Garcia-Hernandez Conveyor Belt

Garcia-Hernandez, Bohol, Philippines, 2022

On the day of our Anda tour, I was having a really bad headache because of the unpredictable weather. When we were on our way back to Panglao after completing our itinerary for the day, we passed by this mining site. This wasn’t part of our tour, but my husband asked our tour guide if we could stop by just to take a photo. And though my head feels like its tearing itself apart, I just couldn’t help but go down and take a photo of the conveyor belt myself.

This mining site is a project of the Duterte administration and according to locals, Bohol’s LGU doesn’t earn anything or have any share from this — all the money goes straight to the national government. You might not see or notice it in the photo that I took from the main road of the town, but the top of that mountain has already gone bald.imageThe next photo shown below is a screen capture from Google Maps of what the mountain looks like from a bird’s eye view:

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Reflections of Hope

Cadapdapan Rice Terraces, Candijay, Bohol, Philippines, 2022

One of my many dreams for the Philippines is for our farmers to be recognized and receive the proper care and salary that they deserve. Today, they are still part of what we call laylayan who are most in need; their sentiments, requests, and demands are mostly never heard and neglected. Yet a lot of people would tell them to stop complaining and just work harder. I’ve heard this being said so many times that it just irks me how privileged, entitled, and selfish most people can be. How can you say this to our farmers who spends every day of their lives planting and harvesting crops ⁠— not even taking holidays and weekends off, but still remain part of the laylayan?

Alas, it might take more years or decades even, for this dream to come into fruition. But these photos give me the kind of hope that one day, someday, maybe, our farmers will be heard and taken care of. I think that if we just take the time to stop and listen to their cries of help, the country would be more united as a nation and the people from our laylayan would never feel ignored.
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The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption ⁠— Dauis Church

Dauis, Bohol, Philippines, 2022

Located in the town of Dauis in the island of Panglao, the church is also known as The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption. It was built in August 1923 and is one of the most sophisticated and complex structures of its kind in Bohol. Dauis church is said to have been built according to a plan for basilicas which explains the church’s high central nave flanked by lower aisles.

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📷: Fujifilm X-A3, Fujinon 27mm 2.8 V2 pancake lens
🎞: Lightroom Premium

La Purisima Concepcion de la Virgen Maria Parish Church ⁠— Baclayon Church

Baclayon, Bohol, Philippines, 2022

Built in 1596, this majestic structure is the second oldest church in the Philippines. The church is built out of coral stones mixed with thousands of egg whites as cement.

One of its most interesting and intriguing feature was the famous column wall at the back of the church where locals said that an image of Padre Pio mysteriously appeared. Sadly, when Typhoon Odette hit numerous islands in the Philippines in 2021, Bohol was one of the islands where the typhoon made its landfall and Baclayon Church was badly damaged, destroying the said column wall at the same time. Today, the church has been successfully and fully restored, but the image of Padre Pio is nowhere in sight.

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📷: Fujifilm X-A3, Fujinon 27mm 2.8 V2 pancake lens
🎞: Lightroom Premium

St. Joseph Cathedral Parish

Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines, 2022

Churches, temples, or any structure that is built for worship has piqued my interest over the short time that I was able to travel. These structures have not only been a place of worship, but a place where people get their courage and strength to push through with life. It’s amazing how our beliefs, no matter how different, lead us to the light.

Throughout my visits to various churches, temples, and mosques, I have realized that no matter how different we think our beliefs are, they are almost always the same because it all boils down to one thing: We believe in a greater and higher being; we believe in God.
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A Breath of Salt Water

San Juan, Batangas, Philippines, 2022

The sea has always served as a reminder to us that there are so much more that we have yet to discover in this planet. It has always made me wonder of what lies beyond those murky depths…

Scientifically, the vast expanse of salt water that surrounds the Earth is proof of other living things aside from us humans. So who are we to say that we are the only ones in the universe?
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Silhouettes of Tomorrow

San Juan, Batangas, Philippines, 2022

Here I capture both the different faces of the sea and hues of the sky. It is a glorious feeling, being able to witness such beauty and calmness — a testimony from the universe that even when everything around us may appear to be in shambles, there is always hope.

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“To Be Human is to Discuss”

What is the meaning of discussion? It originates from the Latin verb discutere, meaning to dash into pieces. Discussion is a word we’ve been hearing since we started going to school, yet do we really know the true process of discussion?

A lot of people are suffering from different forms of stress and anxiety. I’ve read and watched a lot of books and films that focuses on these mental issues; one of the things that I’ve noticed in every book and every film is that the person suffering from these issues find it hard to discuss their issues with other people — sometimes even with their therapists.

Being someone who overthinks a lot and easily gets stressed out, I know how hard it is to speak out one’s thoughts and tell people what’s really going on inside one’s head. Personally, one of the reasons why I find it hard to speak my mind is that I don’t want to be labeled as crazy or toxic. So I resorted to just keeping myself preoccupied with other things so I wouldn’t have to be alone with my own thoughts and deal with my anxiety.

So why are we so afraid of discussions, they say? Because the problem with a lot of people is that when someone opens a topic or tries to discuss something, most often than not, the discussion ends up in a full-blown argument. It’s mentally and physically draining, sometimes it even causes more stress, that’s why some of us just choose to keep our mouths shut.

For me, another is reason is that I’m the type of person who overthinks everything, sometimes I go back to a specific conversation or argument and end up spending all afternoon thinking that I should have said this or this instead of that. So to avoid having to spend countless hours dwelling on what I should have said or done, I just let all my feelings and thoughts bottle up inside me. 

During the past couple of months spent in the safety of my home, I’ve had a lot of time to rethink things and to try and give things a different perspective, I realized that to discuss has a deeper meaning into it. It’s something that is very crucial in our daily lives — it’s something we need to learn the process of doing, because without discussion, everything is in chaos.