112- Change is Coming

Today is a special day in the history of the Philippines. Today, the world has witnessed the installation into office of the 16th President of the Republic, President Rodrigo "Rody" Roa Duterte.
Duterte is the first Commander-in-Chief to hail from the Mindanao region, and the first, more specifically, to have been born and raised in Davao City. Mr. Duterte had previously been a Congressman, Mayor, and City Prosecutor, prior to assuming the highest post in the Philippine government.

Duterte's tenure in Davao has been much publicized for being all about progress, but "Digong", as he is affectionately known, has not been without his share of critics. People have lauded Duterte's swiftness in terms of implementing policies, and his purportedly unwavering political will, but, have sometimes scoffed at his seemingly blaise attitude towards economic and foreign policies, his adversarial stance towards the Catholic Church and the Philippine Commission on Human Rights, his inflammatory remarks towards women and those in the media, and the Davao Death Squad- a group that he is said to control towards putting lawless elements on ice- sans any mercy and sans any days in court. We definitely have a bit of a mixed bag of nuts with our incumbent Head-of-State.

I personally did not vote for Davao's favorite son, but, now that he is in power, I wish him all the best, and will show my love for the land of my birth by supporting his policies which stand to benefit the nation- especially those who lie at the fringes of society (thank you, VP Leni).

Change is coming- for better or worse. The President said it himself- it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Let's stay ready and stay vigilant.

MC

Fire in my Eyes

Is it normal to think that everything is pretty whenever you go abroad, to a place that is progressive and startlingly different from one's native land? Call it the "Fire in My Eyes" syndrome. Everything seen through the prism of the FME is shiny, new, and tastes of chocolate mixed with rhum. All is well in this part of the world.

View from a Ngong Ping 360 cable car. There's just something about Hong Kong that makes me want to keep coming back. From March 2016.

Views at sundown from the Kota Kinabalu Boardwork- Oceanus Mall Side. Nothing super spectacular about the place per se, but, the sights over the horizon more than made up for the surroundings' lack of sparkle. From May 2016. 

Here's another one from my personal collection. From April 2013. From Montecasino, Italy. 

These eyes, this mind, has a seen a lot, and craves to see even more. For all the ugliness there tends to be in this world, at least God's given us one thing to look forward to- to experience a renewed sense of beauty whenever we travel. So you see, things aren't always all that bad. 

MC