Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

This time, it’s the son of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who is being linked by resigned Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co to alleged anomalies in the national budget.

On Tuesday, Co uploaded another video on his Facebook account, targeting Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos for supposedly inserting at least P50 billion worth of public works projects in the 2023, 2024, and 2025 budgets.

‘Every year, as soon as we get to the bicam (bicameral conference committee) budget process, Congressman Sandro always has instructions to insert his projects [in the budget],’ said the former party list representative in the center of corruption issues involving flood control and other infrastructure projects of the government.

This was the first time that Marcos, who was senior deputy majority leader in the 19th Congress and currently majority floor leader in the 20th Congress, was named in Co’s videos.

The previous videos accused the president, former Speaker Martin Romualdez, and other high-level Malacañang officials of orchestrating graft-ridden insertions in the budget as a source of kickbacks later.

Insertions generally refer to any change made from the National Expenditure Program (NEP) prepared by the Department of Budget and Management in the crafting of the general appropriations bill that is eventually enacted into law.

‘Fantastical, false’

The younger Marcos, in a statement posted on his Facebook page on Tuesday, said the claims made by Co – whom he called the ‘newly crowned champion of the DDS (diehard Duterte supporters)’ – are ‘fantastical’ and ‘false.’

According to the congressman, it seems that Co’s preferred escape route from the criminal cases awaiting him in the Philippines is to bring down the government.

‘Anyone can sit in front of a camera from abroad and spew lies. The statements from the newly crowned champion of the DDS cabal, former Congressman Zaldy Co, are frankly as fantastical as they are false. I hope that the public can be reminded that we are talking of a person with no credibility whose vested interests are to release these videos to destabilize the government,’ Marcos said.

Co, who has been abroad since the 20th Congress started its sessions in July, is among those charged in the Sandiganbayan with malversation and graft in relation to a substandard P289.5-million road dike project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. The project was funded by the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) 2024 budget and awarded to Sunwest Corp., a company linked to Co and his family.

‘Evidently, the only path [Co] sees for himself is one where he stirs political chaos in the hope of escaping his own legal troubles. He wants to bring down the current administration so that he can be absolved of his crimes. In fact, the intel suggests he already struck a deal with those who stand to benefit from such a change,’ Marcos said.

Preferred projects

Specifically, Co alleged that the young Marcos asked to insert P9.636 billion in 2023; P20.174 billion in 2024; and P21.127 billion in 2025. He also uploaded a list of documents to accompany his allegations, where he detailed the exact projects that Marcos supposedly had inserted into the budget, and what page in their corresponding General Appropriations Act (GAA) these could be found.

For 2023, a closer look at the documents showed that the projects were mostly in Ilocos Norte’s first congressional district, which Marcos represents in Congress. Most of these involved road projects and multipurpose buildings.

For 2024, documents presented by Co showed that Marcos already made P5.988 billion worth of insertions at the NEP level-perhaps through what the DPWH called ‘allocable budget’ for lawmakers; P10.186 billion and P4 billion in two lists submitted to the bicameral conference committee level; and P2.474 billion in the unprogrammed appropriations.

In the 2025 budget, Marcos supposedly had P9.419 billion inserted in the NEP, P3.582 billion in the House general appropriations bill, P8.126 billion at the bicameral conference committee level; and P1.966 billion in the unprogrammed appropriations.

Across all three lists, the majority of the projects appear to have gone to Ilocos Norte, the Marcoses’ stronghold, but there were also some that went to Baguio City and the provinces of Cebu, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Oriental Mindoro, and Davao de Oro, among others.

It is also a mix of project types – from road construction, rehabilitation, and improvement, and flood control, to multipurpose buildings.

Notably, there were multiple projects that cost just P5 million or below. They included road rehabilitation or improvement projects, small water impounding projects, slope protection, multipurpose buildings, or drainage structures.

Co, the House appropriations chair in the 19th Congress, alleged that when issues about the 2025 budget came out, the younger Marcos threatened to have him removed and charged because there were ‘some P8 billion worth of insertions that he (Marcos) wanted in, because there were already contractors who already (paid) their advance to him.’

‘Because these projects were not inserted, he (Marcos) had to return the sums to them,’ Co said.

But Marcos said the decision to remove Co was done by Congress as a collegial body – and because House lawmakers during the 19th Congress ‘caught wind of his insatiable greed and corruption.’

Call for probe

Hours after Co uploaded his latest video, the bloc composed of ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Rep. Sarah Elago, and Kabataan Rep. Renee Co filed House Resolution No. 515 urging the lower chamber to investigate both Co and Public Works Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo’s claims that other high-ranking Palace officials received kickbacks from insertions in the 2025 GAA.

In an interview with reporters, Tinio said they were concerned about a seeming attempt to cover up for President Marcos now that he was being implicated in the same anticorruption crusade he launched last August.

‘The public has the right to hear it straight from everybody who has ever been named in this issue,’ Tinio said. ‘We want to know why all of a sudden there is no appetite to continue investigating now that the allegations are inching closer and closer to the president.’

The shear line is forecast to bring up to 200 millimeters of rain to parts of eastern Luzon from Wednesday until Friday, according to the state weather bureau.

In its 5 a.m. weather advisory, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the following areas will experience 100 to 200 millimeters of rain:

Nov. 26, Wednesday: Apayao, Cagayan, Isabela

Nov. 27, Thursday: Apayao, Cagayan

Nov. 28, Friday: Cagayan

Pagasa warned of possible flooding and landslides in moderate to highly susceptible areas in the said provinces.

Meanwhile, the areas listed below are expected to have rainfall of 50 to 100 millimeters:

Nov. 26, Wednesday: Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Aurora, and Quezon

Nov 27, Thursday: Isabela and Kalinga

Nov 28, Friday: Isabela and Apayao

Pagasa said these areas may also experience localized flooding, mainly in low-lying or river-adjacent areas, as well as landslides in highly susceptible areas.

According to Pagasa, the shear line is formed when the cold and dry air of the northeast monsoon, or ‘amihan,’ and the warm and moist air from the Pacific Ocean converge. /gsg

The Department of Energy (DOE) has formally launched the country’s first-ever offshore wind-exclusive green energy auction (GEA), marking a new push to tap the vast power potential off Philippine shores.

In a statement on Tuesday, the agency released the Notice of Auction (NOA) and the full Terms of Reference (TOR) for the program’s fifth bidding round, setting the stage for developers to vie for capacity under the landmark initiative.

‘This auction pushes offshore wind from potential to reality,’ Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said. ‘With clear rules, milestones and dedicated infrastructure planning, developers can now move from early studies to bankable projects.’

GEA-5

The latest round, known as GEA-5, will offer 3,300 megawatts (MW) of fixed-bottom offshore wind capacity for delivery between 2028 and 2030, marking the Philippines’ most significant step yet toward integrating large-scale offshore wind into the national power mix.

According to the DOE, the TOR details all qualification requirements, evaluation metrics, timelines, infrastructure obligations and processes that developers must meet to participate.

Officials said the final rules were shaped through extended coordination with government agencies and industry groups.

Green energy tariff

The DOE said the updated TOR introduces several refinements designed to ensure readiness and reliability as offshore wind development scales up.

The latest round is limited to fixed-bottom offshore wind projects, reflecting what the agency described as the current capacity of ports and the transmission system.

The rules also set a 20-year supply delivery period, with green energy tariff payments to begin only once a project is commissioned and registered with the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.

A strengthened offshore wind infrastructure plan forms a core part of the TOR, laying out detailed expectations on grid connection studies, port availability, logistics planning and project milestones.

The DOE also clarified how ports will be allocated and scheduled, including rules on queuing, time-of-use and penalties, if developers contribute to bottlenecks or delays.

Financial safeguards

Financial safeguards were updated as well, with revised bid and performance bond requirements and adjustments to tariff entitlements depending on whether completion comes earlier or later than committed.

The TOR likewise outlines how force majeure claims and delays linked to port or transmission constraints will be validated.

To support financing, the DOE included defined lender step-in rights to help ensure continuity should developers face difficulties.

The auction is also the first to formally synchronize project milestones with government infrastructure preparations.

Winning developers

The DOE said GEA-5 would follow a milestone-driven system designed to track progress on transmission studies, permitting, port readiness, construction schedules and eventual energy delivery.

Coordination with the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, National Transmission Corporation and Philippine Ports Authority is embedded in the rules.

Winning developers will be endorsed for priority processing of facility studies, Renewable Energy Purchase Agreements, grid connection agreements, and port scheduling.

Two installation ports-Pambujan Port in Camarines Norte and Sta. Clara Port in Batangas, have been identified for offshore wind deployment, although developers may propose private port arrangements subject to the DOE’s guidance.

‘Offshore wind can anchor our long-term clean energy transition. GEA-5 signals the Philippines is ready to compete for global investment,’ Garin said.

A hard-hitting village chief of Barangay Tres de Mayo here was shot dead while in the midst of his daily Facebook Live at the garage of his residence on Tuesday night.

Oscar ‘Dodong’ Bucol, Jr., whose shooting was captured on Facebook, was killed while interviewing someone at 9:20 p.m. on Tuesday. He was speaking and about to finish his sentence when several shots rang out, and a cry of pain was heard off camera. The one he interviewed stood up and ran, and Bucol was seen on camera holding his back where he was hit, before he retreated off camera again, crying for help.

Bucol, who took a single shot on his body, was rushed to a private hospital in Digos City, but attending physicians already declared him dead.

Before the attack, the village official was known for his hard-hitting criticisms directed against local politicians, including the town’s chief of police.

The village official, who had been posting his hard-hitting videos on Facebook, had garnered more than 300,000 Facebook followers after the attack.

Colonel Leo Ajero, Davao del Sur police director, in a statement, strongly condemned the attack even as he assured that a dragnet operation was ongoing to capture the culprits.

Ajero also requested that a Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) from PRO-11 be created to ensure a focused, thorough, and well-coordinated investigation into the killing of the village official.

Digos City Mayor Josef Fortich Cagas, whom Bucol had criticized, also condemned the killing. He said that even if he disagreed with Bucol on some political issues on social media, he never expected the latter to lose his life.

‘Since I entered politics, I have already accepted that criticisms are part of a democratic society,’ the mayor said.

‘No community should ever live in fear, and no family should ever lose a loved one to such violence,’ said Rep. John Tracy Cagas, also in a statement posted on his Facebook page.

‘I call on our law enforcement agencies to act swiftly and decisively to bring the perpetrator to justice. To his grieving family, please know that the entire community stands with you in this painful moment,’ he said

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said that the lawyer of former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co attempted to blackmail him to prevent the cancellation of Co’s passport.

Marcos said the offer was made in exchange for Co ceasing to post videos related to the government’s alleged flood-control issues.

‘Zaldy Co’s lawyer approached us and tried to blackmail us, saying that if we didn’t cancel his passport, he wouldn’t release the video anymore,’ Marcos said in a video statement posted on his social media account.

No negotiation

Marcos rejected the deal.

‘I do not negotiate with criminals. Even if you release a video of all your lies about destabilizing the government. I want you to know Zaldy, your passport will still be canceled. You will not escape justice,’ he said.

‘You will not be able to escape from justice,’ the President said.

Atty. Ruy Rondain, legal counsel of Co, immediately dismissed Marcos’ pronouncements.

‘Completely untrue. I have not spoken with anyone from the government to negotiate the stoppage of the videos for the passport. As I have always maintained, I have no control over the release of the videos,’ he said in a statement sent to reporters.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has yet to receive a court order to cancel the passport of Co.

Marcos, in the same video statement, also announced the Anti-Money Laundering Council had obtained two new freeze orders targeting assets of those implicated in the flood-control graft scandal, bringing the value of immobilized holdings to nearly P12 billion. Included in this amount are the air assets of Co worth P4 billion.

‘And in addition to that, we have recovered 3,566 bank accounts, 198 insurance policies, 247 motor vehicles, 178 real properties, 16 e-wallet accounts, and also air assets that have been frozen,’ Marcos said.

‘This is just the beginning. More assets will be frozen so that people’s money will be given back to them. This is our promise that the money of the people will be given back to the people,’ he also said.

Furthermore, he said the Independent Commission for Infrastructure and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are scheduled to submit evidence to the Office of the Ombudsman and recommend the filing of cases of plunder, anti-graft, bribery, and conflict of interest against eight undisclosed congressmen who own construction companies with projects under the DPWH.

In his video on Tuesday, Co implicated Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos in the flood control mess for allegedly inserting at least P50 billion worth of public works projects in the 2023, 2024, and 2025 budgets. These accusations were denied by Rep. Marcos.

Co’s previous videos accused the president, former Speaker Martin Romualdez, and other high-level Malacañang officials of orchestrating graft-ridden insertions in the budget as a source of kickbacks later.

Eight Navotas City police officers are facing complaints for allegedly torturing two murder suspects they took into custody, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.

At a press briefing in Camp Crame on Wednesday, PNP public information chief Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño withheld the names of the officers but said there were four staff sergeants, a master sergeant, a corporal, and two patrolmen.

‘A complaint was filed against them last Nov. 20. The cases filed against them were [for] grave misconduct, serious irregularity in the performance of their duty, conduct unbecoming of a police officer, and the Anti-Torture Act,’ Tuaño explained.

‘This stemmed from their arrest of the two complainants, during which they were allegedly tortured by the said police of Navotas,’ he added.

Tuaño said the suspects were arrested by the police officers last Nov. 8 over a fatal shooting incident in Barangay Bangkalusi five days earlier.

A police report from the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) identified the suspects as 40-year-old driver-mechanic ‘Michael’ and 25-year-old fisherman ‘Arren,’ while the victims they allegedly shot dead were 41-year-old driver ‘Arcie’ and 43-year-old businessman ‘Olan.’

In an interview with reporters later on Wednesday, the arrested suspects’ legal counsel lawyer Cid Stephen Andeza claimed the alleged torture took place inside the office of the Navotas City Police Station intelligence section.

‘They were being hit on the feet and tied up at their hands and feet, and their heads were covered with plastic so they couldn’t breathe,’ Andeza explained.

The PNP public information chief noted that the two suspects, through their legal counsel, have forwarded the matter to the Internal Affairs Service (IAS) and the Navotas City Police Station.

‘The police officers said they will answer the complaints lodged against them, and they say, as a defense, that this is harassment over their arrest of the two suspects,’ he said.

For its part, in a statement later on Wednesday, the IAS said, ‘The individuals have yet to execute sworn statements due to fear within the detention facility, and arrangements are underway to obtain their testimonies in a secure setting.’

‘We take all allegations of abuse seriously and will ensure a thorough and impartial investigation. The IAS remains committed to upholding accountability and protecting the rights of every person under police custody,’ IAS Inspector-General Atty. Brigido Dulay said in the statement.

The IAS further said it requested the full case records from its NCR, which is also conducting a parallel inquiry.

The Navotas City Police Station, however, stood by its personnel, maintaining in a statement later on Wednesday that the arrest of the two suspects was ‘conducted lawfully’ and that the suspects had ‘no signs of injury, trauma or physical abuse’ as indicated in their medical certificate.

It claimed the allegations against the eight officers were an ‘attempt to undermine the integrity of the investigation and escape criminal liability.’

‘We view these allegations as a diversionary attempt that amounts to a form of harassment, unfairly maligning police personnel and obstructing their lawful performance of duty,’ the Navotas police said.

‘The Navotas City Police Station expresses full cooperation with the Internal Affairs Service. We welcome any impartial investigation to establish the truth and reaffirm the lawful conduct of our personnel,’ it added. /cb/abc

Education Secretary Sonny Angara pushed back against ‘baseless and unfounded’ claims that dragged his late father, former Senate President Edgardo Angara, into a supposed network accused of facilitating budget insertions for kickbacks and described by an anonymous source as the ‘Angara 5.’

The allegation stitched together names from different roles, agencies, and timelines, attempting to place Department of Information and Communication Technology Usec. Faye Condez De Sagon, former DepEd Usec. Trygve Olaivar, former Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, DBM Usec. Wilford Wong, and Ronald Ang into a single supposed group.

Of the five, only Olaivar ever worked under Sonny Angara, a detail that underscores the lack of any coherent link among those being associated with the alleged scheme.

The speculation stretches further by trying to trace this supposed network back to the time of the late senator.

Throughout his long Senate tenure, Edgardo Angara had a wide roster of staff, including individuals who later assumed senior government positions such as his former chief of staff Vince Dizon, now Department of Public Works and Highways secretary.

The attempt to retroactively assemble a ‘network’ out of decades of unrelated public service careers raised more questions than answers.

Angara addressed the matter in a statement on X, saying in mixed Filipino and English: ‘We can take demolition jobs that are part of being in politics, but let’s not drag people who are long gone. They can’t answer anymore.’

As of this writing, no official documents, evidence, or complaints have been presented to substantiate the claim or link any of the individuals named to the alleged scheme.

A group of consumer advocates has urged the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reconsider its proposed interest rate cap for small, unsecured loans, warning that this might cause legitimate lenders to withdraw or scale down their services.

In a statement on Tuesday, CitizenWatch Philippines noted that the SEC is eyeing to put a 10-percent monthly interest rate cap on unsecured loans amounting to a maximum of P20,000 starting December, based on a draft circular published last Oct. 29.

The proposed rule is an update to a 2022 policy that only applied to small personal loans not more than P10,000 and payable up to four months.

The move, according to SEC Chair Francis Lim, is supposed to ‘reflect current socioeconomic conditions.’

In a previous statement, he noted the increasing number of borrowers who are struggling under excessive interest rates, with ‘certain entities’ exploiting the accessibility of online lending applications to trap Filipinos into ‘cycles of debt.’

For CitizenWatch lead convenor Orlando Oxales, however, the proposal ‘strikes at the core of the small credit system that millions of Filipino families rely on every single day.’

‘Ordinary Filipinos rely on small loans for emergencies, basic expenses, and the cash flow they need to keep their work or small businesses going. If the SEC pushes through with this cap, it will choke an accessible formal lending channel available to ordinary consumers,’ he said.

‘Financially unsustainable’

Oxales said regulated lenders may be forced to scale down or withdraw their small-loan products due to it becoming ‘financially unsustainable’ due to the new interest rate cap, leading to millions of borrowers being left with no formal options and having to resort to ‘underground lenders.’

These underground lenders, he said, charge interest rates as high as 20 percent per week. Borrowers also face daily collection pressure, verbal intimidation and public shaming when they fall behind in payments under such lenders.

‘If responsible providers of small loans pull out, where will people go?’ Oxales said. ‘Families will still need cash for emergencies whether for medicine, school expenses, or to finance their small livelihoods.’

According to him, the proposed interest rates could dismantle the ‘limited yet functioning ecosystem of regulated small-loan providers,’ which would ‘create a vacuum that illegal lenders would quickly exploit.’

‘We support consumer protection, but it must be done in a way that keeps formal credit available to those who need it most,’ he said. ‘Protect consumers by targeting abusive, unregistered lenders-not by weakening the legitimate providers who follow the rules.’

Instead of ‘weakening’ lawful providers, Oxales urged the SEC to strengthen enforcement against illegal and abusive lenders instead. He also called on the agency to invest in consumer education that will help borrowers make informed financial decisions.

‘We urge the SEC to look closely at the full spectrum of affected stakeholders,’ he said. ‘Each group carries its own risks and constraints. A policy this broad must account for those differences.’

‘Real protection means understanding how people actually borrow, how responsible lenders operate, and how every regulatory shift can either support or weaken the fragile system that keeps millions of Filipinos financially afloat,’ Oxales added.

Malacañang on Wednesday said the alleged money-making scheme at the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) should be investigated.

Earlier, Sen. JV Ejercito cited reports on the supposed involvement of certain BIR revenue officers and regional directors in corrupt activities.

‘This should be investigated. If such activities were observed and reported, they should not be ignored. This must be looked into,’ Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in Filipino at a briefing.

Castro added that she had no information on whether the issue was related to the removal of Romeo Lumagui Jr. as BIR commissioner.

Pocketed collections?

According to Ejercito, the alleged scheme involved letters of authority (LOAs), which allowed the officials involved to keep 70 percent of the collections.

LOAs are official documents that authorize revenue officers to conduct tax audits on a business or taxpayer.

‘Because the target was projected to raise about P6 to P8 billion from these LOAs for revenue generation. But what they actually raised was only about P2 to 3 billion. Seventy percent of what was collected was not remitted and instead went into people’s pockets. Only 30 percent was turned over to the government,’ Ejercito said in Filipino during a press conference on Tuesday.

‘From P6 billion, they raised only about P2 billion. It’s kind of sad – everyone is running their own schemes. I wish at least a larger amount went to the government. Even if they took a small cut, it should have been the other way around – 70 percent is being pocketed, and only 30 percent goes to the government,’ he added. /mcm

The evening descended over our narrow, silent kitchen. It was past midnight when I thought of fancying myself with calamansi-flavored pancit canton and a sunny-side up egg.

Clandestine meals became a nightly ritual, either to pacify my hunger or to ease my mind, oblivious to the ungodly amount of sodium inundating my kidneys. The familiar, loud beeps of the induction stove permeated the nascent Tuesday morning. While the crickets gathered in a chorus, I placed the pot of water to boil. Beside the stove were the hard noodles, naked and pale yellow under the incandescent light. In the short distance, the packets of flavoring rested quietly beside the sink, waiting like patient companions to be wed to the soon-to-be softened noodles.

As I watched the vapor rise to meet the moonlight’s fingertips, it made me think of how each one of them came with a purpose: the boiling water coaxing the noodles into softness; the sauce and pulverized seasoning to elicit a reaction from the taste buds; and the meal born of their union to appease my growling appetite. There, I had a moment of epiphany-one that told me, in some way, that humans, in the face of suffering and meaninglessness, muddle through adversity with faith that their purpose will bring forth deliverance. While we are tethered to one fate, that is, to live, we are also wanderers in duty and pilgrims in responsibility.

When confronted by an idea as immense as purpose, it naturally breeds caution and skepticism. Purpose can be a two-edged sword; it does not always speak the language of affirmation we hope for. In one form or another, purpose devolves humans into a state of combat, fiercely and restlessly attempting to outmaneuver the other, forsaking their common humanity, all for the sake of proving one’s unparalleled greatness.

I do not dream of greatness; I only strive to live each day worthy of love. Yet in all its cruelties, the world demands greatness first before granting such. Everything comes with conditions, and those conditions come with their own twisted set of conditions until it becomes a repulsive cycle of boundless demands and blunted humanity, slowly removing the kind in mankind.

But what becomes of me if the place I thought would teach me to become more of a person and less of a sack of bones was the same place that would render me questioning just about everything? What if this place has succeeded in becoming my new source of growing resentment and apathy toward all things known and unknown?

And now, I find myself standing on the other side of it all, and yet all I learned was that there is little distinction between dreams and nightmares. With time, fantasy and reality soon become indistinguishable.

With the turning of each day, I operate like some heavy-duty machinery that requires oiling once in a while to keep going. It wasn’t the gold-plated medal resting on my chest that I longed for; it was their affection and admiration. In the glimmer of their eyes, when they sing me their praises and veneration, I feel seen. It is in those borrowed moments of recognition that I mistake applause for absolution. Yet when my skin makes contact with my soul, I feel completely human.

Perhaps that is why I dread the day when the medal rusts, not for the loss of its luster but for the silence that follows once it no longer shines. It’s frightening that tomorrow, the paint on my medals will wear off, scraping away peels and vestiges of their sympathy for me. Perhaps this fear is misdirected. I fear someone else’s approval slipping out of reach, the applause fading before I have learned to clap for myself.

For two decades, I built my sense of self from the ground up, only to place greater importance on being seen with acceptance than embracing the notion of being that it is already sufficient and whole. I feel my heart sink at the thought of the day I must finally confront my true skin-a ghoulish reminder of mediocrity and slightness.

‘But fear not,’ I say to myself. If ever it shall come, then it shall. Its arrival may be unceremonious yet foreordained nonetheless.

And just like that, the egg on the pan is one daydream away from getting burnt and forgetting, too, how much salt I dashed on its poor fragile dome. But no matter how soggy your noodles or how badly burnt your eggs get, there will always be a dinner table we can walk back to.

Fulfilling our purpose may not be as easy as boiling noodles or frying an egg, but even a moment’s pause can reshape the way you see the long and winding paths of life. In the interest of goodwill, we ought to lay down the guilt of this lifetime’s would-haves, could-haves, and should-haves, for with what salvation cannot afford, grace often does. To be unmoored from the weight of uncertainty is to allow the wind to carry your sails toward a different shoreline.