OF TREES AND FORESTS I congratulate the Manila Bulletin as it celebrates its 125th founding anniversary! It is amazing to think that the Manila Bulletin started as a shipping journal on Feb. 2, 1900 with its avowed purpose of giving “the public accurate and reliable shipping and commercial...
OF TREES AND FOREST (Part II) I do not consider myself an alarmist. In fact, I almost always see the glass half-full than half-empty. But I also think that a good manager, whether in government or the private sector, needs to be aware of certain situations that may impact the...
OF TREES AND FOREST (Part I) Two surveys released by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) one week apart this new year really piqued my interest. No, they are not surveys about the senatorial candidates for the 2025 national elections (although I would find that interesting as well). The two...
OF TREES AND FOREST The first New Year’s resolutions were made some 4,000 years ago. Since the ancient Babylonians started pledging their allegiance to the reigning king or crowned a new king, and made promises to repay debts in the year ahead in order for the gods to bless them in the new...
OF TREES AND FOREST Why do we celebrate the new year? Why do we go through all the trouble of going back home to the provinces or gathering everyone around the dinner table before the clock strikes midnight? There is a psychological importance to bidding goodbye to the old year and to welcoming a...
OF TREES AND FOREST (Second of two parts) One of my staff asked me recently: “Sir, what was your Christmas like when you were growing up 25 in Tondo?” I do not know why but my memory immediately took me back to Mary Johnston. Mary Johnston Hospital (MJH), run by the United Methodist Church, is...
OF TREES AND FOREST (First of two parts) You hear a lot of people say that Christmas is only for children. Christmas is indeed for children. First, the season is about the birth of child Jesus, our Lord. Second, it is simply wonderful to see the pure and unadulterated happiness in the eyes of...
OF TREES AND FOREST The American industrialist Henry Ford once said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” We cannot stop learning once we step out of the university or once we reach a certain age. And it is not just about learning...
OF TREES AND FOREST Filipinos are world famous for the longest celebration of the Christmas season. We usher in the holidays beginning with the so-called “Ber” months. And so on Sept. 1 when the clock strikes 12:01, Filipinos, who are also world famous for their fun-loving character as...
OF TREES AND FOREST Donald Trump won the US presidential elections by defeating his Democratic opponent Vice President Kamala Harris. By all accounts, it was a stunning victory not only because it was an impressive comeback from his electoral defeat in 2020 but also because his triumph...
OF TREES AND FOREST Eighty-nine years ago, on Nov. 15, 1935, the Commonwealth of the Philippines was inaugurated. This political arrangement, provided for under the Philippine Independence Act of 1934, otherwise known as the Tydings-McDuffie Act, is a 10-year transitional government in...
OF TREES AND FORESTS In this column, I often write about the challenges faced by new entrepreneurs. I have advised young business owners to be prepared to make sacrifices, to deal with obstacles, and be prepared to fail. It is certainly not my intention to discourage anyone from taking that leap of...
