OF TREES AND FOREST Happy 126th Independence Day to all Filipinos! Whether you are here in the country or you are one of the millions of Filipinos working abroad, let us recommit ourselves to the vision of great Filipinos — Andres Bonifacio, Jose Rizal, Apolinario Mabini, et al — to build a...
OF TREES AND FOREST The recent political rigodón in the Senate brought back memories from my time as a legislator. As my readers probably know, beginning 1992 I was a member of the House of Representatives, later on becoming its speaker. I was also fortunate to have been given the mandate...
OF TREES AND FOREST The world is shaped by mothers. That is why we celebrate Mother’s Day and that is the same reason why we should not confine celebrating mothers to one day. Everyday should be Mother’s Day. I was once asked a question — what was it in your childhood that made you the...
OF TREES AND FORESTS Today is Labor Day. It is a day to celebrate the contributions of workers not only to the Philippine economy but the global economy as well given the millions of overseas Filipino workers scattered all around the globe. It is also a day to recommit ourselves to the vision of...
OF TREES AND FOREST Finance Secretary Ralph Recto recently proclaimed that due to “the continued improvements in the country’s jobs market and quality of jobs for Filipinos” the country is progressing towards “achieving the government’s target of reducing the poverty rate to single-digit...
OF TREES AND FORESTS A couple of months from today we will be celebrating the 126th year of Philippine Independence. On June 12, 1898, Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the independence of the Philippines in Kawit, Cavite. The proclamation was followed by the ratification of the Malolos Constitution that...
OF TREES AND FOREST There was a time when the term “bakasyon” (or vacation) meant only one thing — leave your current residence and go to a place to experience a change in scenery. There was a time when it simply meant going to the province during summer. For a Tondo boy like myself it meant...
OF TREES AND FOREST We all know that famous creation story which tells us that on the seventh day, after He finished creating the world, God rested. Genesis tells us, “On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing; he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken....
OF TREES AND FORESTS In a Tatler Asia interview last year, I was asked a very straightforward question: How do I become rich? How do I make tons of money? To which I responded, “it’s the wrong question”. To become rich should never be your goal. It’s the idea that you can build...
OF TREES AND FOREST One of the very first drawings — if you can call it that — I made as a young student was that of an idyllic farm scene. In addition to basic drawings of fruits, vegetables and animals, I would draw a nipa hut with a coconut tree beside it and a perfectly shaped mountain on...
OF TREES AND FOREST A leader is someone who can marshal all the resources he has in an efficient and effective manner in order to accomplish his vision. “A great leader,” the Harvard Business Review article added, “is one who can do so day after day, and year after year, in a wide variety of...
OF TREES AND FOREST I consider myself lucky because at a very young age I learned about entrepreneurship, financial management, and basic skills of running a business from my mother. Those times when I helped her sell shrimps and fish were my first lessons in financial literacy. That tiny stall we...
