Opinion and Commentary
Samonte: Where to find a city within 2 cities in Metro Manila?
December 29 2022, 1:51 pm
During the initial years of the United States occupation of the Philippines from 1901, the American-Filipino rulers found it was necessary for them to reduce the number of provinces and towns in the country as part of economic measures. They conducted the first official census nationwide in 1903… Read More
Lauengco: Christmas news dumps and cops dressed up like Santa Claus
December 28 2022, 12:14 pm
“There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited I dare say… Christmas among the rest … I believe that it has done me good and will do me good and I say God bless it.” A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens PR operators sometimes release bad news… Read More
Zaldarriaga: Metro Pacific helping gov’t in local dairy production
December 27 2022, 10:35 am
The Philippines is one of the largest markets of dairy-importing countries despite its huge opportunity in local dairy production and livestock agriculture. According to data from the National Dairy Authority, as much as 99 percent of dairy products are imported in the Philippines as domestic… Read More
Laurel: Nuclear Christmas in 2025?
December 26 2022, 8:48 am
Christmas carols finally started playing the whole day in almost all the FM and AM radio stations on Christmas Day 2022 itself. It added some cheer to a spiritless December when for two weeks or three people often asked each other, “Have you heard the Christmas songs waft through the cool… Read More
Samonte: Streets names with legislative connotations
December 22 2022, 12:26 pm
Do you know where in Metropolitan Manila or the National Capital Region (NCR) can you find a place whose roads bear names related to the lawmaking functions of the Philippine Congress? Go to Barangay 171- Bagumbong in Novaliches, North Caloocan City where the Senate Village is situated. Most of… Read More
Lauengco: Empowering folks who fish
December 21 2022, 1:19 pm
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” -- Dr. Seuss Fish is one of the staple food sources of our countrymen. Small scale capture fisherfolk (people who fish in the open) or aquaculture groups produce a large portion of local fish… Read More
Zaldarriaga: Invest more in fight vs. climate change
December 21 2022, 8:41 am
The Philippines’ location near the Northwestern Pacific Basin -- the most active tropical cyclone basin in the world -- puts the Philippines as one of the countries in the world that are prone to natural disasters. In fact, the World Bank Group estimated that some 60 percent of the country’s… Read More
Laurel: Opportunities and challenges in Philippine-China relations
December 19 2022, 12:07 pm
Last Dec. 12, 2022, 17 scholars from the Philippines and China gathered at the Ateneo de Manila, Leong Hall to discuss “Philippine-China Relations: Opportunities and Challenges” the relationship offers to the two Asian nations. This is a brief on what transpired. I attended in behalf of the… Read More
Samonte: Novaliches: A former town that refused to die
December 15 2022, 1:40 pm
I hope the readers of this column will forgive me for giving an unusually long glimpse this week at the checkered history of the former town of Novaliches, where I was born 83 years ago. This was taken from the plot for a book which I planned to write, but was not able to do. A century and 19… Read More
Lauengco: Rapid changes and the Generation Z
December 14 2022, 11:52 am
The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings – Kakuzo Okakura - The Book of Tea After a three-year hiatus, I was finally able to teach a college class again this year. I was very happy that I found time to return to one of the things I like doing. Last week however, as my… Read More
Zaldarriaga: Strengthen governance on TNVS industry
December 13 2022, 3:02 pm
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) last October officially approved the increase in fares for all public transportation vehicles amid calls from drivers and operators who have been heavily affected by the jump in local fuel prices. Since Oct. 6, minimum fare for… Read More
Samonte: PAGASA Staff: The country's weather watchers
December 8 2022, 4:01 pm
Fifty years after its creation, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or PAGASA can be considered as one of the most useful and busiest national government agencies whenever tropical cyclones and other weather disturbances hit or threaten to affect any… Read More
Lauengco: Quiet leadership
December 7 2022, 10:51 am
“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves,” -Lao Tzu This week, one of this administration’s most lowkey but effective cabinet secretary is up for confirmation. Department of Transportation (DOTr)… Read More
Zaldarriaga: Strengthen public-private partnerships to boost infra dev’t
December 6 2022, 3:33 pm
Cooperation between the government and private sectors has long been integral in the country’s economic development with the various infrastructure projects under public-private partnerships (PPP) already operational and beneficial to the Filipino people. One of the oldest infrastructures built… Read More
Laurel: ‘Special treaty’ for PH-China oil-gas deal
December 6 2022, 1:58 pm
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is absolutely correct in saying that the Philippines needs the completion of the PH-China 60/40 oil-gas deal more than China, a point that some in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spearheading the talks with China don’t seem to realize. However, PBBM also… Read More
Samonte: Why tricycles are becoming a contentious issue
December 1 2022, 4:56 pm
Very often, we read in the newspapers and social media or hear responsible traffic law enforcers from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) saying that tricycles are prohibited from operating along national roads and other major thoroughfares in the National Capital Region or NCR.… Read More
Lauengco: Lessons from the Taiwan midterm local election
November 30 2022, 8:29 am
“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” - Sir Winston Churchill In the recent midterm local elections held in Taiwan, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) again suffered a series of setbacks with their party only winning 5 out of the 21 city and… Read More
Zaldarriaga: Law needed to level playing field in motorcycle taxi industry
November 29 2022, 10:37 am
When it comes to the country’s transportation situation and commuter satisfaction, surveys from local and international think tank groups would always put the Philippines in the lowest ranks. A UK-based study conducted by insurance technology site GoShorty, showed that Manila ranks as the eighth… Read More
Laurel: Xi’s unity and cooperation wins ‘Asian Moment’
November 28 2022, 12:59 pm
The last of three major global conferences this November 2022 affecting the peace, progress and prosperity of mankind, the Asia-Pacific Economic Community (APEC) meeting in Cambodia just ended on Nov. 19. This followed the conclusion of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia on Nov. 16 and the… Read More
Samonte: The proliferation of acronyms in PH and elsewhere
November 24 2022, 2:14 pm
Have you ever noticed the seemingly unending proliferation of acronyms of almost all kinds not only in the Philippines nowadays, but also in other countries throughout the world? An acronym is defined by the dictionary as "a word formed by the combining of initial letters or syllables and letters… Read More
