FINDING ANSWERS Former Senator Atty. Joey Lina As our country commemorated Independence Day last Sunday, the back-to-back diplomatic protests lodged against China a couple of days earlier for encroaching in Philippine waters got me thinking on what more should be done to get respect for our...
Former Senate President Manny Villar OF TREES AND FOREST Today, June 15, is the birthday of my friend, the late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago. She would have been 77 years old and I imagine still as feisty and loving as I remember her. In my mind, Miriam occupies a place in the pantheon of great...
PEACE-MAKER Jose de Venecia Jr. Former Speaker of the House Our wife Gina and we mourn the passing of our dear friend, the respected columnist, veteran journalist, and bestselling book author Carmen “Chit” Navarro Pedrosa. We first met Chit Pedrosa in the early 1960s when we were both young...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar I spent all my years as a public servant in the legislature. From 1992 to 2001, I represented Las Piñas in the House of Representatives where I was fortunate enough to be chosen as Speaker by my peers. Then from 2001 to 2013, I served as...
FINDING ANSWERS Former Senator Atty. Joey Lina All children should be able to read by age 10. Reading is a gateway for learning as the child progresses through school – and conversely, an inability to read slams that gate shut. Beyond this, when children cannot read, it’s usually a clear...
PEACE-MAKER Jose de Venecia Jr. Former Speaker of the House Leaders of political parties and parliaments from Asia and Europe will convene in Prague two weeks from now for the fourth summit of the Asia Europe Political Forum or AEPF. The political parties under our International Conference of Asian...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar Congress, the body Constitutionally mandated to canvass the votes for President and Vice President, has officially proclaimed Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Sara Duterte as the victors of the recently concluded May 2022 national elections. The...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar The votes that have been reflected in the COMELEC Transparency Servers and reported in real time by various media outfits and citizen watchdogs seem to show one thing—a landslide victory for the tandem of former Senator Ferdinand...
FINDING ANSWERS Former Senator Atty. Joey Lina It took 36 long years or almost half a lifetime to pull off a truly spectacular feat. I’m referring to the UP Fighting Maroons, the newly-crowned UAAP champion. It was a phenomenal display of unbridled passion, deep pride, and infinite hope that...
PEACE-MAKER Jose de Venecia Jr. Former Speaker of the House Manila Bulletin’s editorial last May 10 fittingly cited what then president-elect Fidel V. Ramos did in 1992. The editorial wrote: “Recalling the country’s experience in the aftermath of the 1992 national elections – or exactly 30...
Hours after the start of the partial and unofficial tally of votes for last Monday’s national and local elections began, the top two presidential candidates issued their respective statements. Former Senator Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr., who has emerged as the clear frontrunner with a...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar By the time this column comes out, it would have been two days after our people have made their choice and cast their ballots. I am not sure if the winner has been clearly established by now but it seems the perfect opportunity to change from...
