HUNGER ON THE RISE

A mother feeds his children near Del Pan Bridge in Manila. According to the recent Social Weather Stations survey, hunger is on the rise again affecting 3.4 million Filipino families now compared to 3.0 million last year. PHOTO BY RICHARD REYES

NEW COMELEC CHAIRMAN

BEHIND YOU. Former Commission on Election Chairman Jose Melo talks to the new Chair Sixto Brillantes after the turnover rites at the COMELEC office in Manila. PHOTO BY RICHARD REYES

FEAST OF SANTO NINO 2011

GIVE ME FIVE. A boy seems to be asking for a "high five" from a statue of the Sto. Nino, one of the several brought by devotees to the Sto. Nino Church in Tondo, Manila, on the feast day of the Child Jesus. PHOTO BY RICHARD REYES

SHOWER. A Catholic seminarian blesses the statue of Child Jesus during the Feast of Sto. Nino at Sto. Nino Church in Tondo, Manila. PHOTO BY RICHARD REYES

BLESSING RITE. Catholic devotees raise their images of the Child Jesus to have them blessed during the commemoration of the Feast of Sto. Niño in Tondo, Manila. PHOTO BY RICHARD REYES

NEW YEAR CASUALTIES

Firecracker victims arrive at Dr. Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center in Manila during New Year’s revelry. Every year amid warning of health department Filipinos continue to use firecrackers in celebration of New Year believing that it will drive away bad spirits while bringing good luck for the incoming year.PHOTOS BY RICHARD REYES