rockstar

rockstar, argao, cebu, may 2014

at the bakery, or, the things that children see

jones ave., cebu city, april 2010

the forgotten

because we all have to come to terms with the inevitable: that one day, we will be forgotten



somewhere in the old downtown cebu city, october 2012

the unseen danger

we're always as safe as we dream ourselves to be... at least until we wake up...



somewhere in old downtown cebu city, october 2012

the tambourine man

why so sad mr. tambourine man? just sing, and somebody will listen.



colon st., cebu city, october 2012

threesomes is the theme...

...because 3 is an odd number. a collection of old photos from my photo archive, in which threesomes seem to be a recurring theme.

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shy guy, ayala center cebu, november 2009

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wanted: playmate, burnham park, baguio, april 2012

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wer na u? here na me, cebu business park, october 2009

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looking away, at the foot of the marcelo fernan bridge, mactan, cebu, september 2008

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it sucks to be the 3rd wheel...



especially when you have legs of stone, and you have no choice but to stay...



taken at the family park, tacloban city, leyte, february 2010

the need to feel safe

these days, even teddy bears feel the need to stay safe...



colon st., cebu city, october 2012

somewhere behind the gravestone

i found it a bit funny at first, seeing folks knock on their deceased loved one's gravestone once they arrive or just before they leave...



as if one were knocking on the door of somebody's house, or somebody's room...



but looking at it closer, you realize that knocking is a physical act



like the deceased loved one was just behind the gravestone, listening to you



as if by your simple act of knocking the dead would be made alive again, reclaiming the beloved dead from death itself, denying death its power.



at the mandaue city public cemetery, november 2012

in memory of the man with no face

somewhere in the old downtown area, cebu city, october 2012

the need to stand up

because the need to stand up is an adult concern...



colon st., cebu city, october 2012

first dibs

it's a common phenomenon: loyal customers camping out to get first dibs on the newest iProduct and such, but this has got to be pushing it to absurd levels...



sanciangko st., cebu city, october 2012

drive thru, or, the wide reach of globalization

junquera st., cebu city, october 2012

the last of the holdouts

but inspite of our insistence, we can't stay as children forever.



colon st., cebu city, july 2012

now, or, the way things are

old downtown cebu city, july 2012

the numbers

because there is more to our lives than how little or how much, more to our destinies than the figures or the math...

sanciangko st., cebu city, july 2012

childhood dramas

here's another one of them happy accidents. photographers often talk about the 'decisive moment'... this is more like the accidental moment, a picture taken only out of my compulsion to click the shutter.



alcoy, cebu, april 2012

the burning man

what is there left to burn when all that's left are ashes?

jones ave., cebu city, july 2012

looking in, looking out

at the sta. rosa de lima church, alcoy, cebu, april 2012

playground

"The political geographer, Edward Soja, sums it all up in the term “spatial injustice.” Soja argues that justice has a spatial dimension that is not as well recognized as legal justice or economic justice. Spatial injustice is evident in the way the geography of the city is configured to favor its wealthy residents, often to the detriment of its poor communities.

While the city deteriorates as a result of mindless planning and neglect, its privileged residents retreat into their gated enclaves where streets are safe and clean, sidewalks exist, and churches are less noisy and crowded. These exclusive villages have been carved out of city space as if they belonged to another country. In lieu of a visa, you must surrender a driver’s license to enter them if you are not a homeowner."

...

"Look around us and see what kind of city has resulted from the collusion between our public officials and private developers. It is a place that is patently inhospitable to open spaces. Instead of green parks, we have grey parking spaces. Instead of wooded walks, we have golf courses. Our landscape is a collage of billboards. We are choking in the fumes of motor vehicles. Behind the long shadows cast by high-rise condos are the squatter shanties put up by construction workers and their families.  The city they inhabit exists as shared space only in a fictional sense. Barriers everywhere, maintained by ubiquitous security guards, set the rich and the poor apart."

- Randy David, The Right to the City

children playing w/ their styropor boats, taken at the foot of the marcelo fernan bridge, cebu, june 2012

baguio: beyond the postcards, part 2

photos taken april 2012. click to view larger image :)

early morning

street sweeper

fashion models

face massage

bricks of cooking oil

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various vendors

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baguio is probably the city w/ the highest density of flowers per square kilometer... even on this dude's skirt

unloading "wag-wag", a.k.a. ukay2x

ang babae sa bintana

cemetery hill

parking space

chillin' in the clouds

easter sunday in the clouds