OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar We have been in some form of quarantine since March 15, 2020. I cannot remember all the acronyms (GCQ, ECQ, MECQ) assigned to the different levels of restrictions because they have mutated so much just like the COVID-19 variants. And starting...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar We seem to be caught in an unending Groundhog Day-like cycle of surges and lockdowns. We would experience a surge in new daily COVID-19 cases — similar to the one that hit us around March and April this year when daily cases reached a high...
Some 1,000 mangrove trees were planted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Macabebe, Pampanga to mark this year's observance of the National Disaster Resilience Month. (Photo from DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda Facebook Page) DENR Undersecretary Benny D. Antiporda...
To recognize their efforts in conserving and protecting the environment, the Department of Education (DepEd) commended 10 schools through the “Search for Heritage Trees.” Partida I Elementary School in Nueva Ecija is among the winners in DepEd's 'Search for Heritage Trees' (Photo from DepEd...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar It is true what Indian writer Anita Desai once wrote: “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” Going to other places are not temporary destinations where you merely stop and go. They stay with you — the beauty and the...
On Mount 387, Carranglan, Nueva Ecija, a patch of land that was once unproductive was transformed into a tree park filled with now over 2,000 native and fruit-bearing tree seedlings in just less than a month. Behind this so-called “BTS Tree Park” are three Filipino ARMYs (the name BTS fans call...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar A statement released by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and picked up by various news organizations has stirred the pot among Filipino netizens online. In the statement dated July 9, 2021, the DTI’s Bureau of Philippine Standards...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar In my column last June 16, 2021 entitled “Can elections be meaningful in a pandemic?”, I discussed the imperative for our election officials to learn from the lessons of countries who decided to push through with democratic elections...
OF TREES AND FOREST Former Senate President Manny Villar I express my condolences to the Aquino family and the entire Filipino nation on the demise of former President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino, III who died and was buried last week. As I said in the statement I issued to the press, I admired the...
In celebration of the Philippine Arbor Day, the law enforcers have planted at least 65 cashew trees in La Union on Friday, June 25. ​Members of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine Air Force (PAF), and Philippine Navy (PN), and civilian volunteers have planted the cashew trees at the...
Senator Cynthia Villar on Friday, June 25, called on Filipinos to protect trees and join in greening communities in the Philippines. Senator Cynthia Villar (Senate of the Philippines) The chairperson of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources issued the appeal on Arbor Day, a...
OF TREES AND FORESTS Former Senate President Manny Villar Last week, the nation paid tribute to two great Filipinos, separated by more than eighty years, who dedicated themselves to the highest level of excellence and to serving the nation. June 19 was the 160th birth anniversary of Jose Rizal, an...