Dearly beloved we are all gathered here today to mourn for a dear companion. A sorrowful demise but to those that knew the departed well, not an unexpected one. Join me as I detail my personal experience witnessing the final days of a friend. This is a eulogy to Litfest.

Picture this, I sit on a crowded 13C jeepney on the way to Colon and I use "sit" very generously because three quarters of my rear end are sat upon nothing but air molecules. The anachronistic hands of my tablet's clock app read 2:00PM, the horizon remained to be tinted blue with orange bronze hues a few hours from engulfing the sky. The museum closes at 4:30PM, forty minutes had passed and the jeep had only just now passed Country Mall, this is bad.

This National Heroes Day, Halangdon would like to spotlight some of the Filipino women throughout history and the different forms of heroism they have shown throughout their lives.

On August 21, 1983, thousands flocked to the Manila International Airport, all wearing yellow clothes and tying yellow ribbons to the surrounding trees following the song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree.” It was all to welcome an exile who to them was the strongest resistor to an unjust regime that ruled the country for many years. Who, despite the warnings of family and friends, returned to his homeland knowing the dangers that await him. As he stood before the oppressions of the Martial Law Regine before, he would rather die on his feet with honor than live on bended knees in shame.

Woven intricately into Visayan culture—tagay has become a cherished social and recreational activity of the Visayan (Cebuano) people where friends and family come together to enjoy alcoholic beverages at clubs and karaoke sessions. While it did not exist in the same manner in the past, the culture of drinking can be traced back to pre-colonial times, taking on different forms and cultural significance throughout history.