The reimposition of the 40 percent tariff on mechanically deboned meat (MDM) will bring in additional P5.5 billion revenues to the country, but will only mean minimal increase in prices for consumers, according to Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG). SINAG made this case as it formally...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar President Rodrigo Duterte set a positive message for the new year when he said in his traditional New Year’s address: “With the guidance and grace of the Almighty and the enduring spirit of bayanihan and malasakit, I am confident that we...
GOVERNANCE MATTERS Former Vice President Jejomar Binay The year began with Rep. Allan Peter Cayetano, the congressman from Taguig and disgraced former Speaker of the House of Representatives, criticizing the current House leadership for allegedly suppressing efforts to weed out corruption among the...
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has reduced by 20 percent its medium-term export projections from $130 billion target to $103.9 billion by 2022 amid the impact of the lingering COVID-19 pandemic on Philippine industries. In adjusting downward the export...
GOVERNANCE MATTERS Former Vice President Jejomar Binay The involvement of policemen in some of the most heinous killings in the country dates as far back as the 1960s, when “killer-cops” became regular headline fodder. It is, therefore not true that the cold-blooded killing by a policeman of a...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar Typically, the end of the year gives us time to reflect on the year that was and to look forward to the new year and beyond. We would usually come up with resolutions not just for the incoming year but also for the long-term. But this is not...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar Merry Christmas to all my readers and to the rest of the Filipino nation! My family and I wish everyone a safe, meaningful, and happy holiday season. I know it has been a difficult year and some might think that the pandemic has sucked the...
GOVERNANCE MATTERS Former Vice President Jejomar Binay This year, we will be celebrating Christmas under the most trying circumstances. The joyful exuberance that has characterized the Christmas season in our shores is now tempered by caution, if not fear of being infected by the COVID-19 virus....
On the anticipated release of the P100-billion coco levy fund, another veto is coconut farmers’ last hope after the House version of Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund (Coco Levy Act) was passed on third and final reading and turned out to be “worse than the Senate version of the law”....
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar There is no other way to put it. 2020 has been a horrendous year. We started the year with the rumblings of Taal Volcano which dislocated families and damaged houses and disrupted livelihood. Our country has been devastated by a number of...
GOVERNANCE MATTERS Former Vice President Jejomar Binay Recently, I was able to catch a portion of a talk show on cable television where the guest showed no compunction about his reckless behavior or reined in his self-praise. It was a wanton display of arrogance at a time when we should be...
Sec. MarkVillar and his daughter Emma performs "Can't Help Falling In Love." Public Works and Highway Secretary Mark Villar posted on Facebook a video of him playing “Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Elvis Presley with his saxophone while his daughter Emma sings the song. It was a...
