En Route Pope's mass

Millions flocked to Rizal Park for Pope Francis' mass that will culminate his 4-day apostolic journey here in the Philippines. Members of different people's organizations gathered at Liwasang Bonifacio before parading to Rizal Park to join the millions of faithful. With them are calls for the Pope to join them in their struggle for justice and peace and stand in unity with the poor and oppressed.

Vendors displaced in the name of the Pope

Since January 11, vendors in Luneta (Rizal Park) was forcibly because of the clearing operations in time for the Pope's arrival. The Pope talks about justice, peace and placing the poor in the center of the Church and society while this government is pushing the poor deeper into poverty.

For more, here's an article for Manila Today we wrote about the Luneta vendors.

Minda Compay has been vending in Luneta since 1975.

Manila: Through the eyes of its lost daughter

Its been a while since I've been to Manila for more than a month without any "official business" to attend to and I seldom have the chance to roam around the capital of the Philippines with a camera on hand, much more a DSLR.


Last week, me and a friend was supposed to go to the National Library to do some research but due to some reasons, I wasn't able to go in. Luckily, we just came from an activity we covered so we have a camera with us. So instead of sulking inside the library lobby, I decided to go out and shoot. And so, I ended up in Rizal Park.


This is my first time to shoot the streets using a DSLR, a Nikon D40. The camera is not mine, quite old and battered and I'm still getting used to using DSLRs which is way different than point and shoot digital cameras I've been using in the past.


Here are some of the photos I took in Rizal Park.