President and CEO Alfred Xerez-Burgos III, Antonio V. Syyap, receiving the Life Achievement Award, and Chairman Alfred Xerez-Burgos Jr. Forest Lake Development Inc. capped the year 2024 by presenting an initiative that aims to celebrate the success-driven people behind Forest Lake, the country’s...
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...
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 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...
OF TREES AND FOREST (Second of two parts) One of my staff asked me recently: “Sir, what was your Christmas like when you were growing up 25 in Tondo?” I do not know why but my memory immediately took me back to Mary Johnston. Mary Johnston Hospital (MJH), run by the United Methodist Church, is...
OF TREES AND FOREST The American industrialist Henry Ford once said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” We cannot stop learning once we step out of the university or once we reach a certain age. And it is not just about learning...
OF TREES AND FOREST Filipinos are world famous for the longest celebration of the Christmas season. We usher in the holidays beginning with the so-called “Ber” months. And so on Sept. 1 when the clock strikes 12:01, Filipinos, who are also world famous for their fun-loving character as...
TACLOBAN CITY – Twenty-five former New People’s Army rebels have been employed as forest rangers by the City Environment and Natural Resources Office of Borongan City. They recently received their first salary in line with the city government’s collaboration with...
OF TREES AND FOREST Donald Trump won the US presidential elections by defeating his Democratic opponent Vice President Kamala Harris. By all accounts, it was a stunning victory not only because it was an impressive comeback from his electoral defeat in 2020 but also because his triumph...
ILOILO CITY – The provincial government is eyeing Iloilo to become a forest province within the next 20 years. “We want Iloilo to be a forest province, not only by declaration but in the most concrete and practical results and targets together with our partners and stakeholders,” said Gov....
Papa Ric proudly pointing to his lovely home after fruit picking in his yard. It was close to midnight in Manila. I was restless and feeling uneasy in my bed and could not get a wink. Something was not quite right. Then came the news. Forest fires in the mountains of Xylokastro, a...
