On Jan. 9, 2026, I stood before my son, Carl, and his bride, Toni, not merely as a father, but as a witness to the evolving landscape of the Filipino family. Carl—a man of melodies and sketches—was embarking on a journey far removed from the cold, linear precision of my math worksheets. I...
I once believed being a “nice” manager was the highest ideal. It felt right. It felt humane. People liked you more, and your team felt cared for. But over the past decade of working with Filipino teams, mentoring leaders, and coaching supervisors, a different reality has become obvious:...
The World Economic Forum has popularized a phrase that captures our current moment: the “Intelligent Age.” This era is transforming everything, everywhere, all at once—driven by rapid advances in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and blockchain, and shaped by seismic geo-economic...
The reason some people do not care much about sustainability is rooted in misconception. For instance, many believe it is only for large corporations that must comply with regulatory reporting. In reality, sustainability is about our very lives; it significantly affects not only us but our children...
Many leaders in the Philippines grapple with a perennial dilemma: Should work be competitive or collaborative? The instinct to drive performance through competition is understandable—in business, the best, fastest, and most productive usually win. However, when competition becomes the dominant...
How should we view 2026? Is the glass half full or half empty? Data suggests that while 2026 will not be a year of dramatic growth, it will be a period of repositioning, recalibration, and resilience. Last week, the PNB Policy Committee, chaired by Atty. Ebot Tan, had the opportunity to listen to...
I remember the first time I read a forecast about artificial intelligence that truly made me pause. It wasn’t marketing hype or an analyst’s sales pitch. It was a deep scenario exercise called AI 2027, authored by Daniel Kokotajlo, Eli Lifland, Thomas Larsen, Romeo Dean, and Scott Alexander,...
Beginning with pure profit intent, the controversial Maharlika Investment Fund has metamorphosed into a “deemed national development tool,” with income now a secondary goal. So said Stephen CuUnjieng, investment banker and chairman of the Maharlika Investment Committee, during a recent FINEX...
Under Article XIII, Section 9 of the 1987 Constitution, the State is mandated to make decent housing and basic services” available to underprivileged and homeless citizens at an affordable cost. However, the wanton increase in Real Property Taxes (RPT)—which have surged by as much as 2,300...
Agritourism is a subsector of the ecotourism industry in which tourists visit farms, ranches, or other agricultural businesses whether for education or entertainment. Beyond the camaraderie and the attractive sceneries, agritourism fosters a deeper understanding of global farming processes through...
For decades, the Philippines relied on mandated credit quotas to push banks toward underserved sectors. The Agri-Agra Law and micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) lending requirements under the Magna Carta were intended to correct market failures by steering resources toward agriculture and...
A state-run think tank is warning that the Philippines risks erasing significant educational progress by reversing its mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) program, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao regions. In a Dec. 16 discussion paper titled “Linguistic Mismatch and...
