HOTSPOT It is unconventional wisdom but governments, past and present, actually owe generations of jeepney drivers and operators a lot. The fact is, these family-run micro-enterprises have been the backbone of public transportation nationwide. Without them, there’s no mobility across the...
WORD ALIVE Many from our older generation might still remember the Hollywood rock-and-roll star Elvis Presley who went on to make dozens of gold records, sent millions of hysterical fans into ululations of delight, and grossed US$1 billion in earnings — before he died at the young age of 42, in...
MEDIUM RARE When Sebastian Chua throws a birthday party, as he did last week, it’s bound to mutate, as it always does, into an anniversary celebration or reunion. Old friends meet again, some of the new faces from last year are back. There must’ve been 300 people in Ballroom C of East Ocean...
Cavite 4th district Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. gave this "honest opinion" Wednesday, Feb. 1 regarding his erstwhile House of Representatives colleague from Valenzuela City's 1st district. Cavite 4th district Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. (left) and DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian (Facebook) "President...
TECH4GOOD Monchito Ibrahim The rapid digitalization of everything we do today is fast changing the country's financial inclusion landscape. Although the share of the unbanked population in the country is still one of the highest in the Asia Pacific region according to Statista research, the...
CLINICAL MATTERS DR. EDSEL SALVANA What a wonderful holiday season we just had. Face-to-face gatherings are once again the norm after two years of keeping to our own households, and celebrations have been on par or exceeded pre-pandemic festivities. The fireworks on New Year’s Eve were as noisy...
FROM THE MARGINS My visit to Bacolod last week brought back memories of my days with the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP). I worked with the corporate-led social development foundation from 1978 to 1987, initially tasked to manage a demonstration farm in Laguna to show that a farmer...
PAGBABAGO Dr. Florangel Rosario-Braid While going through the Christmas and New Year greetings on Facebook and the social media, I can’t help noticing how the latter have become so creative in providing us a wide choice of greetings through “Emoji” and packaged wise sayings and literary...
HOTSPOT Tonyo Cruz Today, I mark my ninth year as a Manila Bulletin columnist. Since I started writing columns on Jan. 4, 2014, I may have already written about 500 columns. Exactly how many pieces I’ve written and got published, I don’t know. What I’m sure about is that I’m grateful for...
The portrait of outgoing Vice President Leni Robredo hangs high in the lobby of the Quezon City Reception House (QCRH) along with photos of other ex-vice presidents, a sign that its embattled top official has left the office that witnessed her triumphs and tribulations as the opposition’s leader...
Outgoing Vice President Leni Robredo is ending her six-year term with a bang after the Office of the Vice President (OVP) received an unqualified opinion, the highest audit rating given to a government agency, for the fourth straight year from the Commission on Audit (COA). Vice President Leni...
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) received anew the highest audit rating from the Commission on Audit (COA) for the year 2021. COA's unqualified opinion, considered as the best opinion the Commission can render to a government agency, was the third time for three years for the...
