OF TREES AND FOREST President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has formally lifted the state of public health emergency declared due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) by issuing Proclamation 297. Informally, of course, the public has been acting like the pandemic is over since 2022. People have...
FINDING ANSWER Despite Sunday’s crushing 6-0 loss of the Philippine women’s football team to Norway, ranked No. 12 in the world, the Filipinas have nothing to be ashamed of. Just being qualified to compete, for the first time ever, in the FIFA Women’s World Cup which is undoubtedly...
PEACE-MAKER Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, the longest-serving leader in Asia, is stepping down from his position to give way to his eldest son, Hun Manet, who won his seat in parliament in last Sunday’s general election. Many younger lawmakers are also said to be appointed to ministerial...
OF TREES AND FORESTS It is a tradition and a Constitutional mandate. The highest law of the land requires the highest official of the land to address Congress at the start of its session. The thinking behind the requirement should be clear — the President, as chief executive, needs to report on...
FINDING ANSWERS Last week’s great news that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. formally declared as his flagship program the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program, which aims to build a million homes yearly, is most welcome. The declaration, contained in Executive Order No. 34...
Former President Rodrigo Duterte will skip the second State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, interviewed at the sidelines of the opening of the Second Regular Session of the Senate, said Duterte is a bit exhausted after...
PEACE-MAKER As our modest contribution in strengthening partnership and linkages between Asia and Europe, we in the 350-member International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) together with the European People’s Party (EPP), European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR), and...
From left to right: Former presidents Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapaga-Arroyo, and Rodrigo Duterte (Wikipedia, Rep. Arroyo's office, Malacañang photo) All three living past presidents of the Philippines have confirmed their attendance to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s second State of...
OF TREES AND FORESTS Just this weekend, the government of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. inaugurated the “Bagong Pilipinas” campaign by releasing Memorandum Circular No. 24 ordering the executive branch to adopt it as part of “the national government's branding and...
FINDING ANSWERS It’s been seven years since that momentous time in 2016 when the Philippines showed the world that a tiny and poor country can stand up to a rich giant and win a historic arbitration case. Last week’s anniversary of the landmark ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in...
PEACE-MAKER In the course of our modest ventures into political party and parliamentary diplomacy in Asia and the international community, we consistently spoke about the need to develop a system of ideas and ideals that will make globalization work for all our peoples. In our view, the East Asian...
OF TREES AND FOREST What is going on with the weather? A few weeks after PAGASA declared the start of the rainy season in the country, soaring and searing temperatures have been experienced not just locally but also the entire world. In the past few days, the heat has been particularly brutal even...
