously wrong.

Then EDSA came.

I didn’t know what to do. I can hear the sounds of planes hovering above our rooftops. The number of people outside our street in Dimasalang carrying transistor radios blaring modulated noises are enough to let a kid know that there is something big going on. Continue Reading…

I wanted to look away. Away from her lovely gaze. Forget all the things she did and put it away, no matter how wonderful, no matter how magical.

Unnecessary complications were the only thing I have with my too complicated pathetic life, and the last thing I can offer her in return.

I could give nothing except misery and unpredictability. Not even a fresh new accord would lift the burden away from my ragged heart and listless body. I was emotionally and physically unfit…. nevertheless, I looked back. Continue Reading…

I’m tired.

Tired of all the games we people play. They bug you and then ask you if you’re okay. Then you give them hugs and kisses to tell them yes, you are okay.

But you know deep inside you’re not but hey, you’re not supposed to tell. Because if you do, it would just be an endless cycle of nothing but foolish games.

At my age I am done with all of it. Continue Reading…

I am back in the shadows of my former elusive self.

Dazed and confused as what lies before me and the future of my galactic awakening.

The bright sunny days are like omens of what’s up ahead. Down with jitters and fears and doubts is the constant route. I fear that these challenges to prove one’s luminosity would be more like never ending episodes of space warping itself over time.

On and on to infinity and beyond.

I have planned on this trip to the stars even as I left my own personal orbit, just to catch a glimpse of the heavens I so desperately seek. Even if I had to leave behind my own charred lungs in exchange for the warm fillings of the heart. They were just physical and pretty much earthly attributes, compared to the chance to achieve metaphysical and never-ending bliss. Continue Reading…

During the term of Richard Gordon as mayor of Olongapo City, there were at least 26 cases of “salvagings” or summary executions that victimized at least 28 people.

The killings were believed to have been made to cleanse the city of undesirable elements and maintain its allure as the center for the R & R of US servicemen.

Olongapo officials dismissed such as “isolated incidents involving hardened criminals whose death were mainly due to gang rivalry”, it is a matter of public record that the victims were mostly teenagers and one was a woman.

According to records from the Olongapo City Fiscal’s Office, the following are among those who were executed during the incumbency of Mayor Richard Gordon: Continue Reading…

When I came to Olongapo, I was very hopeful. I just had a daughter, her mom is a native Olongapena, and I decided to go there to start a new life.

It’s a bustling city yet with a small town feel. The night life is not as good as Manila but having been a fan of live bands, I almost immediately fell in love with it. The city is host to a few rock bands that became famous.

On a regular morning, you’ll be woken up by an easy to remember child-like music coming from a moving vehicle. At first, I thought it was some music coming from a rolling candy store, but really it was coming from the garbage trucks. Continue Reading…