OF TREES AND FORESTS We did not have much growing up. We never had lavish food nor plenty of money. We were a big family with two hard working parents. So I do not have memories of extravagant Christmases with plenty of toys or gifts. But what I do have are precious memories of Christmas...
OF TREES AND FORESTS (Part 2) Nobody is born an entrepreneur. I am not aware that anyone has discovered a gene that particularly makes a person a successful entrepreneur. But years of being an entrepreneur and understanding the life lessons of many successful entrepreneurs has brought me to the...
OF TREES AND FORESTS (Part 1) The simple answer is yes. There is no law that says one person or a class of people can’t be entrepreneurs. Essentially, if you want to go into business you should be able to. But is entrepreneurship for everyone? Sure there are no legal barriers if you decide to...
OF TREES AND FOREST Last Oct. 30, 2023, my family and I trooped to the Las Piñas City National Science High School in Talon Dos to cast our votes for the Barangay and SK Elections. I was joined by my wife Cynthia and my children Mark, Paolo and Camille. The voting went smoothly and I would like to...
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 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 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...
