PEACE-MAKER Jose de Venecia Jr. Former Speaker of the House Tomorrow, May 9, is the Filipino people’s rendezvous with history. The choices we make will determine the direction of our country for the next six years, and even beyond. Indeed, the current electoral campaign is one of the most...
NIGHT OWL Anna Mae Lamentillo "A victory not only in the May elections, but a victory of unity that will usher our country to a better future.” This was presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s (BBM) message during the proclamation rally of the UniTeam at the start of the...
PEACE-MAKER Jose de Venecia Jr. Former Speaker of the House Emmanuel Macron has been reelected president of France, becoming the first French leader to win a second term in 20 years. Macron, a centrist, won 58.5 percent of the votes while his rival far-right Marine Le Pen garnered 41.5 percent....
Former ambassadors, who served under different administrations, have come together to endorse Vice President Leni Robredo and her running mate, Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan in their respective bids in the May 9 elections. Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Kiko Pangilinan (VPLR Media...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar I am what you would call a coffee lover. My mornings are not complete without a morning jolt. My meetings become tedious without a cup of joe. My days are ruined if I do not get my usual fix of caffeine infusion. So yes, “lover” might be...
PEACE-MAKER Jose de Venecia Jr. Former Speaker of the House News reports noted the confluence of Christianity’s Easter Sunday, Judaism’s Passover, and Islam’s Ramadan last weekend, a rare event which purportedly happens only every 33 years. An article by reporter Jake Thomas in Newsweek...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar One important lesson I have learned is that life always offers us a second chance. Even when we experience failures and setbacks, life always gives us a do-over so we can try again and succeed. This, I believe, is the real message of Easter....
PEACE-MAKER Jose de Venecia Jr. Former Speaker of the House 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...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar Buried in the plethora of election-related news items this past week was the telephone summit between President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to the statement released by the Presidential Communications Office,...
PEACE-MAKER Jose de Venecia Jr. Former Speaker of the House Indeed, the ongoing electoral campaign is one of the most divisive and vicious in our nation’s political history. More important than the raging political battle, however, is the governance of our country for the next six years, which...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar What is at stake in the May 2022 elections? Why is it so important to vote according to our conscience and, more importantly, with the interest of the nation in mind? Who among the candidates will provide our country with the leadership...
PEACE-MAKER Jose de Venecia Jr. Former Speaker of the House In 2012, we proposed the convening of a global summit against narcotics. We thought then of the need to unify and coordinate often conflicting national strategies, policies, and programs to counter the worldwide spread of narcotic drugs....
