At his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 2020, President Duterte issued an ultimatum to the country’s two leading telecommunication firms (telcos) – Globe and PLDT-Smart – to improve their services by December or close shop. This warning was not to be taken lightly, especially...
Due to the resurgence of “anomalously high sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission” from Taal Volcano, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has imposed Alert Level 3 to warn against the dangers posed by a “high level of volcanic unrest.” Just a notch lower than Alert Level...
Much ado about vaccine passports, even if they aren’t quite new. In the pilgrimage town of Pandharpur in Bombay, India, shortly after a vaccine for plague was developed in 1897, authorities required proof of vaccination as a condition of entry for the pilgrims who would flock to Pandharpur every...
Two Philippine cities — Manila and Butuan — have been selected to the top 50 cities among over 600 cities worldwide by the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ 2021 Mayors Challenge. Manila and Butuan were among the eight cities in Asia-Pacific which made it to the global 50 and the only two cities...
Practically every country has to deal with the scourge of fake driver’s licenses. For some time, these fakes have been laughably bad copies and quite obvious to the trained apprehending officer. Our current driver’s license is packed with a number of security features to prevent forgery. These...
President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III heeded the people’s call and served as their leader with integrity and distinction following the footsteps of his great parents, President Corazon Aquino and Senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. After three terms as Tarlac congressman and three years as...
No other city in the country could evoke as much emotion and longing such as Manila. Manila is part of songs, paintings, dances, and even in books, such as the one authored by National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin. Joaquin wrote a monumental tribute to his beloved city through “Manila, My...
“Employers pledge 1-M jobs in 6 months” was this newspaper’s banner headline on Monday, June 21, as the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) opened its virtual annual conference. This pledge would be formally signed, sealed and delivered to President Duterte on Wednesday, June...
José Rizal was born a very small child on this day 160 years ago. His father, Francisco Mercado, was a successful farmer while his mother, Teodora Alonso-Realonda, a gobernadorcillio ’s daughter, had a flour mill, a drug store, and a general store to her name. Rizal’s parents were among the...
The doubling of the country’s international trade volume in April 2021 after both imports and exports registered the biggest increases in more than a decade could be a signal that both the domestic and global economy are headed for recovery. The country’s total external trade in goods...
For the second half of June, Metro Manila and Bulacan shall be under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) “with some restrictions” while the rest of the areas under the National Capitol Region (NCR) plus bubble remain under GCQ “with heightened restrictions.” President Duterte’s latest...
Today marks the 123 rd Independence Day of our country. It was on June 12, 1898 when Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed our independence from foreign rule, ceremonially symbolized by the unfurling of the Philippine flag and the playing of our national anthem. What came after were a series of events...
