In Memoriam /  by John Javellana


Today I realized intimately how death could bring one comfort instead of pain; be celebrated instead of mourned. 

Her time was long overdue. 

To be in a senseless state of slumber for seven years is far too long for any human to endure, conscious or unconscious. As lovingly selfish as your family may be to even have the slightest of hope that one day you wake up and be with us once more, I would favor that you not to. It is time that you be set free from the pangs of this mortal life on earth, even though you never seemed to be within its reach. You always had this genuine emanation of calm and peace hovering around your aura that comforted even the most jaded of spirits in your family whenever at your presence.  

Looking back at how you've barely lived your life for yourself yet be so supremely happy and at peace by dedicating it to your family shall perpetually remind me how faith, sacrifice, compassion and selflessness can, and will pull a family through anything this life may have to offer. Widowed with 6 children, you dedicated your being to raise a family on your own from such humble beginnings and you have succeeded in given your children a better life thus gifting us, your grandchildren a kind of life that any mother or grandmother could ever dream of providing.  

You always tease me that you never had anything to give me as inheritance once you passed away, then make me a snack out of bread drenched in butter, sprinkled with tons of sugar. And I'd be the happiest boy who was stubbornly craving for McDonald's alive. It was the simple things. And you were wonderful at it.

It is always infinitely sad whenever the person who has given you the best memories become the memory. But as you cross over to that better place everybody dreams of, I am somewhat puzzled to find myself not in mourning. Instead, I find myself looking beyond my balcony, smiling while gently in tears. I ask myself why and then it becomes clear. You have given me enough loving and comforting memories to console any pain that I,  and the rest of  your family may have to go through as you go away. 



So as I look up at the sky today, I smile. Because I am happy that you are free and finally in the arms of the man you never had the proper chance and time to love and be with in this world. 



Now your love story can begin.






I'm sure the glorious sunrises never end from where you and lolo Piling are, grandma Diting.



Forever thankful to have had a grandmother like you. 


A Morning with the Iron Butterfly /  by John Javellana


Former first-lady Imelda Marcos was then bound for her hometown of Leyte to campaign for a seat in the lower House of Representatives. More than that, she was campaigning for her son, Bongbong Marcos for a position in the Senate. Was amazed with the energy the 80 year-old had. Wanted to spend more time shooting the defamed icon but there's only so much you could do in five short hours.
Check out the article here.

A Placid Coexistence with the Departed /  by John Javellana



Manila North Cemetery
By John Javellana

It's a common perception amongst us mortals to think of cemeteries and graveyards as eerie places to find ourselves in at. Throughout our history from folklore to pop culture; to even the devout and the pagans; mankind has established any burial grounds as something that is hallowed for the departed. But the passage of time inevitably alters everything and in collusion with that is the entailment of man to adapt. 

Poverty is something that ironically goes in connivance with progress and it is evident especially in this country. As the rich get richer, the poor constantly gets poorer. Brought about the instinct to adapt, marginalized Filipinos have found peculiar ways to live within the city, forming communities the most unusual places. From dumpsites to bridges; to even makeshift houses that float along the coast, our countrymen have managed to stay within the hustle and bustle of the city for the belief that there's a better chance of a future here compared to the provinces. But there's nothing I personally found more bizarre than living amongst the dead.

The roughly 54-hectare Manila North Cemetery is considered to be the largest and one of the oldest cemeteries in Metro Manila. It houses hundreds of thousands of the city's Catholic dead while it hosts a living community of more than 2,000 inside mausoleums and makeshift personal spaces built atop "apartment-type" tombs. It is owned by the local government of Manila and has already established a conventional locale with its residents; requiring them to have titles for the space they occupy and even permits for the businesses they establish within the premises.

To equal it's oddity, I found out through the personal accounts of the residents in the cemetery that they have been living there for a number of generations already. An 80-year old woman was pleased to tell me the story of how she was born, raised, found love and even nurtured her children within the premises of the Manila North Cemetery. She has made a living by taking care of a number of tombs throughout her life, and she gladly intends to live the remainder of her years there.

It was somewhat a consensus amongst the occupants that the harshness of life was initially the main reason why they resorted into settling down in such an unconventional place of dwelling but unanimously most of them are happier to be in the area rather than anywhere else. For them, the cemetery is like a high-end village that is a lot more posh compared to other makeshift domiciles the city has to offer. And I do not disagree. They have everything that anybody would look for in a community - governance, convenient access to water and food, a regular livelihood, even internet shops and gaming stations for kids to pass the time. But most of all, a place that is legally their own. 

At a personal level, the communities within the Manila North Cemetery is a testament to the resilience of the Filipino people to survive and triumph over anything that life tosses at them. I never even had the notion that they were impoverished since they were living pretty comfortably, even in luxury at times when compared to the other dwellings that I have had the chance to come across within the city.  It is truly the more opulent side of town - relatively. The only difference is that they placidly share it day and night with the departed.


After the Twin Typhoons /  by John Javellana

On September 27, 2011, typhoon Nesat made landfall over the Luzon region of Philippines with such force that it placed itself as the second costliest typhoon that has ever hit the country. With damages amounting to 15 billion Pesos ($333 million USD) and over 83 deaths, it has even surpassed typhoon Ketsana which caused havoc to the country exactly two years earlier. Nesat was the first of twin tropical cyclones to batter the Philippines within one week during September 2011, the second was Nalgae. The two typhoons combined to displace an estimated 500,000 people, about half of whom are in temporary shelter areas on the main island of Luzon by the first week of October.