Opinion and Commentary
Lauengco: Teen suicides, depression, bullying and rabbits (again)
January 25, 2023, 1:15 pm
“It never hurts to keep looking for sunshine” – Winnie the Pooh Two days ago, a 19-year-old student from one of our universities died after jumping off a school building. Ruling out foul play, authorities have tentatively described it as an apparent suicide. School officials reminded all its… Read More
Zaldarriaga: SIM registration brings safer space to PH mobile users
January 24, 2023, 11:19 am
Before 2022 came to a close, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed into law the Republic Act 11934 or the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Card Registration Act which mandates mobile owners to register their sim cards within a certain time frame, or face deactivation. The new law, which was one… Read More
Cordevilla: PBBM at Davos: Rich harvest for PH
January 23, 2023, 3:06 pm
The Swiss Alps is terra incognita for most Filipino tourists, particularly during the dead of winter when the temperature drops to below zero—and teeth-chattering—levels, requiring several layers of clothing that we're all unaccustomed to. But Davos high up in the Swiss Alps beckoned, and… Read More
Laurel: No point in building up armory: PBBM
January 23, 2023, 12:33 pm
This is one quotable quote from PBBM which he uttered during a dialogue at the World Economic Forum with the conference president Børge Brende in Davos, when asked if he would double the defense budget like Japan is doing. PBM answered that “... the belief is that first of all, there is no… Read More
Samonte: Reminiscing on the book 'Behind the Red Pen'
January 19, 2023, 1:59 pm
A couple of days before the 2022 Christmas week, I received through Grab Express delivery a copy of the book titled "Behind the Red Pen: My Adventures with FVR" sent as a gift by its author, Jojo T. Terencio, a former colleague at the Presidential News Desk (PND) of the Office of the Press… Read More
Lauengco: Chat GPT, robot lawyers, rise of AI and how rabbits can save us
January 18, 2023, 1:11 pm
“The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race” - Stephen Hawking “A crafty rabbit has three burrows.” -- old Chinese saying Recently, Artificial Intelligence or AI related stories have been popping up in the news and even business forums. First,… Read More
Zaldarriaga: Peace and order crucial to economic development
January 17, 2023, 11:20 am
Peace and order have proven to have a direct positive impact on businesses. It is believed that where there is peace, good opportunities that can support the private sector will follow such as more customers, qualified employees, local suppliers and investors. This is why the Philippines, under… Read More
Laurel: PH-China 'Golden Age' harvest
January 16, 2023, 6:33 pm
On his third day back in Manila from the state visit, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced that “at the very least, close to 10,000 to 30,000 jobs” will be created with the awaited new investments and Chinese-assisted projects in the Philippines. He said “it’s certainly going to… Read More
Samonte: La Mesa Dam and Metro Manila's water supply system
January 12, 2023, 12:59 pm
Most of the over 13 million residents of the 16 cities and one town of the National Capital Region (NCR) may be interested to know that the La Mesa Dam in the former town of Novaliches is the oldest among the three dams consisting of the Angat-Ipo-La Mesa water system that provides potable water… Read More
Lauengco: ESG ratings, inclusive business dev't, progressive capitalism
January 11, 2023, 1:36 pm
“Convincing people they are wrong is difficult” – Stephen Denny Yesterday, there was an item in the news that Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) recently received very high scores from several global ESG rating firms. ALI is one of the very few Filipino companies that gets consistent high ESG rating and… Read More
Zaldarriaga: Managing inflation
January 10, 2023, 10:01 am
Earlier this month, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced that inflation in December soared to 8.1 percent, the highest data since November 2008. The pickup was mainly brought about by the acceleration of costs in food, restaurants and accommodation services and housing. This means… Read More
Laurel: PBBM state visit: Walking the talk
January 9, 2023, 3:43 pm
Last Jan. 7, 2022, the Asian Century Philippine Strategic Studies Institute Inc. (ACPSSII) co-sponsored with the Kamuning Bakery Café and the Manila Times, a webinar on the “PBBM sate visit to China: Impact on the Philippines’ economy and future” Speaking in the webinar were: Federation of… Read More
Samonte: Remembering PNA's infancy years since 1973
January 5, 2023, 9:35 am
As the year of the Rabbit 2023 began, I looked back at the year 1973 to reminisce on the infancy of the Philippine News Agency (PNA) which was organized as the government's official newswire service 50 years ago. The then martial law born-PNA, which is celebrating its golden anniversary on March… Read More
Lauengco: New Year’s resolutions: Procrastination, performance, politics
January 4, 2023, 12:55 pm
“Merciful Father, I have squandered my days with plans of many things… For all we ought to have thought and have not thought; all we ought to have said, and have not said; all we ought to have done, and have not done; I pray thee God for forgiveness.” Ahmed Ibn Fadhlan – The 13th Warrior… Read More
Zaldarriaga: Latest airport fiasco calls for immediate NAIA rehab
January 4, 2023, 7:54 am
Traveling would have been the best way to start off 2023, after years of quarantine restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, not for the thousands of travelers affected by a “technical glitch” that occurred at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) recently. In the… Read More
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
