Houseboy

I’ve been looking at houses to move to lately and I’m discovering that many landlords do not like to rent to families that have dogs.  Sorry, no dogs allowed. I’ve heard that a number of times in my search for a place to live. Growing up, we always had dogs in the house.  My earliest memory is of Peanut, a white hairy mutt with a lush tail and a brown spot on his back, hence the name Peanut. He was friendly and loyal but no one paid him much attention, except my brother Jake, who liked animals.  Peanut was just there, as part of the household. We once lost him, he must have gone through a door left open, but my brother found him a month later, several blocks away, on the other side of a very busy avenue where we lived. Poor Peanut was probably too terrified of the traffic to cross back to the house. Another time, two houseboys armed with dos por dos were battling each other in the backyard and one of them accidentally hit Peanut on the head, rendering … [Read more...] about No dogs allowed?

Unlawful taking and detention Kidnapping is the unlawful taking and carrying away of a human being against his or her will by force, fraud, threat or intimidation. If the person kidnapped is detained and deprived of his liberty, the crime becomes kidnapping and serious illegal detention. The crime is aggravated when it is committed for the purpose of extorting ransom or when the victim is a minor or when the detention lasted for more than three days. Under these circumstances, it becomes punishable by reclusion perpetua to death (Article 267 Revised Penal Code as amended by RA 7659). This is the crime involved in this case. This is the case of Emily a 16-year-old high school student who is the daughter of Eddie and Maine whose marriage is already annulled. Eddie is a civil engineer while Maine is a CPA. Before breaking up they begat Emily and adopted three sons. The couple became quite affluent in the practice of their professions and was able to establish … [Read more...] about Unlawful taking and detention

Motive sometimes plays an important role in determining whether or not the accused is guilty of the crime charged. If the accused has no motive at all in committing a crime, he may be acquitted. But how is lack of motive convincingly proven as true and credible? Is proof of motive really vital and necessary for the conviction of an accused? If the accused has no motive can he still be found guilty? These are among the questions answered in this case of Leonard. Leonard is one of the farmers in a hacienda located down south. Another farmer in the hacienda and a neighbor of Leonard, is Tony, married to Maita. Tony and Maita have one daughter Jecel who is quite mentally retarded. They also have a houseboy Gio, 15 years old, and a housemaid Libay also 15 years old. Also staying with them is Tony’s old and already blind aunt, Tiya Racquel. The incident happened one afternoon at about four o’clock and was actually witnessed by Gio and Libay. Gio was then seated near the doorway … [Read more...] about Inadequate defense

My mom is tough yet sweet,” says Rica Concepcion Araneta of her mother Menchu de las Alas Concepcion, who celebrated a milestone birthday last July 14. “She keeps the family together.” Last Sunday, her five children Robie, Jojo, Patrick, Rica and Ton surprised their beautiful mother with a party at the Rigodon Ballroom of The Peninsula Manila. Although the youthful Menchu was starting to get suspicious of the forthcoming surprise when she saw relatives having their makeup done at the salon they frequent, she was utterly unprepared for the razzle-dazzle that awaited her. Raul and Menchu Concepcion. Photo by Büm Tenorio Jr. As the doors to the ballroom were slowly opened by son Jojo, amazement sparkled in Tita Menchu’s eyes, followed by a look of concern. “What if not all our friends were invited? They might make tampo!” Then, the gracious hostess that she is, she paused to greet all the well-wishers who surged forth to greet her, telling one of … [Read more...] about Like the sunflower, she blooms

IN MY BASKET - Lydia D. Castillo (The Philippine Star) - February 12, 2019 - 12:00am This newly-received cookbook carries much of the food typically served in Filipino homes, with the addition of modern-day dishes. That’s the subtitle of the Good Food Book which our friend Chita gave us recently. It is a recipe book but is more meaningful because it  is a collection of recipes – heirloom and modern – which a group of ladies who lunch (long before that phrase became a reference to women who gather regularly for lunch) decided to put into print. The word “garden” made us a bit nostalgic. We spent our early childhood in the town (now a city) of Biñan in Laguna. We had a big lawn planted with various vegetables and fruit-bearing trees. Our Tia Bana, who was in charge of preparing our meals, would simply order our houseboy Victor to pick whatever she needed in the kitchen, be it kamias (a souring fruit), green papaya, … [Read more...] about Recipes from the Garden