PEACE-MAKER Former Speaker of the House Jose C. De Venecia Jr. We are saddened by the continuing economic crisis in Lebanon, which the World Bank has earlier described as “the most devastating multi-pronged crisis in its modern history.” The ongoing political deadlock in parliament has the...
OF TREES AND FORESTS Former Senate President Manny Villar In writing, there is a phenomenon called the writer’s block, a condition where a person is unable to start the writing process for a significant amount of time. Some describe it as a condition of paralysis, unable to write down even the...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar As we enter a new year, the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. endeavored to write a new chapter in Philippine-China relations. In his speech before embarking on a historic trip to Beijing, President Marcos laid out the...
FINDING ANSWERS Former Senator Atty. Joey D. Lina The intent to build a million homes a year under the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program is certainly laudable amid the enormous housing shortage at present. As I’ve said previously, the success of the socialized housing program would...
PEACE-MAKER Former Speaker of the House Jose C. De Venecia Jr. We joined the 1.36 billion Roman Catholics around the world in mourning the passing of the 95-year-old Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who was laid to rest inside the Vatican City grounds three days ago. Considered as one of the greatest...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar It’s a brand new year and I feel very optimistic about the direction of our country. The first six months of the new government has shown that our new President is serious about implementing a plan to sustain our economic recovery. On a...
FINDING ANSWER Former Senator Atty. Joey D. Lina Many are hoping that the state visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to China starting today until Jan. 5 would build trust and lead to smoother relations between the Philippines and its giant neighbor. The state visit comes at a time when...
PEACE-MAKER Jose de Venecia Jr. Former Speaker of the House We see our shared task as that of spreading awareness on the threat of climate change and of generating preventive action against global warming. The battle against climate change - and its cause by human activity - is certainly growing...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar In a few days, 2022 will end and we will welcome a fresh, new year. Many experts have expressed pessimism on the capacity of the country to achieve growth in 2023. They cited the risks to growth in the coming year, including inflation, hikes...
FINDING ANSWERS Former Senator Atty. Joey D. Lina It can be said that Ukraine’s wartime hero, President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the Philippines’ national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, are comparable in their effectiveness to capture the hearts and minds of the people in rallying against tyranny. Last...
Former Speaker of the House Jose de Venecia (The author served as special assistant of former speaker Jose de Venecia for some 27 years. He is currently the chief of staff of JDV’s son, Pangasinan Representative Christopher de Venecia). Happy 86th birthday tomorrow, Dec. 26, to the five-time...
OF FORESTS AND TREES Former Senate President Manny Villar I want to wish my readers and the entire Filipino nation a happy and healthy Christmas! We deserve to celebrate a very merry holiday season after more than two years of lockdown resulting in muted celebrations of a feast, we are famous for....
