OF TREES AND FOREST With the third State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., his administration has officially entered its third year — the final year of the first half of his presidency. In my view, the key element of this third year should be the same...
OF TREES AND FOREST A piece of very interesting news caught my eye recently, various news organizations reported that “more people have left Metro Manila in the past five years than those coming into the National Capital Region.” This was a statement from an official of the Philippine...
OF TREES AND FOREST As we confront our mortality, we naturally begin to ponder the legacy we will leave behind. What will I be remembered for? This is such an existential and serious question. And the answer I believe lies in the here and now: live your life. The second part of my reply to the...
OF TREES AND FOREST One time when I was having my coffee at one of the branches of Dear Joe, I observed a couple just sitting there enjoying their coffee while flipping through their iPads presumably reading an e-book. That imagery made me realize how times have changed. It has also made me...
OF TREES AND FOREST When I was still in the legislature, one of the advantages of being a public servant (and this was especially true during the electoral campaigns) was the opportunity to visit the beautiful towns and cities of the Philippines. When I was a child I only saw the...
OF TREES AND FOREST The media landscape has changed tremendously over the past couple of decades. I remember when I was young the source of entertainment and information was the radio. At night, some of us would gather around the radio listening to soap operas and the news. Then the television came...
Addressing climate change has never been more urgent than when Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Sixth Assessment Report found that climate risks are emerging sooner and will worsen faster than anticipated, making adaptation more difficult with rising global temperatures. Low-income...
Venturing outdoors in the Philippines now means braving a sweltering day, but not at Arroceros Forest Park, where trees breathe a healthier microclimate amid the country’s worsening heat index. Tagged as Manila’s “last lung,” being the city's sole nature park, the 2.71-hectare land...
LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte – Damage caused by grass and forest fires in this province in the first quarter of this year has reached P10 million. Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer (PENRO) Victor Dabalos said that about 5,000 hectares were affected in the towns of Solsona, Piddig,...
CEBU CITY – A forest fire broke out in Oslob town, southern Cebu on Saturday night, April 6. FIREMEN put out a forest fire that broke out in Oslob town, southern Cebu on Saturday night, April 6. (Oslob DRRMO) Firefighters took several hours to put out the fire that hit the mountains of...
Forests and Innovation: New Solutions for a Better World is the theme of today’s celebration of International Forest Day 2024. According to Global Forest Watch: “In 2010, the Philippines had 13.2 million hectares of natural forest, extending over 62 percent of its land area. In 2022, it lost...
The recent discovery of bed bugs in furniture at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) raised concerns about using furniture made from local materials. READ: https://mb.com.ph/2024/3/1/rattan-chairs-at-naia-disposed-due-to-bed-bug-infestation (Photo from Unsplash) The Department of...
