Oh surREAL!

The 1986 People Power Revolution celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Unknown to most of the youth today, it wasn’t entirely a peaceful revolution. There were all kinds of narratives about how soldiers and common folks pushed each other back and forth, how people would stand in front of military vehicles in hopes of putting a stop to the violence that would soon envelope the area. “The air was filled with the smell of gasoline, oil and exhaust. The crowd immediately surged in front of the tanks, some people literally trying to push them back. Women clutching rosaries were sobbing, convinced that the tanks were going to run them over. And yet they didn't move away.” After over two decades of President Ferdinand Marcos’s reign as dictator of the Philippines, the people devised what is known today as the “bloodless revolution”. This revolution aimed to overthrow Marcos and bring back the democracy in the Philippines. And despite the threats of the governme...

Bienvenido M. Cruz Jr., most commonly known as “Benjo” by his friends and colleagues, was born on December 22, 1977 in Bambang, Bulakan, Bulacan. He is a 39-year old businessman from which sprung the brands “Lugaw Republic” and “Juice Colored”. Hailed as the “Lugaw King of Bulacan”, Benjo wasn’t your usual successful businessman. For one, he had a very humble start. It was not all luxury and money at first. In 2004, he flew to Japan to become a singer in cultural shows performed there. “Sa Japan, oo, six months lang yun. Kaya ako nagkaroon ng puhunan dahil sa pag-aabroad.”, he said. Benjo was in Japan from December of 2004 to March of 2005, but wasn’t able to come back to Japan because of some dispute between the Philippines and Japan at the time. Luckily, he stayed in the Philippines and invested in his first ever business enterprise called “Kiss King of Balls”. “Mahabang kwento actually. I started business May of 2005, but it was not Lugaw Republic. It’s Kiss King of ...