OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar In my columns in the past, I discussed how we should change from a lockdown perspective to a “living-with-COVID19” frame of mind. Even when a vaccine comes up, experts have said that it will take a some time before we can have it...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar I was a member of the House of Representatives for nine years, from 1992 to 2001. I was always been a proud member of the lower chamber especially during the 11th Congress which I had the honor of leading as speaker from July 27, 1998 to...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar It has been almost 7 months since government imposed a lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was March 15 when a General Community Quarantine (GCQ) was first implemented. Since then we have experienced ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine),...
Former Senate President Manny Villar Of Trees And Forest Another casualty in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is our formal education system. The month of June every year is usually the time when millions of Filipino students troop back to their schools and learn. But because COVID-19 prevents any...
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”....
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...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar It is the nature of great men and women that, long after they have died, their footprints remain embedded in the memories of their nation. Such is the case of Manuel L. Quezon whose 142nd birth anniversary we observed just last week. In fact,...
OF TREES AND FOREST One hundred twenty-two years ago, in the early evening of August 13, 2020, the American flag was raised over Fort Santiago marking the start of American colonization of the Philippines. This was preceded by the so-called “Mock Battle of Manila,” a charade of a skirmish...
OF TREES AND FOREST Do you remember how you learned about the concept of Bayanihan in elementary school? I clearly recall—just like very adult Filipinos who attended basic education in the country—that image of people in a community helping their neighbor relocate by literally...
OF TREES AND FOREST In my column last week, I discussed the kind of entrepreneurial mindset that will help us get through this pandemic and the economic downturn it has spawned. In this column, I will look at that same entrepreneurial mindset and how it can help us rebuild our economy after the...
OF TREES AND FOREST I was fortunate to have been given the opportunity to serve in both government and the private sector. After starting out as an entrepreneur early in life, I ventured into politics in 1992. I built and led my own business from the ground up. I was also able to assume leadership...
