OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar I was a member of the House of Representatives for nine years, from 1992 to 2001. I was always been a proud member of the lower chamber especially during the 11th Congress which I had the honor of leading as speaker from July 27, 1998 to...
With forecasts of hiked budget deficits until next year, Senate Committee on Energy Chairman Sherwin T. Gatchalian forthrightly stated that the Philippine government has no money to buy the 45-percent stake being unloaded by Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) in the multi-billion Malampaya...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar It has been almost 7 months since government imposed a lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was March 15 when a General Community Quarantine (GCQ) was first implemented. Since then we have experienced ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine),...
Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez. (ALFRED FRIAS/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO FILE PHOTO) Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez has called for full reopening of business establishments even for those located in areas still under the general community quarantine (GCQ) areas so that Filipinos can...
Sen. Manny Pacquiao will donate a huge chunk of his fight purse against Conor McGregor to the victims of the pandemic. The camp of Sen. Manny Pacquiao said Saturday that the boxing icon will be fighting controversial UFC superstar Conor McGregor next year with the huge portion of his earning going...
Former Senate President Manny Villar Of Trees And Forest Another casualty in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is our formal education system. The month of June every year is usually the time when millions of Filipino students troop back to their schools and learn. But because COVID-19 prevents any...
Senator Christopher 'Bong' Go being interviewed by members of the PBA Press Corps at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in file photo. (PBA Images, File) Instead of a leather basketball which he used to swish in from beyond the three-point arc, Sen. Christopher ‘Bong’ Go now has his hands full with...
Crippling brownouts will dampen the country’s bid for economic recovery in the near term if the Department of Energy (DOE) will not act early enough to concretize a viable replacement for the gas output from the Malampaya field. Senator...
Former Senate President Manny Villar OF TREES AND FOREST One of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown is the disruption in terms of employment. A July, 2020, National Mobile Phone Survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed some depressing numbers as adult unemployment reached...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a sobering assessment last week on the development of a vaccine against COVID-19. WHO officials said that “it did not expect widespread immunization against the novel coronavirus until mid-2021”....
Not a few celebrities expressed disappointment with the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) making clear its resolve to police international streaming platforms such as Netflix. (AFP/Olivier Douliery / MANILA BULLETIN) Some deem it an altogether brash display of...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar Ironically, the piece of legislation providing for the celebration of National Heroes Day — Republic Act No. 3827, passed by the Philippine Legislature on October 28, 1931 — did not specify any particular hero. And so while we have days...
