Hong Kong, 11 June 2007, From Fr. Jay De Pedro     

Fr. Jay is a scholar of Philippine history. His wrote a book about Jose Rizal entitled "The Spiritual Itinerary of Jose Rizal".  Fr Jay had given Rizal lectures entitled: Rizal's Family Background and Early Youth, The Rizal of the "Noli", The Rizal of the "Fili", The Rizal of Hong Kong, and The Rizal of Dapitan: Until the End.


Dearest Manoling:

A million thanks for the Pinoy Pilgrim. I received it just four days ago and,   taking advantage of an activity that let me some free time, I read from cover   to cover.  And since you said that you will appreciate comments, these are how my comments go:

The good news is that the days of pikot (shotgun marriage) and kasunduan (arranged marriage) -- where both the bride and groom had no choice but to comply with the parents’ wishes – are long gone.