Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo has formally launched two new “Night Owl” books at The Manila Hotel on Tuesday, March 14.

The second edition includes a new chapter on the present administration’s Build Better More program, built on the Marcos administration’s promise of continuity. A sneak peek of the translated Night Owl: Edisyong Filipino was also presented, an advanced copy of which was given to former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

NIGHT OWL’ LAUNCH — Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo (fifth from left) is shown at the launch of her two new ‘Night Owl’ books at The Manila Hotel on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. Joining her are (from left) Manila Bulletin (MB) Lifestyle Editor AA Patawaran, MB President Dr. Emilio Yap III, former National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Senator Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go, Deputy House Speaker and former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Honeylet Avanceña, former Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Senators Mark A. Villar and Cynthia Villar, and former Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. (Noel B. Pabalate)

Two former presidents graced the occasion—Duterte and House Senior Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Also in the crowd were Senators Mark A. Villar, Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, Francis Tolentino, and Cynthia Villar, former Transportation Secretary Arthur

Tugade, former Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, and former and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, along with Land Transportation Office chief Jay Art Tugade and Manila Bulletin President Dr. Emilio Yap III, as well as other government officials, ambassadors, members of the diplomatic corps, and media.

“I am honored to have been among men and women who exemplify true leadership and public service,” Lamentillo said in her speech. “I am immensely proud to have worked with 6.5 million Filipinos whose skills, work, and sacrifices turned vision into reality. It is fulfilling to be part of something bigger than yourself. Night Owl is the story of our nation; a narrative on how, through our collective action, we were able to chart the course for a better nation.”

The book chronicles the gains made during President Rodrigo Duterte’s massive infrastructure program, most notably such achievements as the 29,264 kilometers of roads, 5,950 bridges, 11,340 flood mitigation structures, 222 evacuation centers, 150,149 classrooms, 214 airport projects, and 451 seaport projects built during the previous administration.

As former chair of the Build, Build, Build committee under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Lamentillo shares the challenges that came with the gargantuan task, including lingering problems on right-of-way, ghost projects, and unmet deadlines.

“Through Night Owl, we want the years of the Duterte Administration to be remembered as a collective movement of the Filipino people who wanted change and acted on it. We may have set our sights too high, but our country and the men who stood behind it deserve nothing less,” said Lamentillo.

Night Owl is by Lamentillo and edited by Manila Bulletin’s AA Patawaran. Richard de Leon edited the Filipino version. It was published by the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation.