ENDEAVOR Seated behind my laptop while trying to cobble some random thoughts into a sensible essay, my attention was caught by a book entitled, Leadership for Extraordinary Results. On closer inspection, I realized the book was written by a long-time friend and role model, Filemon “Jun” Berba,...
ENDEAVOR When I learned that former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario passed away the other day while traveling to San Francisco, snapshots of our time together in the Cabinet of President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III, flashed back in my mind. Secretary Albert occupied the front row...
ENDEAVOR One of the popular tourist attractions in scenic Japan is Nabana no Sato, a flower park in Kuwana, Mie Prefecture, a 45-minute bus ride from Nagoya. Starting last Oct. 22, 2022, this spectacle of lights is open for public viewing for 221 days – or until May 31, 2023. My family visited it...
ENDEAVOR Last week, I went to church on my birthday and on Palm Sunday. On both occasions, I emerged with vital insights on the significance of the act of worship in a church. I was baptized a Catholic after birth and had my basic education in Catholic schools. As a university student, I was...
ENDEAVOR When I turned 50 in 2003, I celebrated my having been able to trim my weight down and achieve a nearly ideal body-mass index. This week, I marked a milestone birthday that gives me a good reason to reflect on significant life lessons learned along the way. My mama Lydia framed birthday...
ENDEAVOR *“Hope endures in Türkiye as more survivors emerge from rubble on day 6 of rescue efforts” — Headline* *From Victims to Survivors: Tsunami Stories of Hope – World BOSAI Forum 2023 – Sendai International Center; Sendai, Japan* As the Turkish people picked up the pieces from the...
ENDEAVOR At this time of the year, in over 33,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas, a new set of leaders are preparing to take on the helm of responsibility. I had the opportunity to lead a training seminar for presidents-elect of clubs in Metro Manila and Palawan last...
ENDEAVOR Sonny Coloma A group of long-time friends, all members of a civic organization, resumed their monthly breakfast club and – heaving a collective sigh of relief – shared their experiences from the coronavirus pandemic. It’s barely a month before the third anniversary of the onset of...
ENDEAVOR Sonny Coloma “The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels, and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.” This is the specific provision, Article IV, of the Constitution that underpins all efforts to seek...
ENDEAVOR Sonny Coloma At the Basic Education Summit convened by the Department of Education (DepED) this week, both President Marcos and Vice President Duterte, who is also education secretary, emphasized the government’s determination to do what is needed to ensure that the country’s youth...
ENDEAVOR Sonny Coloma Two Asia-Pacific leaders, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, provide contrasting profiles of leadership that students of political science would consider noteworthy. Jacinda Ardern, now 42 years old, became the world’s...
ENDEAVOR Sonny Coloma The triumph of Filipino-American Miss USA R’Bonney Gabriel at the Miss Universe pageant last weekend landed on the front page of the Manila Bulletin. A designer-entrepreneur, she wore an evening gown designed by a Filipino couturier. Just below, the headline of another...
