OF TREES AND FOREST Filipinos have a tendency to adopt a tradition and make it their own by incorporating their own cultural twists. For instance, Undas—those two days that include Todos Los Santos or All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day or Araw ng Kaluluwa—was borne out of our deep Catholic...
OF TREES AND FOREST The Villar Group is extremely proud to be recognized for our good corporate governance by the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD). Our listed companies — Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., AllDay Marts Inc., AllHome Corp., Golden MV Holdings, Inc., and Vistamalls Inc., were...
OF TREES AND FORESTS (This is a continuation of the speech I am sharing with my readers. It was delivered during the National Convention & Housing Expo of the Chamber of Real Estate & Builders' Association (CREBA) held at the SMX Mall of Asia.) Today, Tondo, and in fact, Metropolitan Manila...
OF TREES AND FORESTS Last Sept. 28, 2023 I was invited by the Chamber of Real Estate & Builders' Association (CREBA) to be their keynote speaker during their National Convention & Housing Expo at the SMX Mall of Asia. I would like to thank its national president Mr. Noel “Toti” M....
OF TREES AND FOREST That is the literal meaning of Pan Xenia — the name of my fraternity when I was studying at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Its full name is Pan Xenia International Professional Foreign Trade Fraternity. I entered UP in 1966 and decided to take up Business...
OF TREES AND FORESTS The traffic was horrible and I was stuck inside my car for what seemed like forever. I was looking outside and my mind was wandering when a familiar song suddenly played on the radio. “We skipped the light fandango” it began. It was A Whiter Shade of Pale which was released...
OF TREES AND FORESTS One of the things that the Covid-19 pandemic and its attendant lockdowns deprived us of was our mobility. It severely limited our ability to get out of the house, go to work, meet our friends, run our errands and just basically get some fresh air. The pandemic also halted our...
OF TREES AND FOREST A modern, efficient, and sustainable transport system is essential in the life of a metropolis. Population growth and urbanization have a tendency to choke modern cities that in turn reduce the quality of life of its residents. More people are leaving their rural hometowns and...
OF TREES AND FOREST The nation lost an outstanding public servant last week. Susan “Toots” Ople, champion of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), Migrant Workers Secretary, protector of workers’ rights and friend to us all, passed away to join the Lord and her father, Ka Blas Ople, in heaven. It...
OF TREES AND FOREST The country received some sobering economic news last week. During the first quarter of the current year, the Philippines was able to sustain its economic recovery and expansion with a GDP growth of 6.4 percent, a growth rate that actually exceeded forecasts. But the second...
OF TREES AND FOREST Last week, we inaugurated Villar Avenue, a 10-kilometer, 10-lane road that we envision will help decongest traffic and reduce travel time from Las Piñas City to portions of Bacoor and Dasmariñas in Cavite province. In addition, we see this road as an important component in...
OF TREES AND FOREST President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has formally lifted the state of public health emergency declared due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) by issuing Proclamation 297. Informally, of course, the public has been acting like the pandemic is over since 2022. People have...