OF TREES AND FOREST “Helping mothers is really my advocacy. As a mom, I know the difficult and multiple roles we have to play. I want to fight for Filipino moms.” This was from Camille, my daughter. I have heard her talk about this when meeting with her campaign team and they were...
OF TREES AND FOREST In the past, I have frequently discussed how a good manager needs to be sensitive to changes in the business environment whether it be political, social or demographic. The same is true in politics. Politicians and public servants need to be responsive to...
OF TREES AND FOREST On May 12, 2025, Filipinos will choose candidates vying for more than 18,000 national and local positions. I find this simple fact astonishing and a proof of just how democracy works. This is what I like about democracy, it allows people to manifest their choice. You can...
OF TREES AND FOREST To be able to last for 125 years means you are doing something right. To be able to last for 125 years means that the people know and trust that you are doing something right. To be able to last 125 years means that you have been a witness to the unfolding of the...
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...
Artist’s conceptual rendering Villar Group and US-headquartered Curley-Wagner Golf Design have officially signed an agreement for the design of the first tournament golf course to rise within the sprawling 3,500-hectare Villar City. The signing, held on January 11, 2025, at Brittany Hotel Villar...
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 People who have suggested that I should retire and just sit back and enjoy the “fruits of my labor” do not really know me. I have been working all my life. Since the first time I walked with my mother from our Tondo house to Divisoria until today, I have always been an...
The Villar Foundation recently honored the cooperative champions at the 2024 Villar Foundation Awards on Poverty Reduction. Villar Awards 2024 Winners. Former Senate President Manny Villar, Senator Cynthia A.Villar together with Senator Mark Villar, Deputy...
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...