JOHN'S THOUGHTS AND DEEDS

A GRANT WRITING CLASS TO HELP YOUR ORGANIZATION SURVIVE

2011-08-19T13:37:00.002+08:00

The existence of photography now going on two centuries has the historical breadth to record the advancements of

They Engaged in Filth, Now They Engage in Cowardice

2011-04-15T06:47:00.002+08:00

Last Friday, April 8, it was announced on Channel 5 that the station would file libel charges on me for calling them pedophiles. Last Saturday, the libel suit was reiterated by Ch 5 with the approval of Willie Revillame’s lawyer, Leonard de Vera. Today, it was announced that libel charges will be filed by the parents of Jan Jan instead, and included Froilan Grate, Dr. Honey Carandang and myself

Topping the Grossness of Willing Willie

2011-04-10T14:31:00.005+08:00

April 6, 2011 Fifteen boys came out of the van, ages ranging from seven perhaps to 18. They were held up in traffic and were late and I was getting a little peeved waiting. They had come from the Pangarap Boys Shelter and their volunteer leader, a young German named Felix was sheepishly apologetic. They looked out of place – not the jeans or the oversized t-shirts or the sneakers - in the

Letter to Ben Chan of Bench, one of the Willing Willie Advertisers

2011-04-04T07:00:00.004+08:00

Ben ChanBenchManila Dear Ben, You’ve had some incredible hunks up on your billboards, sixty feet high, really great eye candy. All my beef about billboards destroying the landscape and causing accidents and even toppling over people get a momentary pause when Piolo appears in your face larger than life showing off his pecs. But lately, you lost it. I drove down EDSA one day and my jaw dropped

Letter to Manny Pangilinan

2011-03-31T11:27:00.001+08:00

Mr. Manny PangilinanChairmanPLDTManila Dear Mr. Pangilinan, What’s befuddling about this Jan-Jan incident is you. You run a fairly sizeable empire, created wealth and jobs, feted and awarded as a management genius and could ride out the next decade as statesman, philanthropist and businessman extraordinaire. Yet, you also have a television station with a reviled noontime show host who through the

IF WE FORGET WHO WE ARE, THEN WHO ARE WE? THE AMERICAN MILITARY CEMETERY TOUR. JAN/FEB 2011 SCHEDULES

2011-01-04T10:53:00.001+08:00

History fades and we know little about the sacrifices and heroism by young men and women in uniform who gave their lives for the freedom we now take for granted. Come and join John L. Silva’s history tour of a serene cemetery containing the remains of 17,206 American, Filipino, and other nationalities who fought in the Pacific theater in World War II. Walk the Travertine stone halls engraved

A HALF-CENTURY OF SOLEMNITY AND HONOR: THE AMERICAN MILITARY CEMETERY AND MEMORIAL

2010-12-08T07:35:00.006+08:00

by John L. Silva It will be 50 years old this December 8, 2010. The 152-acre American Military Cemetery and Memorial in Makati, increasingly surrounded at a distance by hovering high-rises in Fort Bonifacio, still manages though to impart a sense of space, tranquility and honor to the soldiers who served and died in the Pacific Theater in World War II. Among the 14

FROM RIVETING THEATER TO PEKING DUCKING, I REDISCOVER MACAU

2010-11-23T20:14:00.009+08:00

This piece appeared in the Philippine Inquirer on Nov 14, 2010 Five years ago, I was touring a series of restored Macanese villas on the island of Taipa, south of Macau when I saw cranes and earthmovers on reclaimed land across the bay. I asked a local what that was about, and he answered, “Ah, that’s a new city.” Today, I’m in my 20th floor suite of the Crown Towers Hotel

Remembering Those Who Died For Our Country. The American Military Cemetery and Memorial Tour. Nov. and Dec. Schedules.

2010-11-16T11:03:00.005+08:00

This December 8, 2010 will be the 50th anniversary of the opening of the American Military Cemetery in Fort Bonifacio. Come and join John L. Silva’s tour of a serene cemetery containing the remains of 17,206 American, Filipino, and other nationalities who fought in the Pacific theater in World War II. Walk the marble halls engraved with the names of over 36,000 soldiers missing in action.

ASKING FOR MONEY NOW IS NOT LIKE ASKING YOUR PARENTS THEN

2010-11-04T10:56:00.002+08:00

Those begging techniques don’t work anymore. Your boss wants a short to-the-point e-mail request. How’s that done? Your company wants suppliers to help in a fundraiser. What to say? A foreign government wants to give aid to your agency. How do I formulate a convincing wish list? International funding agencies don’t want just a plain proposal, but a “social enterprise” in two pages. What’s

NEGLECTED AMERICANA ON PHILIPPINE HILLSIDE

2010-11-03T00:12:00.009+08:00

(This article appeared in the Philippine Starweek Magazine on October 10, 2010)Thirty well-worn cemetery plots with unusual markers are scattered along pine shaded, hillside pathways in the former American military, “rest and recreation,” base called Camp John Hay in Baguio City, Philippines. At five thousand feet above sea level, Baguio was America’s temperate retreat in

OPEN LETTER TO THE PHILIPPINE CATHOLIC BISHOPS: EXCOMMUNICATE ME.

2010-10-01T11:46:00.005+08:00

The excommunication of Martin Luther, 1521 Dear Bishops, I would like you to excommunicate me. I’ve had enough of your antics, the latest having jailed my RH activist friend Carlos Celdran and threatening to excommunicate our President. So let’s dissolve this relationship once and for all. I am doing this with a sound mind

Five Things I learned about Dying From Abby Tan

2010-09-27T09:14:00.009+08:00

Thirty years ago friends were dying of AIDS. Those were traumatic times; we were young and suddenly thrust into caring, grieving and burying too many friends in a short space of time. We were emotionally ill-equipped to handle death because we figured that was for old people. Now I’m old and death comes to take friends and loved ones at random and in increasing numbers.

BENEFITS OF ARTS EDUCATION

2010-09-14T08:59:00.008+08:00

(This piece was published in Baboo's regular column DATELINE BAGUIO last Sept 12, 2010. Baboo was responsible for having my workshop held in Baguio) Teachers of Baguio and Benguet spent a day with John Silva acquainting them with art education last Friday. As participants of the “I LOVE MUSEUMS” Art Appreciation Workshop at the BenCab Museum, John took them through Philippine history and

ARTS APPRECIATION COMES TO BAGUIO!

2010-09-13T12:03:00.008+08:00

The gorgeous light filled BenCab Art Museum was the site for my latest arts appreciation workshop for public school teachers held last Friday, Sept 10, 2010. I had close to 50 teachers and arts enthusiasts who wanted to know the basics on arts. Since I try and use a museum as a site, the workshops get called I LOVE MUSEUMS. It’s great leading teachers to explore using the arts as a teaching

WRTING A GRANT PROPOSAL IS NOT SCARY. ANYMORE. SEPT/OCTOBER 2010 SCHEDULES

2010-09-07T14:43:00.003+08:00

Writing a grant proposal is easier these days. Years back it was 25 pages minimum. In my day-long workshop, I’ll clue you in on funders wanting it shorter. There’s currently a $100,000 Gates Foundation grant for innovative ways to tackle diseases. They want it in two pages! There are other grant applications that only ask for 600 characters! Funders want succinctness and brevity. There’s

JESSE ROBREDO IS NOT “USELESS”

2010-09-04T10:01:00.005+08:00

September 4, 2010 Mr. Amando Doronila’s column (Philippine Daily Inquirer Sept 3, 2010) entitled “Whose Heads Will Roll” – about pointing blame for the recent hostage tragedy - is in the weekly predictable contrarian tone that he has assumed with regards to the Aquino administration. This time he takes aim at Malacanang’s communications office for its supposed

DINE AT THE BEST OF MANILA RESTAURANTS AND HELP BRIGHT KIDS GRADUATE!

2010-08-11T08:19:00.010+08:00

To all the restaurateurs, the chefs, the servers, and the diners who are participating in Best Restaurant's Charity Week, I'd like to tell you about the organization and its work that will benefit from your invaluable help. On our tenth year, we’ve trained and fielded over 7,000 volunteers to hundreds of organizations in Metro Manila needing help, from painting their schoolhouses, planting

THE PRESIDENT HAS SPOKEN. HE NEEDS OUR HELP. I'LL TEACH YOU TO FIND, WRITE, AND GET THE GRANTS FOR YOUR CAUSE

2010-07-30T09:27:00.006+08:00

It’s pretty clear from the President’s recent State of the Nation address. Our country is broke and he’s looking to us for help. We who work in private foundations, in NGOs, or in a private capacity with causes to support must renew our efforts to lift our country out of the crisis it’s in. There is funding from international agencies that can start, boost, and sustain

GAMES OF CHANCE AND DEATH: THE WOWOWEE STORY

2010-07-27T23:52:00.004+08:00

(article first appeared in Newsbreak Magazine, March 26, 2006. It is being reprinted to celebrate the announcement that the noontime game show is being ended July 30, 2010.) In the past, angry parents, women’s organizations, consumer activists, and civil societies would call the networks and write into Letters to the Editors to complain about a lurid game show host or dancing by skimpily clad

SIGWA (STORM). A MOVIE REVIEW OF A CINEMALAYA 2010 ENTRY

2010-07-24T18:00:00.006+08:00

It’s important to revisit the past every so often. Sigwa, a movie about the emergence of the Philippine student movement in 1970 called First Quarter Storm is a good place to return to for many of my generation. Like tens of thousands of Filipino students, I was there among the demonstrators, timid and not at the front. I protested but didn’t want to get my head blown

Brother Armin and the Sex Education Conundrum

2010-07-16T12:11:00.005+08:00

The new Department of Education Secretary, Brother Armin Luistro barely warmed his office chair when the question of sex education being taught in public school was brought up by the press. As a Christian Brother, would he toe the Catholic Church line and get rid of it or would he be mindful of church/state separation and continue, if not expand its curriculum?I thought of my school days (this

TO THE CURRENT MUSEUM TRUSTEES AND DIRECTOR: RESIGN

2010-06-24T09:28:00.006+08:00

June 24, 2010Mr. Hilarion Henares National MuseumManila, Philippines Dear Mr. Henares, The majesty of democracy is that power resides in its citizens, that it can periodically change its representatives and dispense with directives previously and unlawfully promulgated. That is why I am asking for your resignation, that of the rest of the National Museum Board as well as that of Mr. Jeremy

WRITE FOR YOUR CAUSE! WRITE TO GET FUNDING! JUNE 2010 WORKSHOPS

2010-05-27T16:19:00.009+08:00

THERE'S FUNDING OUT THERE.WE JUST DON'T ASK!In 2009, United States foundations gave over $ 680 million dollars in grants to 1,900 non-profit organizations overseas. Of that, only 14 Filipino non-profits received $2.5 million in grants. Is there a problem? Yes. We don’t know these funders. We don’t write to them. And we don’t write it well enough! Let me teach you how

ISAGANI'S LAST SWIPE! BRING OUT THE CHAMPAGNE!

2010-04-18T10:38:00.004+08:00

Isagani Cruz, sounds like he's saying goodbye in his column today. http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20100417-264860/Subjects-of-my-articlesHe just couldn't control himself at taking one more swing at us gays by going after our kind who wear "shocking clothes and makeup." Why does this harangue remind me of embarassed macho men upset with themselves getting a hard on

CULTURE BLUNDER

2010-04-11T07:46:00.006+08:00

(article appeared in Philippine Inquirer Sunday Lifestyle April 11 2010) For over a decade, the National Museum has delighted, and inspired millions of visitors, particularly schoolchildren with its permanent exhibitions and temporary galleries coming from all parts of the globe and this country as well. When former President Fidel Ramos assigned three colonial era buildings and the private

2010-03-25T09:52:00.000+08:00

THE CAMPAIGN GARBAGE ON WALLS AND POSTS MUST BE STOPPED

2010-02-23T09:39:00.003+08:00

Note: I wrote this article nine years ago when I was one of a few in bringing this political campaign trash to the public. I remember friends telling me, oh john, you are so balikbayan, don't get so upset about it. The rains will wash them away. But there are changes for the good. For this campaign year, the Philippine Inquirer has an article about illegal postering

COLORFUL WORKBOOK FOR TEACHERS ON ARTS APPRECIATION NOW AVAILABLE

2010-02-04T08:24:00.003+08:00

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION CONTACT PERSONS: John L. Silva, 0926 729 9029 or jsilva79@mac.com No more horror stories about arts appreciation as cutting up letters and making posters! “Loving The Arts, A Workbook for Public School Teachers” by John L. Silva is now available and introduces the arts to more than just cutting cartolina. Teachers in general

The Quickie Tour of Our National Museum

2009-12-06T08:54:00.005+08:00

(December 6, 2009 Lifestyle Sunday Section, Philippine Daily Inquirer) People who visit the National Museum want to see all of it. Well, if they did, it would take a week. With a collection dating 20,000 years back and close to a million artifacts, the museum’s collection is overwhelming. Here’s the edited, highlighted version for visitors to the Museum with particular

A Couturier Way Ahead of Her Time. Salvacion Lim Higgins (Slim)

2009-12-03T10:47:00.003+08:00

This Slim retrospective of her work from the forties to the nineties must not be missed. Fab gowns, fab layout. Now at the National Museum till March 2010. For our staff Christmas party, we are designating several of our maintenance people to get both financial and material support whose houses were totally wiped out in the last flood. If you have found the National Museum to be impeccably

Learn to be an Internet Savvy Advocacy Writer

2009-12-01T18:02:00.004+08:00

Workshop coming up! The best thing that’s happened for media activists these days is the appearance of social networks, blogs, and websites where we can plug our causes and make our points to the public without relying on traditional media. A call to help typhoon victims immediately. An editiorial opinion from your blog to lambast political shenanigans. A website report to show the

2009-11-14T08:41:00.004+08:00

The National Museum is a photographer's delight. Various artifacts get attention, but increasingly the interior and exterior of our buildings amaze people. Andy de los Reyes got the sensuality of our staircases in the former legislative building now the National Gallery of Art. You must come if only to be awed by the details of this 1916 colonial-era building. I have many tours for the rest

2009-10-20T00:12:00.004+08:00

I had heard one of my guests talk about how the National Museum was the setting for a date. She was quite impressed with the guy and eventually married him. People go to bars or parties to meet people. Well, there's also the National Museum.I've seen it all in the course of guiding. Stolen glances. Silly remarks to start a conversation. There's actually a lot of sexual tension in a museum

WRITE FOR YOUR CAUSE, WRITE TO GET FUNDING. WORKSHOPS OCT, NOV, '09

2009-10-05T08:55:00.005+08:00

"After 2 workshops, I finally figured out how to personalize my emails to friends and donors. I did one on what happened to our staff and kids during the typhoon with a specific appeal for them to send money. I'd done such an appeal describing what we want to do before but for the first time, some people actually sent money. They said they were touched by the story I wrote."Olie LucasUnang

IMELDIFIC ISN’T FUNNY ANY MORE

2009-09-17T10:06:00.004+08:00

By John L. Silva(Imelda in front of the Cultural Center with drag queens in the background. Photo by Steve Tirona, Silver Lens Gallery Manila) The recent Cultural Center of the Philippines’ costly extravaganza entitled Seven Arts, One Imelda, honoring former first lady Imelda Marcos’ founding of the Cultural Center was offensive and insensitive. It exacerbated the already wide division

Adding A Cory Dimension to My National Museum Tour

2009-08-24T09:47:00.004+08:00

In a world of short memories, I wanted the life and example of President Corazon Aquino to linger a bit longer. In my regular National Museum tour, I’ve added insights to artifacts and aspects in the museum that explains the values imbibed by the woman we call Cory. The Museum’s American colonial architecture, embodying democratic details from ancient Greece, reveal Cory’s own democratic

ASTIG, A HOMOSEXUAL REVIEW

2009-08-11T23:28:00.005+08:00

A full length movie entry in the 2009 Cinemalaya FestivalBy John L. SilvaStory line: The separate lives of four young men, trying to make do in a tough city. Unbeknownst to one another, the events they go through intertwine with each others’ lives. There’s the bad tempered Salesman hawking false certificates on Recto, (the Manila street known for getting diplomas, certificates, anything fake).

The Woman Who Gave Us Our Rights Back

2009-08-03T00:44:00.003+08:00

It was a demonstration against Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s declaration of a State of Emergency on February 24, 2006. It felt like Martial Law was coming. She banned any gathering at EDSA shrine, the ground zero of the February 1986 revolution.I was in the march headed down Ayala Avenue and did not know until I looked back that we were in front of Cory. There was tension in the air; we were told

A NOTHING OF A PRESIDENTIAL MEETING

2009-08-02T10:04:00.006+08:00

On the day President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo met with President Barack Obama, I checked the websites of the major US papers for coverage and the possible appearance of my submitted editorial about President Obama giving cultural and education funds to the Philippines rather than more military aid to Mindanao. (Full editorial on the previous post)There was no coverage of the visit on the day of

When The President Comes A-Calling

2009-07-29T07:19:00.004+08:00

John L. SilvaPhilippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s visit on July 30, 2009 with President Barack Obama comes with the likely request for more military aid in to continue the war against Al Qaeda terrorists in her country. A similar request was made five years ago on the last visit with then President George Bush. The former American colony hasn’t resolved the decades long conflict in

VIETNAM BECKONS, AGAIN

2009-03-31T16:12:00.011+08:00

ARTS, ARCHITECTURE AND FINE DINING: HANOI, HUE, HOI-AN AND DANANGMAY 25 - 30, 2009March 25, 2009Dear Friends,My recently concluded Vietnam tour was such a success that I am doing it again for those whose schedules couldn’t fit the first time. There will be just a bit of tweaking (mostly in the order of fine dining on which day), an added side trip to Ho Chi Minh’s house, and an optional tour of

SOMETIMES A PAINTING NEEDS A DASH OF INSIGHT: THE GRAND TOUR OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM

2009-03-05T09:43:00.005+08:00

Works of art are appreciated by their own merits. But oftentimes a painting or a sculpture has a story that adds to its worth. Or a brushstroke, almost imperceptible, that needs pointing out, and expanding a painting’s dimension.John L. Silva’s renowned three-hour tour of the National Museum’s painting and sculpture collection incorporates history, interpretation, and even a little humor. Get

2008-09-15T00:27:00.001+08:00

STOP THIS OBSCENE BILL. The Anti-Obscenity and Pornography Senate Bill No. 2464

2008-09-11T15:06:00.012+08:00

by John L. SilvaIn July of this year, the Anti-Obscenity and Pornography bill of 2008 was introduced in the Senate for deliberation by Senator Manny Villar. The bill has a lofty preamble about the state valuing the dignity of every human person and safeguarding the moral, spiritual and social well being of its youth and women from “the pernicious effects of obscenity and pornography. “ After

2008-09-01T00:01:00.002+08:00

This picture was taken by one of my museum guests, whose name I need to search. It's one of a pair of staircases on both of the entrance of the former Legislative Building now the National Gallery of Art. They are quite sensual as the float up the floors. The colonial era building is such an added bonus to my tour. Everyone likes to walk in buildings that have an old world charm.Come on my

THE SPOLIARIUM BY JUAN LUNA AND THE MAKING OF OUR NATION. THE NATIONAL MUSEUM TOUR.

2008-08-28T08:14:00.003+08:00

"Thanks for the tour. It was truly inspiring! It made me proud to be a Filipino and to be part of a very rich heritage."April Inocentes Tour dates are September 24, 27th, October 1, 4, 5, 8, and 29th, November 2, 5, 9, 12, 19, 22, 23, 26, and 29th, 2008There’s a serenity when you enter the Museum of the Filipino People. It’s summertime and the venerable building is quiet with a sprinkle of

LOST AND FOUND

2008-05-08T18:18:00.007+08:00

(printed in Philippine Starweek Magazine, March 4, 2008)What an incredible year this has been! I liken it to looking up to the night sky and seeing millions of glittering stars. They were all just beautiful stars until October last, when it turned out, one of those stars actually belonged to me. A woman alights from the hotel van with her two daughters. They’re Australian and it’s their first

PASSING ON THE LUCK. THE GRADUATION OF MY SCHOLAR

2008-04-21T09:35:00.005+08:00

By John L. Silva(Philippine Daily Inquirer, April 21, 2008)Through the years, I’ve happily attended many of Far Eastern University’s lectures, openings, and performances. The university’s 80th commencement exercise this April was by far, the most heartfelt of all the events. Our scholar, Ronnie Quiling, was graduating and my partner Jonathan Best and I were there as his adoptive parents.There

WHAT IS THEIR PROBLEM? The Piolo and Sam Libel Case

2007-11-22T10:18:00.000+08:00

American matinee idol Tab Hunter comes to mind while reading the multimillion peso libel suit filed by actors Piolo Pascual and Sam Milby against gossip columnist Lolit Solis for insinuating that they’re gay. In 1956, Tab was at the peak of his career. The handsome “boy-next-door” was the leading man in movies with co-stars like Lana Turner, Natalie Wood and Sophia Loren. His stature rivaled

THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB'S CLUBBING OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

2007-11-08T07:22:00.000+08:00

By John L. SilvaThe National Press Club’s defacement and censorship of a commissioned mural in their club restaurant recalls to mind a celebrated incident involving the Mexican artist Diego Rivera and the Rockefeller Center.In 1933, Rivera was commissioned by Nelson Rockefeller to do a mural for the lobby of the RCA Building at New York’s Rockefeller Center. Rivera, a leftist, was well known for

HEALED A SECOND TIME

2007-10-01T01:08:00.000+08:00

Hope For Education in Sagada(published in Philippine Inquirer, Sunday Sept. 30, 2007By John L. SilvaYou have to psych yourself for the six-hour bus ride from Baguio to the northern mountain top town of Sagada. But, on the road, you don’t figure the added time for the stalled jeep ahead laden with vegetables blocking the road. Or my bus having a flat tire. Or that it wouldn’t start after a pit

DEFYING A CONFLICT TO TEACH AESTHETICS

2007-09-22T10:19:00.002+08:00

(Bringing Arts Education to Tawi-Tawi Teachers)by John L. SilvaIt seemed foolhardy to go to Tawi-Tawi. There was all-out war raging in the neighboring islands of Basilan and Jolo. The fighting was fierce and ten marines in one encounter were decapitated by Muslim rebels. Retribution was in the offing. The request though from Synergeia was urgent. If I-LOVE-MUSEUM, our training program for

SCHOOL FIELD TRIPS SHOULD BE EDUCATIONAL FOR ALL!

2007-08-26T11:14:00.001+08:00

John L. SilvaIt’s been over six years now since the late Secretary of Education Raul Roco issued a school wide directive (DEP ED Order No. 56, s. 2001) acknowledging school field trips “can supplement classroom instruction” when students are brought to the “National Museum, Museo Pambata, provincial and local museums, Science Centrums, botanical gardens, historical sites and scientific sites.”

THE PAPAL BUT BLUNDEROUS VERSION OF AMERICA’S CHRISTIANIZATION

2007-05-22T11:44:00.000+08:00

By John L. SilvaPope Benedict’s controversial statement in a Brazil bishops conference on the ready acceptance by South American Indians of the Catholic faith resonates across the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines.The Pope’s speech was a rousing call to reinvigorate the local clergy in a country whose Catholic population of 120 million has decreased by over 15% in the past two decades.The Pope in

SULU BOUND FOR ARTS NOT WAR

2007-05-01T18:54:00.001+08:00

By John L. Silva(This appeared in the April 15, 2007 issue of Philippine Starweek Magazine)We were checking out very early in the morning morning in Zamboanga to catch our flight. My porter gingerly carried my laptop and lcd projector to the hotel van asking if I was headed back to Manila. No, I said, I was going to Jolo. The porter gave a pensive look and cautioned me; things were “delicado”

LAGUNA TRASHED WITH CAMPAIGN POSTERS

2007-04-08T18:14:00.000+08:00

There are silver linings and still many more challenges in this business of getting rid of illegal billboards and political campaign posters. But one thing is certain from my most recent drive this Holy Week around Laguna de Bay. Things are changing.Just driving the Southern Expressway headed for Laguna, there are bright spots. Literally. It seems around the entrance to the toll gates, there

ILLEGAL BILLBOARDS AND CAMPAIGN POSTERS

2007-03-28T10:38:00.000+08:00

These are photographs taken by Jonathan Best on March 23 and 26 going to Baguio taking the North Expressway and Kennon Road. All the billboards on North Expressway are now deemed violations by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). They have cited the billboard owners warning them that if they don’t have them taken down, they will be removed. They are considered a menace to the

WE CAN ALL MAKE SURE THERE WILL BE NO CAMPAIGN GARBAGE

2007-03-19T23:02:00.000+08:00

It’s over a month into the campaign season and the major thoroughfares of Manila still haven’t been plastered with campaign material. This is really a major change from the last election. Unfortunately, having come from Zamboanga and Jolo just a week ago, campaign material are stuck everywhere totally disregarding COMELEC laws. The worst offenders in those parts are Senators Ralph Recto and

PAINTINGS TO REMIND US OF JAPANESE CRUELTIES IN WORLD WAR II

2007-03-04T15:48:00.000+08:00

John L. Silva(Unpublished, written April 2005)Recently, the Office of the Solicitor General filed before the Supreme Court a 37-page memorandum arguing that the Philippine Government was correct in denying assistance to “comfort women” the term used for the tens of thousands of Filipina women who were forced into sex slavery by the Japanese Imperial Government in World War II.Citing two treaties

SEN ANGARA, REMOVE YOUR ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN POSTERS!

2007-02-23T23:03:00.000+08:00

Dear Senator Angara,Last night I pulled down a large 8 ft x 8 ft poster bearing your face and those of your fellow senatorial candidates. The poster was nailed in the middle of the night to the wall of the subdivision I live in. As a “lawmaker” you are supposedly aware these posters violate election rules with penalties that include fines, a jail sentence and disqualification from public

THERE'S A TYPO ON THE BENCH BILLBOARD

2007-01-30T09:08:00.000+08:00

By John L. SilvaWhen companies attempt to make Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) a breathing, living ethos, they should be congratulated and encouraged on. But since the CSR movement is relatively a nascent undertaking in the Philippines, companies whose bottom lines have long been on profit taking rather than on social giving, have applied CSR with some hits and misses. Take Bench’s

HAPPY HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

2006-12-22T12:12:00.000+08:00

Typhoon Milenyo's wrath made us see things again. Sunsets, Mountains, the evening stars. One of those stars finally found by three lost Magi looking for an important baby. Holiday Cheers, a Peaceful New Year and a more vigorous fight to end the billboard blight in our country.John

OUR TIMES: FOUR GENERATIONS THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHS

2006-11-19T22:46:00.000+08:00

FRIENDS: YOU'LL HAVE A GREAT TIME AT MY OPENING. PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY, WITTY ANNOTATIONS, PHOTOGRAPHIC MASTERPIECES BY ME! AND TWO SHORT MOVIES ENTITLED "I HATE BILLBOARDS" AND HOW TO BE GAY IN TEN EASY STEPS.SEE YOU THERE. Wednesday, 6:00 PM, January 22, 2006. Silverlens Gallery, 2320 Pasong Tamo Ext. Makati City. For further info, call 816 0044JOHN

A GOURMAND'S ISLAND PARADISE: ISLA NABUROT

2006-11-07T00:12:00.000+08:00

(Given the recent oil spill in the Guimaras Straits, people may be shying away from visiting Guimaras. Don't. Isla Naburot, this island paradise has not been affected. Go and enjoy this wonderful jewel. This article was published in the April 7, 2002 issue of Philippine Starweek Magazine)By John L. SilvaI had heard about Isla Naburot many times in the past. It’s different, they’d say. No

A MUSEUM THAT DOESN’T DELIGHT

2006-10-29T08:28:00.000+08:00

By John L. Silva(published Newsbreak Magazine Nov. 6, 2006)There’s just some museums that’s not going to be entertaining. You need to steel yourself for the Toul Sleng or S-21 Prison now called the Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh. When the Khmer Rouge finally entered victorious into the city on April 17, 1975, they announced that very same day that everyone had to leave. After decades of

HISTORY FOR TOURISTS

2006-10-14T00:37:00.000+08:00

(This piece was published in the October 9th, 2006 issue of Newsbreak Magazine)On the surface, it looked like a scholarly get together of 60 museologists from ten Southeast Asian countries holed up in the massive Cambodiana Hotel in Phnom Penh. For four days, Curators, archaeologists, cultural ministers and museum directors pored through documents and reviewed powerpoint presentations of their

2006-10-05T08:20:00.000+08:00

THE CORPORATE CONNECTION TO THE BILLBOARD BLIGHTBy John L. SilvaIn the past, anti-billboard advocates had little ammunition except aesthetics and moral suasion in appealing to billboard companies over the proliferation of these structures. The first spate of fallen billboards the past year did not faze the billboard companies whose pithy response was an empty promise to regulate their ranks.

THE OBSTINATE ISAGANI

2006-09-07T00:04:00.000+08:00

(Isagani's column first and my response follows)SEPARATE OPINIONThe right to criticize By Isagani CruzInquirerLast updated 06:02am (Mla time) 09/03/2006Published on page A10 of the September 3, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily InquirerTHE right to criticize is inherent in every person and is recognized as included in the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution. It is as powerful as

DEAR MR. GOKONGWEI

2006-08-29T09:27:00.000+08:00

(This piece was published in the Sept. 10th issue of Newsbreak Magazine)August 16, 2006To: John GokongweiFr: John SilvaRe: Your donationYou’ve made the over 10 billion peso donation for education. You got the well-deserved press and raised the marker on Philippine philanthropy. Your legacy and good name is ensured. Now, for the hard part. As someone involved in education reform and

WE WON'T CELEBRATE JUST YET!

2006-08-25T00:05:00.000+08:00

The Philippine Inquirer got a lot of mail about the homophobic columns of their writer Isagani Cruz. Mine are below in response to his columns.By Tuesday, Aug 22, 2006, the Inquirer published the piece below. It was not a disavowal but a step in the right direction.Today, August 24, 2006, they published my response in the Letters to The Editors piece.It’s not over. So many responses from

Jonathan Best's Reply to Isagani Cruz

2006-08-24T18:37:00.000+08:00

(This is my partner Jonathan Best's reply to Isagani Cruz's Aug. 12, 2006 editorial. It was published two days later in the Letters To The Editor but was they had cut out the last and important paragraph. Here is the full letter.)Isagani A. Cruz is a Bully and a Gay Basher.by Jonathan Best There he goes again, Isagani A. Cruz (PDISaturday Aug. 12, 2006), sounding off about theterrible

NURSE, YOU FORGOT THE ENEMA!

2006-08-21T11:38:00.000+08:00

By John L. SilvaThere goes Isagani Cruz again, spewing his homophobic sputum all over the printed page. (Philippine Daily Inquirer August 20, 2006, his full text below). He’s having a bad hair day because fellow columnist Manuel Quezon III called him a bigot. If he’s read the enormous amount of e- mail the newspaper has received and the blogs on the internet, he’ll come to his silly senses and

IT'S TIME FOR YOUR ENEMA, ISAGANI CRUZ

2006-08-20T16:17:00.000+08:00

Weekend newspaper reading should be elevating, forward thinking and inspiring. But Isagani Cruz’s gay-bashing editorial (PDI August 12, 2006) today only makes you understand why old geezer columnists, if they don’t keel over, need to be put to pasture for their own good.Cruz can actually write and when he reminisces about old Manila he’s fine. But his nostalgia also pines for behavior and

2006-07-20T23:51:00.000+08:00

July 20, 2006Dear Fab Five, Fantabulosa you could all come! Your gay Flip fans can’t wait to see you!Up for a lot of noshing and parties and cruising? Because that’s what we love doing here.I haven’t gotten my invite to the cocktails but I’m not holding my breath. Did I tell you about the time Globe, the cell-phone company here decided to give out your soundtrack to Queer Eye and then had a “

SUCCESSFUL ADVOCACY LETTERS TO PRESERVE A HERITAGE LANDMARK

2006-07-16T18:57:00.000+08:00

July 16, 2006Dear Friends,Here's the complete set of correspondence between Mr. Tony Tan Caktiong, Jollibee President, Mr. Erwin Elechicon, Greenwich Pizza President, and myself for you to understand my objection to the illegal food stall set up by Greenwich in Pila, Laguna's historical landmark plaza. I also attach pictures of the stall, the complete Presidential Decree 1505 protecting heritage

FUNDRAISING APPEAL TO CLASS 69 LA SALLE GREEN HILLS

2006-07-04T11:16:00.000+08:00

(A fundraising appeal sent out for a retro dance party to benefit classmates in need. It's unique because we raise money to help those in our midst with medical problems rather than a charity outside. It's also unique because we, from a private boy's school, acknowledge that our classmates have needs.)April 5, 2006Dear ‘69 classmates,It will be close to 40 years since we graduated from Green

"FILIPINIANA" EXHIBITION IN MADRID, MAY 2006

2006-07-04T10:45:00.000+08:00

(This piece appeared in Philippine Starweek Magazine, June 25, 2006).“FILIPINIANA” IN MADRIDA Contemporary Retelling of Our Spanish Legacy By John L. Silva “Filipiniana” an extensive, arts, cultural, and historical exhibition opened last May 11, 2006, at Centro Conde Duque in Madrid. The Centro was thronged with visitors led by Philippine Ambassador Joseph Bernardo, senior officials from the

Ilocano Son Returns

2005-04-12T10:49:00.000+08:00

A TRIP TO DELIGHTFUL ILOCANDIABy John L. SilvaPhilippine Starweek MagazineMarch 27, 2005I’ve seen the rugged coastline and turquoise waters of Northern Luzon many times. But it was always from a plane 39,000 feet above on its way to or leaving Manila. Joining up recently with a Museum Foundation of the Philippines tour of Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur, I had a chance to see this section of the

WORLD WAR II THE JAPANESE VERSON

2005-03-04T13:08:00.000+08:00

John Silva’s version sent to Asian Wall Street Journal(With all the commemorations on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Philippines, this article reminds us that in Japan, there are still attempts to change history. This piece appeared in the Asian Wall Street Journal in August 2003)World War II, The Japanese Version, atThe Yasukuni Shrine MuseumBy John L. SilvaAugust 15th marks the

Statue of Kamikaze Fighter, entrance of the Yasukuni Shrine Museum, Tokyo

2005-03-03T21:50:00.000+08:00

Originally uploaded by John Silva.Photo by John L. Silva

John Silva, Kyoto Aug. 2003

2005-03-03T20:34:00.000+08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #000000; }.flickr-frame { float: right; text-align: center; margin-left: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } John Silva, Kyoto Aug. 2003, originally uploaded by John Silva.

REMEMBERING THOSE WHO DIED AND THOSE STILL ALIVE

2005-03-03T17:15:00.000+08:00

(Published in Philippine Starweek Magazine, February 13, 2005)Book review: Ghost Soldiers by Hampton WhiteJohn L. SilvaThe yearly commemoration of the end of Japanese occupation in the Philippines occurs in the month of February. The weather is temperate, there is a constant cool breeze and the light is still not as harsh. It is a pleasant time to visit the cemetery and memorial sites to lay