Former Senator Atty. Joey Lina FINDING ANSWERS Restricting access to the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) of government officials is against the Constitution and the implementing law passed in 1989 when I was a member of the Eighth Congress. I need to stress the point amid...
Former Vice President Jejomar Binay GOVERNANCE MATTERS As we marked last September 15 our sixth month under a government-imposed lockdown, the media reported that the Palace gave itself a grade of 85 percent for its handling of the pandemic. It was the equivalent of a “very good” grade, said...
PEACE-MAKER Jose de Venecia Jr. Former Speaker of the House Today marks the 20 th anniversary of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), which we founded and launched here in Manila on September 17-20, 2000, to serve as a forum for dialogue, understanding, and cooperation...
Former Vice President Jejomar Binay GOVERNANCE MATTERS The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), run by economists who are by training more circumspect with their projections and parsimonious with hyperboles, sees poverty and unemployment further worsening next year. The takeaway is...
Former Senate President Manny Villar OF TREES AND FOREST One of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown is the disruption in terms of employment. A July, 2020, National Mobile Phone Survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed some depressing numbers as adult unemployment reached...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a sobering assessment last week on the development of a vaccine against COVID-19. WHO officials said that “it did not expect widespread immunization against the novel coronavirus until mid-2021”....
Former Vice President Jejomar Binay GOVERNANCE MATTERS Ever since the government placed Metro Manila and major urban centers under a lockdown, our people have been living in a state of constant fear. The fear is real, not existential. It is brought on by economic uncertainties and the day-to-day...
Former Senator Atty. Joey Lina FINDING ANSWERS With many unprecedented challenges facing our education system this school year 2020-2021 in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, it is understandable why some people feel jittery. Despite assurances from the Department of Education that nationwide...
PEACE-MAKER Jose de Venecia Jr. Former Speaker of the House Tensions in the South China Sea have once again escalated in the midst of the recent heated exchanges between the United States and China. The two countries recently conducted their respective military exercises in the South China Sea. It...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar Ironically, the piece of legislation providing for the celebration of National Heroes Day — Republic Act No. 3827, passed by the Philippine Legislature on October 28, 1931 — did not specify any particular hero. And so while we have days...
GOVERNANCE MATTERS Former Vice President Jejomar Binay Last week, Congress received from the Executive the proposed budget for 2021 totalling P4.5-trillion. The budget reflects government’s optimism that the economy will be able to rebound from the recession triggered by the extended lockdown...
FINDING ANSWERS Former Senator Atty. Joey Lina Will the United States of America break up into a white and colored country? Now, more than ever, the degree of divisiveness is getting clearer. Eventually, as the polarization sharpens, the conservatives in the US will not act on the deep-seated issue...
