OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar I am what you would call a coffee lover. My mornings are not complete without a morning jolt. My meetings become tedious without a cup of joe. My days are ruined if I do not get my usual fix of caffeine infusion. So yes, “lover” might be...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar One important lesson I have learned is that life always offers us a second chance. Even when we experience failures and setbacks, life always gives us a do-over so we can try again and succeed. This, I believe, is the real message of Easter....
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar Buried in the plethora of election-related news items this past week was the telephone summit between President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to the statement released by the Presidential Communications Office,...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar What is at stake in the May 2022 elections? Why is it so important to vote according to our conscience and, more importantly, with the interest of the nation in mind? Who among the candidates will provide our country with the leadership...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar The term of President Rodrigo Duterte will end at noon on June 30, 2022. By then he would have completed his six-year term which he won handily during the May 2016 national elections. The 16th President of the Republic will soon graduate to...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar There is one aspect of the Filipino that I am not a fan of: the penchant of some of us for self-flagellation. We sometimes put ourselves down and express shame instead of pride in our people, in our country. Phrases like “only in the...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar We make choices everyday. Some of them are mundane choices — what brand of toothpaste or shampoo to use, what to have for breakfast, where to eat. Some choices are very consequential. For instance, the choice of what to major in college is...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar The ongoing crisis in Ukraine is a grim reminder of how fragile global peace is. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is making everyone jittery about the prospects of a full-scale conflict never seen since World War II. Russian forces have been...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar There was a time when radio was king. When I was growing up in Tondo, I remember there were times when we would gather around the radio listening to the news, to music, and of course, sa mga radio dramas na ating sinusubaybayan. Decades...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar I was born in the year 1949 and spent my teen years during the 1960s. It was a glorious decade and for many from my generation, the Golden Age in Philippine history. The younger generation would forgive us geezers for reminiscing about the...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar In response to calls from the private sector, government has announced that they are now crafting a pandemic exit plan. Presidential adviser for COVID-19 response Vince Dizon has been quoted by the press as saying that the National Task Force...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar As the election campaign nears, a lot of people have been asking me who I am voting for in the May national elections. I do not have an answer for that question right now but there is a question that I think is equally important—what kind...
