FINDING ANSWERS The death of former Senator Santanina “Nina” Tillah Rasul last Thursday has sparked accolades attesting to her distinguished life as a champion of women empowerment, adult literacy, peace, and development. There’s no doubt she was a great and outstanding Filipino whose...
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel's PDP-Laban wing "strongly denounced" the call made by former President Rodrigo Duterte's faction to troop at the EDSA Shrine. This was stated in a statement released by Pimentel's faction on its official Facebook page on Monday, Dec. 2, in response...
PEACE-MAKER Political parties are often viewed as the lifeblood of democratic governance, shaping policies and directing the future of nations. Yet, their influence extends far beyond the borders of their own countries. In an increasingly interconnected world, political parties have a vital...
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...
FINDING ANSWERS The commemoration of Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Week every third week of November is supposedly of utmost importance as an intensive community information drive greatly helps in prevention and control of drug dependence. So extremely important indeed that two presidential...
PEACE-MAKER Triumphant uprisings demonstrate how ordinary citizens in the new countries are courageously claiming their civil liberties and demanding the right to decide their own destinies. “People power” liberations have in recent times taken place in the Arab world, and in both South...
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...
FINDING ANSWERS A watershed moment it certainly was when two pieces of legislation authored by Sen. Francis Tolentino were signed into law by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last Nov. 8. The two new laws—RA 12064 which declared the maritime zones under Philippine jurisdiction, and RA 12065 which...
PEACE-MAKER As a father who devoted many years in public office, we are proud that our son, Christopher, who is approaching the end of his third and final term as congressman, has led the transformation of the fourth district of Pangasinan as a vibrant center for arts, culture, and...
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...
PEACE-MAKER It was in the beautiful city of Sankt Augustin, Germany in 1998 when we addressed a forum organized by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (Foundation), which is affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), where we first espoused the idea of an “Asian Dialogue” and which would...
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...
