Fifty former members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) have surrendered to the government, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Monday, Nov. 21. DILG Secretary Benjamin “Benhur’ Abalos Jr. said that all those who surrendered, whom he referred to as...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar Build rather than burn bridges. This is one of the tenets I have adhered to in my life, professionally and personally. It is something that is difficult to do especially in our current times where social media has amplified divisions and...
FINDING ANSWERS Former Senator Atty. Joey Lina The intention of the Marcos Jr. administration to build a million homes a year is deemed ambitious, considering the many challenges especially on funding. But if quite successful, it would certainly be a solid and highly significant legacy of our...
PEACE-MAKER Jose de Venecia Jr. Former Speaker of the House World leaders have converged in Phnom Penh, Nov. 10 to 13, for the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and other related summits. It is the first in a series of international conferences in Southeast Asia, followed this week by the G-20 meeting in...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar My daughter Camille, who represents the legislative district of Las Piñas City and who is also the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, recently filed a bill designating November as “Buy Pinoy, Build Pinoy Month.” But House...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar Do you ever feel that the world around you is falling apart? Or that the end of the world is near? As I prepare to write this column, (Oct. 30) I browsed the headlines of the major newspapers and I had a feeling that disaster after disaster...
OF TREES AND FORESTS Former Senate President Manny Villar Recently, our retail group opened the first branch of Caffeena, a minimalist coffee shop focused on one thing only — allowing you to get your good, quality caffeine fix. It is as straightforward a coffeeshop as you can get. Get your...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar It always gives me a laugh whenever people use Jose Mari Chan as a harbinger of the Christmas season. Toward the latter part of August, social media is abuzz with funny memes and posts about the transition to the “ber” months which...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar Two thousand one hundred ninety-two days. That’s the full term of office of a Philippine president. Not 100 days. But why does the media pay so much attention to the first 100 days of an administration? Surely, you cannot possibly proclaim...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. just returned from a very fruitful trip to the United States which was highlighted by his first ever one-on-one meeting with US President Joseph Biden and his address before the United Nations General Assembly....
FINDING ANSWERS Former Senator Atty. Joey Lina The war on drugs “will continue but in a more focused way,” President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said in his recent New York meeting with the Asia Society which also tackled the issue of human rights. “What we can do is to examine and...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has issued Executive Order No. 3 that allowed the “voluntary wearing of face masks in outdoor settings.” EO No. 3, which was signed on Sept. 12, 2022, was based on the recommendation of the Inter-Agency...
