Sisid Marino

05/07/2026

A very historic DIVE!!!

05/07/2026

ALL HEART, ALL HUSTLE! 🤩

Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala is giving 100% effort as she dives for the ball in the second set of her the third-round clash against defending champion Iga Świątek at the 2026 Wimbledon Championships.

Watch Alex Eala's campaign at the 2026 Wimbledon Championships LIVE on SPOTV - available on Channel 274 HD on Cignal!

05/07/2026

'NAKADAPA NA, LALABAN PA.'

Veteran broadcaster Karen Davila praised Alex Eala after her campaign, calling the Filipina tennis star "the best of the Filipino" and a symbol of the nation's .

05/07/2026

05/07/2026

The very historic DIVES!!!

'TENNIS RODMAN'

Fans are comparing Alex Eala's all-out dive at to Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, whose hustle and fearless dives for loose balls became a trademark of his career.

05/07/2026

05/07/2026

Don Simoun Ibarra:

For non-Filipinos, the way Filipinos celebrate every one of Alex Eala's victories may seem exaggerated or over the top. But there's an important cultural context behind it.

Tennis has long been viewed in the Philippines as a rich person's sport. Unlike basketball, boxing, or volleyball—which require relatively little equipment and are accessible to almost everyone—tennis demands much more. You need access to proper courts, rackets, balls, coaching, and regular training, all of which can be expensive.

For many Filipinos, those barriers make the sport difficult to pursue, even if they have the interest or talent.

That's one of the main reasons tennis has never become as popular as other sports in the Philippines. It's not because Filipinos don't like tennis; it's because the sport is simply out of reach for most people.

So when a Filipino like Alex Eala succeeds on one of the biggest stages in the world, every victory feels historic. Filipinos aren't just celebrating another match win—they're celebrating someone who has broken through barriers in a sport that few from their country have ever had the opportunity to compete in at the highest level.

From that perspective, the excitement surrounding every Alex Eala victory isn't an exaggeration. It's the pride of seeing one of their own succeed in a sport that many Filipinos once thought was beyond their reach.

14/03/2026

How wrong became right:
Save us from Dutertismo

by Jarius Bondoc - Mar. 13, 2026 (Edited 8:35 a.m.)

Rockstar lawyer Carlo Ybañez laments: “Because of Duterte, wrong became right.

“Before the Dutertes came into your life, wasn’t right from wrong clear to you? You knew it was wrong to murder. Wrong to insult women. Wrong to mock God. Wrong to break the law. Wrong to threaten. Wrong to side with foreign interest against your country’s.

“These were obvious to you before. But what happened when the Dutertes entered? Gradually you came to justify that wrong can become right. Killing became valid, so long as addicts. Degrading women became acceptable, if by a President’s joke. Permissible to call God stupid.

“Unthinkable how you justify it to yourself. But they became right to you anyway. Lawbreaking became okay because the rights to due process, to privacy, to travel don’t matter. Same with threatening to slaughter. Or giving up our territory to others because we can’t defend it.

“Your metamorphosis didn’t end there. What were wrong before, you came to admire as virtues. One who murders is brave. One who dishonors women is macho. One who blasphemes is honest. One who violates laws is clever. One who allies with the enemy is practical.

“Look at yourself in the mirror. That’s the person you’ve become. When Duterte came into your life, you threw principles into the wastebin. Right or wrong?”

Last week a congressman manifested those flaws. He rationalized VP Sara Duterte’s livestreamed threat to assassinate Bongbong Marcos, Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez. Supposedly VP Sara was not plotting but merely expressing a wish, so no basis to impeach her.

He exemplified himself. Purportedly upon seeing in person actress Anne Curtis, he entertained earthly desires. “But of course those were only imaginings, and no one would sue me for my imagination.”

Fellow-congressmen had his crass utterances stricken off the record. Female colleagues cautioned him against breaching parliamentary ethics. Mayor Joy Belmonte had to remind him that he was majority leader when the Quezon City Council ordained against degrading women. The House of Reps holds sessions in QC.

Next day, the lawyer-spokesman of Rodrigo Duterte’s PDP-Laban joined the fray. He taunted Ms. Curtis’ sister Jasmine for wanting to be desired by posting selfies in bikinis. He boasted that he once desired Gabriela Rep. Sarah Elago after he caught a whiff of her scent during a hearing. So sue me, he dared.

That afternoon a pro-Duterte senator asked a foreign female athlete during formal hearings if she has any Filipino boyfriend. He then pointed to a married colleague as eligible.

To recall, the senator who heads PDP-Laban denigrated the law against marital r**e because “men have the right to sexual satisfaction”.

The four can’t keep locker room talk inside the locker room. Thus, they break laws on safe spaces.

Their “Tatay Digong” has infected them. While campaigning for president in 2016 he said he should have been first in line as mayor when Davao City prisoners gangr**ed and slew a nun.

In his first press-con as President he wolf-whistled at a female reporter who raised her hand for a question. Several times thereafter, he told soldiers that he’d defend them in court if they r**ed, but only up to three times. He exhorted them to shoot female rebels in the ge****ls.

On his first Christmas as President, he mocked the Eucharist, “Body of Christ sa inyong igit (in your sh*t).” Often he derided the God of Christians, Muslims, and Jews for “being stupid to let the serpent tempt Adam and Eve”.

Professing love for President Xi Jinping, he begged him to make the Philippines a province of China. He called “gago” voters who believed his campaign promise to jet-ski to the Spratlys to plant the Philippine flag and declare to China that “this is ours”. Today nine of 24 senators parrot Duterte’s kowtow.

Worst was Duterte’s bloody war on drugs that killed 7,000 on official record. Thirty thousand if including vigilante slayings.

At the International Criminal Court on Feb. 23rd lawyer Joel Butuyan denounced the virus of impunity that Duterte spread across the Philippines. It infected Filipinos to the point that they could no longer discern right from wrong, evil from good.

Journalist-human rights advocate Carlos Conde knows very well what Butuyan meant as common legal representative for the drug war victims. For decades Conde had reported Davao City police murders of druggies. Also of tortures and kidnappings of suspected rebels elsewhere. He survived harassment and attempts at violent silencing, and so was able to sit at the ICC gallery that day.

On the way back to hotel Conde watched a group of Duterte supporters chanting the name of their idol who is indicted for crimes against humanity. That night he wrote about the need to “dedutertefy” the Philippines the way postwar Germany denazified itself.

“The ICC process is necessary but not sufficient,” Conde stated. “What the Philippines needs is a genuine moral reckoning—in schools, in media, in families, in politics. We need to look honestly at the culture of impunity that made Duterte not just possible but popular. We need to stop treating his supporters’ feelings as more important than his victims’ lives.

“Dedutertefication won’t be easy. It won’t be comfortable. But it is the only path back to a country worth believing in.”

Photo by Philippine News Agency

* * *
Catch Sapol radio show, Saturdays, 8 to 10 a.m., DWIZ (882-AM).

27/12/2025

Tuwing Pasko, may bagong tradisyon ang mga Pilipino. Hindi ito minana sa Kastila, hindi itinuro ng simbahan, at hindi produkto ng consumer culture. Ito ay ang Christmas video calls ng OFWs.

Sa halip na yakap, screen. Sa halip na sabay-sabay sa mesa, naka-frame sa cellphone. Sa halip na iisang oras, may time zone, latency, at delay. May pamilyang nagbubukas ng regalo habang ina-adjust ang camera. “Ma, wait lang, di kita makita.” May batang paulit-ulit tumatawag ng “Ma” sa screen, parang sinusubok kung buo pa rin ba ang boses kahit hiwa-hiwalay ang mundo. May magulang na naka-smile lang dahil alam niyang kapag bumigay ang emosyon, guguho ang sandaling ito na sila lang ang meron.

Hindi ito simpleng benepisyo ng modern technology. Ito ay functional replacement for physical presence. Ang tawag natin dito ay sakripisyo, pero mas eksakto ang termino ay displacement of care. Ang pag-aalaga ay inilipat sa layo. Ang presensya ay ginawang intermittent. Ang pagiging magulang ay ginawang long-distance obligation na may kontrata, sahod, at takdang panahon.

Ngayong 2025, malinaw kung gaano kalaki ang sukat ng tradisyong ito. Tinatayang mahigit 2.19 milyong Pilipino ang nagtatrabaho sa ibang bansa batay sa pinakahuling government labor statistics, mas mataas kaysa mga nakaraang taon. Ang perang ipinapadala nila ay patuloy na bumubuhay sa ekonomiya. Sa unang sampung buwan ng 2025 pa lamang, umabot na sa mahigit 32 bilyong dolyar ang personal remittances, at noong 2024 ay umabot sa mahigit 38 bilyong dolyar ang kabuuang remittances, ang pinakamataas sa kasaysayan. Sa macroeconomic level, ito ay tagumpay. Sa antas ng pamilya, ito ay paghihiwalay na ginawang normal.

Tuwing Disyembre, ipinagdiriwang natin ang remittances. Binibilang natin ang dolyar, inilalagay sa economic reports, at inuulit ang naratibong “bagong bayani.” Ngunit ang hindi binibilang ay ang opportunity cost sa antas ng pamilya. Mga unang hakbang na napanood lang sa screen. Mga parent-teacher meeting na tinawagan lang. Mga magulang na tumanda nang walang humahawak sa kamay nila.

Christmas functions as a stress test. Habang may “Maligayang Pasko,” may “Can you hear me?” Habang may noche buena, may buffering. Habang may tawanan sa sala, may katahimikan sa dorm, sa barracks, sa shared room abroad na kailangang manahimik para gumana ang tawag. May OFW na nagluluto ng instant noodles sa gitna ng winter, naka-jacket at naka-headset, nanonood ng pamilyang kumakain ng handang siya ang nagbayad pero hindi niya natikman. May inang pinipigilan ang iyak dahil alam niyang ang emotional breakdown ay may spillover effect sa mga anak. “Okay lang ako dito,” paulit-ulit niyang sinasabi, hindi bilang katotohanan kundi bilang coping mechanism.

We call them heroes because it shifts responsibility. Mas madaling magbigay ng parangal kaysa magtanong kung bakit sistematikong itinutulak palabas ng bansa ang lakas-paggawa para mabuhay ang pamilya. Mas madaling ipagdiwang ang resilience kaysa kilalanin na ito ay policy outcome, isang modelong umaasa sa labor export dahil bigong magbigay ng sapat na trabaho, sahod, at social protection sa loob ng bansa.

Ang Christmas video call ay hindi indikasyon ng progreso. Ito ay empirical evidence ng kakulangan. At gayunpaman, may himala rito, hindi dahil epektibo ang sistema kundi dahil matatag ang tao. Sa kabila ng layo, may paninindigan. Sa kabila ng pixelated na mukha, may relasyong pinipilit manatiling buo. May pamilyang sabay humihinga kahit hiwa-hiwalay ang katawan. May batang natutong magmahal sa screen, at may magulang na araw-araw pumipili ng pag-alis bilang survival strategy para sa kinabukasan ng anak.

Hindi ito kuwento ng luho. Ito ay kuwento ng pagpili na ginawa sa ilalim ng constraint. Sa bawat “Merry Christmas, anak” na may delay, may emotional tax na binabayaran ang pamilya. Sa bawat “miss na miss kita,” may presyong wala sa kontrata ng overseas work at wala sa GDP computation.

Kaya sa Pasko, kapag may nakita kang pamilyang nakatutok sa cellphone imbes na sa mesa, huwag mong isipin na bastos sila. Iyon ang mesa nila. Iyon ang yakap nila. Iyon ang adaptive mechanism nila sa isang sistemang humihila sa kanila palayo sa isa’t isa.

At sana, balang araw, hindi na natin kailangan ang ganitong tradisyon. Sana, ang Pasko ay hindi na kailangang i-moderate ng Wi-Fi. Sana, ang pagmamahal ay hindi na kailangang i-export para mabuhay. Hanggang sa mangyari iyon, magbubukas pa rin ng camera ang mga anak, mag-iilaw pa rin ang screen, at sa maliit na kahon sa telepono, makikita mo ang isang bansa na patuloy na gumagana kahit ang halaga ay pagkakahiwalay.

25/12/2025

A SAFE Celebration is always a Merry Christmas.