Senator Mark Villar has filed a resolution seeking a Senate investigation into the recent attacks on Transport Network Vehicle Service (TNVS) drivers, saying the incidents highlight the need for stronger safety measures in the ride-hailing sector. In filing Senate Resolution No. 527, the...
Senator-judge Mark Villar on Tuesday, July 14, sought to clarify how the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) determines whether a statement amounts to a grave threat. During the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, Villar asked NBI Regional Director for the Bangsamoro Autonomous...
OF TREES AND FOREST I have always carried a quiet pride in being a “Batang Tondo.” But beyond that, I was a true “batang kalye”—shaped as much by the streets as by home, spending my childhood days running wild with other Tondo kids, learning life in the open air. I remember a time before...
Senators on Monday, June 22 expressed outrage over reports of a shooting incident at a high school in Tacloban City where three people were killed and five others were seriously wounded. “I am deeply alarmed and outraged by the school shooting incident this morning at San Jose National High...
OF TREES AND FOREST I think I was on my way to a meeting—this was a while ago—when I happened to pass by a new sari-sari store being coated with fresh blue paint and bearing the logo of a popular soft-drink maker. Through the open door, I could see a couple of women arranging canned goods with...
OF TREES AND FOREST It is saddening to read reports that two foreign tourists assaulted the owners of a local business in Siargao after seeing a pro-Palestinian flag outside the shop. The foreigners allegedly threw rocks at the storefront and destroyed a nearby CCTV camera. The local community...
OF TREES AND FOREST In 1992, I reluctantly decided to run for the lone congressional seat in the then-district of Las Piñas-Muntinlupa. My introduction to politics came when my father-in-law, Congressman Filemon Celestino Aguilar, fell ill. As the May 1992 elections neared, people were busy...
Let’s be honest: the best kind of city is not just the one with the big roads, ambitious plans, and that amazing “future-ready” energy. It’s also the one where you can say, “Coffee muna?” and somehow end up spending the entire day there. That is the lifestyle Villar City is starting to...
OF TREES AND FOREST In school, when we were kids, we were presented with a magnificent, almost divine image of Mayon Volcano. In our textbooks, Mayon is often described in superlatives. Rising 2,463 meters above Albay, its near-perfect cone shape has made it one of the most recognizable natural...
OF TREES AND FOREST I have seen the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) Social Weather Survey of March 24-31, 2026 which found that 50 percent of adult Filipinos felt that their lives got worse, 26 percent said it was the same, and 23 percent saying it got better, compared to twelve months ago....
Senator Mark Villar has urged lawmakers to expedite passage of a bill that seeks to expand social protection for workers and small businesses that are reeling from the rising cost of fuel. In filing Senate Bill No. 2032 or the proposed Relief and Recovery Interventions for Low-Income Earners,...
OF TREES AND FOREST Going to the movies is no longer the automatic weekend ritual it once was, even though cinemas have never looked—or sounded—better. Box office revenues remain disappointing, not just in the country but globally, as more and more audiences turn to streaming screens at home. A...
