By SENATOR MUSHAHID HUSSAIN (The author is co-chairman of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties, which former Speaker Jose de Venecia founded and launched in Manila in 2000 and which now represents 352 political parties from 52 countries in Asia. He also co-founded with JDV the...
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...
FINDING ANSWERS More than that of doctors, nurses, engineers, accountants, and other esteemed careers like those in the highly prestigious diplomatic or foreign service, it is the examination for lawyers that generates a lot of hoopla. The fuzz over results of the 2023 Bar exams released two weeks...
PEACE-MAKER We mourn the passing last December 8 of our dear friend, the industrialist Dr. Chen Lipkeong of Malaysia. A medical doctor-turned businessman — with interests in property, energy, and gaming — Dr. Chen was also known for his philanthropic works not only in his beloved country but...
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...
FINDING ANSWERS The recent news that Filipino students still ranked among the lowest in reading, mathematics, and science among the 81 countries and economies that took part in the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) ought to spark more action towards improving our...
PEACE-MAKER On Dec. 8, 2021, we in the 350-member International Conference of Political Parties (ICAPP) conducted a special conference on climate change, as our modest collective contribution in the battle against climate change. Ban Ki-moon, the 8th Secretary General of the United Nations,...
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...
FINDING ANSWERS A front-page news article in the Manila Bulletin last week ought to boost the National Drive Against Professional Squatters and Squatting Syndicates (NDAPSSS). The article said “there is no legal impediment to the public identification of professional squatters and squatting...
OF TREES AND FOREST This piece should come out a day before the 160th birth anniversary of Gat Andres Bonifacio — national hero, revolutionary, Tondo boy — and two days after the official celebration of Bonifacio Day (government decided to move it earlier in accordance with its policy of...
FINDING ANSWERS The 10th anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) could be more significant if it becomes a rallying cry for more concrete action at the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), the two-week international climate summit that starts on Nov. 30 in Dubai. As the world is reminded...
PEACE-MAKER Before the demise of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011, another Middle East strongman with whom we also had interesting encounters fell from power in December 2003: Saddam Hussein. As with Gaddafi, we first met him in the 1970s when we were a pioneering businessman in the...
