Valentines Day Suicide at SM Megamall

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"I don't know where to put my attention. That proposal sa Pilipinas Got Talent, sa scandal ni Michael Pangilinan, or sa suicide sa SM Megamall. Busy Valentine's Day. Sad pa ba your heart?" - MJ De Leon

This is the most depressing news of the day.

The breaking news that is now spreading all over social media is that a lesbian committed suicide by jumping from the 4th or 5th floor of SM Megamall Building B. Many heard the loud fall and were all shocked when they saw the body. "The alleged suicide appeared to be a female wearing green t-shirt and khaki shorts. The lifeless body of the person was sprawled face down on the mall’s tiled floor near an elevator."

The photo above was posted by a Cherryl Luis in one of the threads that discussed the suicide.

True enough, it's supposed to be the day when love is all over, but sadly one soul is now no longer among the living as she obviously has a broken heart that is so depressed that she decided to end it on this special day when hearts should be rejoicing.

I really do not know how to react upon hearing about this very unfortunate moment, but now is the time to keep your loved ones closer and to also remember that there may be lonely individuals out there that are desperately seeking our affection.

They need our love. Be generous enough to share some affection especially to those who are seemingly troubled.

Galleria Duemila Presents Inima III Revisited by Leonardo Aguinaldo

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Galleria Duemila proudly presents Inima III Revisited by Baguio-based artist Leonardo Aguinaldo. The show takes its name from inima Ilocano for hand-pressed. There is a kind of resurgent activism shown in intricate narratives in striking black and white woodcut and linocut compositions, which seemingly resemble tattoos—these are pieces that portray the insurgence of imposed industrialization in the Cordilleras, other works showcase disdain over the erosion of moral values, and some focus on the slow fleeting pleasures of life in the highlands—struggling to endure the invasiveness of globalization. His work has always highlighted the resistance between progress and its casualties, a situation that is echoed with much universality in developing countries.

In Inima III Revisited, most prints are multipart and at least three meters tall; the sheer size intensifies the sensitivity of his laborious process with such pride and tenderness comparable to tribesmen tattoo. The charm of Leonardo’s shtick is the duality of it all—Igorot and Filipino, intricate and perplexing, and folk and contemporary. With years of mastering woodcut printing Aguinaldo is able to forge a distinct social realist imagery, which sees him merging pagan and religious subjects in multiple vistas.

Much of Aguinaldo’s process engages in artisanal acts as he carves, etches, and incises his subjects into the plywood—repetitively with hollow cavities—leaving portions that carry ink level with the plywood, he then delicately presses the paper manually against the woodcut with a makeshift apparatus. 

LoveYourself Uni: A Place Rooted in Love and a Sense of Community

Wazzup Pilipinas!

LoveYourself is all set to open its brand new clinic and community center, called LoveYourself Uni, on February 13. The clinic’s name denotes unity and inclusiveness with all members of the community, and at the same time be closely associated with the “University”, as a reference to the youth.

LoveYourself Uni is an upscale of the now closed LoveYourself Hub along San Marcelino Street in Malate, Manila. Also taking into consideration accessibility, the clinic is located just right beside Buendia LRT-1 station. Apart from functioning as a testing center, the space was designed to impart a vibrant and hospitable atmosphere as it aims to be a community center.

A Date Rooted in Love

Save the date as LoveYourself Uni’s inauguration coincides with many other auspicious dates and even a special holiday. The opening ceremonies come after the Lunar New Year which was on February 8. This reminds us of the Chinese sticky rice cakes, Filipinos fondly called as “tikoy". The stickiness of tikoy signifies the ties that bind the family and friends together and remember those who matter the most. And it is this cohesion that brings to mind what LoveYourself strives for as an organization and, more importantly, as a community for the society it belongs.

The inaugural also falls on the eve of Valentine’s Day, which brings to mind that the community represented by LoveYourself is rooted in love. The community of volunteers advocating and working together to bring HIV awareness and inculcating the value of self-worth to its clients and partners demonstrates the very same virtue upon which the day of hearts is being celebrated around the world - selfless love and care.