Tag: Philippines

Pulot

Why Two Covers for Pulot?

The truth is simple: platforms like Facebook and other major social media are increasingly strict about what they allow—even when it comes to art and romance.
Even modest sensuality can get flagged, restricted, or banned.

To make sure Pulot could reach readers without issues, I created two covers:

  • The Legacy Edition highlights the ancestral, emotional core of the story—the land, the honey, the history.
  • The Spicy Edition (limited edition) shows the deeper current of forbidden desire running through Pulot—honest, human, and very much part of the story’s heart.

Both covers are true to Pulot. One plays safer for public platforms. The other stays raw, the way the story first demanded to be told.

About Bare and Undone

Due to strict content policies, the public preview of Bare and Undone—including the version displayed on this website—is censored to meet platform and hosting guidelines.

The full uncensored archive will be provided exclusively to those who avail of the promo.

PULOT

Determinado si Roberta na ibalik ang dating prestihiyosong pangalan ng Villa Constancia para patunayan sa kanyang pamilya na kaya niyang tumayo sa sariling paa. Pero ang lupaing dati’y pinagyaman ng mga bubuyog at pulot ay isa na lamang anino ng nakaraan. At mula roon ay umaalingangaw ang hiyaw ni Liwayway—ang babaeng pinagnakawan nila, at ang dugo ay nananalaytay kay Juvenal.

Juvenal is hard-edged, inked, unreadable, dangerous—the kind of man she should stay away from. Pero nagtagpo na ang kanilang mga balat bago pa man sila nagkita. In dreams, he takes her like a man starved. No words. No mercy. At nang sa wakas ay magsanib ang kanilang mga katawan ay tinupok sila ng apoy—mapanganib, naglalagablab, ayaw mapuksa.

She clashes with him. Craves him. And every time he gets close, she unravels—losing her grip, her reason, her breath. Hanggang sa matauhan siya sa katotohanang pinaglaruan lang siya ng lalaki. Bawat mainit na halik, bawat nakalalangong haplos, bawat pangakong sintamis ng pulot—lahat ay bahagi lang ng mga plano nito para angkinin ang lupain.

AGOT (A Game of Trolls) by PETA

How I feel about the rise of the trolls in the Philippines was never a secret. What are trolls anyway? So many definitions are available online but for me, trolls are individuals who go out of their way to cause confusion, anger, and fear by spreading “alternative facts.”  There is a fine line between trolls and apologists. They are equally annoying but if a troll is fueled by money or narcissism, apologists are often victims of trolls’ “alternative facts” a.k.a. lies.

What bothers me mostly about trolls is the fact that they influence a lot of people. I lament the death of critical thinking. Reading, exposure to other cultures, and the realization that the world is a big place don’t seem to make any impact in a lot of people’s social and political perspective.

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Before seeing the play, I wondered how it can influence the audience. Lately, people have been more than passionate in their political views that it has created a huge divide. Critics are immediately filed under “destabilizer” and therefore must be attacked. I asked myself if the musicale might in some way anger people. How does one deliver a message that would say “accurate” and “fair” without it being preachy and boring? In a time where memes play an important role in disseminating news or propaganda, something like AGoT might prove to be a challenge for PETA.

I should have trusted PETA more. AGoT is a well-researched musicale that tackles facts that have been a subject of heated debates for years. It is very Filipino in delivery, has sense of humor, and tugs at one’s heartstrings as our recent history should.
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AGoT is a story of Heck, who works in a pro-Martial Law troll center run by a man named Bimbam, an Apo loyalist. Hector’s estranged mother, a former Martial Law activist, comes for a visit and tries to work on their relationship. But years of alienation have turned a son’s heart cold and made him apathetic.

Hec finds himself being haunted by ghosts from the Martial Law regime, who all tell him their story. He tries to fight these truths, argue that they deserved what happened to them… Until his mother reveals her own tale that still torments her decades later.

The musicale was written by Liza Magtoto and directed by Maribel Legarda, producers of the PETA hit “Rak of Aegis.” The songs were written by Vincent de Jesus.

“Laos ang Asar-Talo” has lines that can never be more accurate:

“…Pag naglabas ng issue, tirahin niyo ng personal

Pagurin niyo, sumagot nang pabalang

Ibahin niyo ang usapan, hanggang sa mapikon (Dahil laos ang asar-talo)

Lunurin niyo sa kasinungalingan, hanggang sa pati sila ay malito

Kung ano nga ba ang tama? Kung ano nga ba ang ano?.

“….Non sequitur ang ating bala. Kumasa at tumira

(At kung di pa rin umatras, lagyan ng ad hominem pa)

Gumawa ng mga fake accounts gamit ang picture ng iba

Sumagot ng naka-all caps at i-copy paste sa bawat thread

Ng bumabatikos kay Madam.”

The actors delivered well, especially Upeng Galang-Fernandez, who played Nanay Tere, Hector’s mother. It was impossible not to shed a tear or two as she delivered a powerful monologue towards the end of the play.

I highly recommend AGoT to every Filipino, young and old. For ticket and inquiries, you may contact Queng Reyles at 725-­6244 loc. 23; 0917-­5394707; quengreyles@yahoo.com.