Opinion and Commentary

Ledesma: 13th-Month Pay: How to spend thee? 

IT'S the time of the year which every employee looks forward to... the season of Christmas Bonus and 13th-month pay (for some it’s even more)! Though some are still uncertain if they will receive one or not, for the majority of the employee force, Bonus it is! As may be expected, the... Read More

Ledesma: Red Army losing men, ground

FOR the last 10 days the  Armed Forces of the Philippines scored big against the New People’s Army of the Communist Party of the Philippines in various places in Mindanao. It started with the killing of Jevilyn Cullamat, an armed medic of an NPA band operating in Marihatag, Surigao... Read More

Ledesma: The bad, the ugly, and the beauty

WE'RE six weeks away to ending the year 2020 which we can all agree was not that kind to the Philippines.In the span of 12 months, we have seen the bad and the ugly that can happen to a country.Just as we were starting 2020, Taalvolcano erupted. That fateful day of Jan 12, about 43 years from its... Read More

Laurel: Kissinger to Biden: Go easy on China

WHILE China and its leadership continue on a one-track express train towards the multi-polar world, helping build (with ASEAN) the gigantic RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) that will include 30% or the world economy and population into one trading bloc, the US continues its... Read More

From the Mail: UNESCO FIASCO: Travesty of justice for Ampatuan massacre victims

By Atty. Perry L. Solis Jr.ACCORDING to a recent Reuter’s headline, “too much politics leaves UNESCO fighting for life.” Indeed, there is much to be desired about the recent actions of the once esteemed United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s... Read More

Ledesma: ‘Tis the season to go local and small

DURING this uncertain time, it is just expected that most people will spend more on the basics and eliminate most luxuries. People are more cautious when it comes to spending and budgeting every centavo is a must.It is also during this uncertain time that our small local businesses are most fragile,... Read More

Ledesma:  Davao City getting out of the woods 

STRICT implementation of health protocols and restrictions against Covid-19 is all that is needed to control the spike of Covid-19 cases in Davao City.  For now, the earlier proposal to place 35 barangays under lockdown had been set aside. The culprit it is turning out was the lifting... Read More

Laurel: China Covid-19 vax in developing countries

AS Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the now world-renowned US American immunologist who had served as director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and one of the lead members of the Trump White House Coronavirus Task Force until their falling out, in an interview with JAMA (Journal... Read More

Ledesma: Online selling fuels economic activity during pandemic 

WHEN you go to the malls, department stores, restaurants, and groceries, you would see very few people inside. Not many activities can be seen in these establishments. And since we are a country that is known to prefer doing shopping in the actual stores and prefer eating out, seeing these... Read More

Ledesma: Rescue and aid are not for show

TO save people from danger and distress is an innate virtue to Pres. Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Bong Go. This is known quite well to us Dabawenyos when the President was still Mayor of Davao City and the Senator his executive assistant. Both of them had served in those capacities for over 20 years and... Read More

Ledesma: Who should Biden believe?

THIS early, American President-elect Joseph Biden has articulated the Republican interventionist foreign policy that looks at other nations he describes as allies but treats them as the US vassal states.In his post-election speech, Biden warned that America will only extend help to countries that... Read More

Laurel: Of China and Biden

WHAT Trump’s four years of trade and tech war with China proved and left no doubt about it that the US cannot do and will not heal without cooperative relations with China.Trumps’ trade war that intensified in his last two years in office did not deliver a single promise made upon its... Read More

Ledesma: The expensive price of disobedience

TO help the country bounce back from the economic backlash brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, several provinces and cities were put in a more relaxed quarantine status. Under the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ), which is the least restricted of all the quarantines, more business... Read More

Ledesma:  Missing Duterte?

SEVERAL days ahead of Typhoon Rolly’s landfall, announcements were made through hundreds of media outlets that the howler is extremely powerful it could cause severe destruction along its path. Bicol Region, The Southern Tagalog Region, Metro Manila, and Quezon Province had been alerted and... Read More

Ledesma: Balancing act 

IF there’s one thing that really benefited from the pandemic and from the quarantine...it’s Mother Nature! After so much use and abuse by the people who should be protecting them, Mother Nature had its much-deserved rest! With lesser cars and motorists on the streets, one can... Read More

Ledesma: The battle of 'isms' and Red-tagging

WHAT’S the big fuss over communism and being a communist? Communism had been decriminalized a long time ago. The problem here is that Jose Ma. Sison refused to dismantle the New People’s Army and that is the root cause why Red tagging becomes a controversy. If the government has Bureau... Read More

Laurel: Xi’s Korean War warning to preserve peace

THE West really turned its head east and widened its eyes and ears when last October 23, President Xi Jinping, presiding over a major commemoration of the 70th anniversary of China’s entry into the Korean War or the “War to Resist American Aggression and Aid Korea,” spoke of... Read More

Ledesma: To Sir and Ma’am, with love

ASK any group of children what they want to become when they grow up, and the majority will reply... “I want to be a Teacher!” It’s a dream profession for many, including this writer.Ask any group of teenagers who their first crush was, and the majority will shyly confess...... Read More

Ledesma: DepEd’s display of profligacy

SECRETARY Leonor Briones of the Department of Education (DepEd) should be ashamed of herself. Buying 254 units of Mitsubishi pickups with a price tag of P1.4-million each (https://www.topgear.com.ph/news/industry-news/2020-mitsubishi-strada-specs-prices-features-a962-20201023) is not... Read More

Ledesma: Ganging up on Pialago

CELINE Pialago, the articulate and straight-to-the-point spokesperson of Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) was on the receiving end of hysterical flak from the phalanx of human rights activists, leftist propagandists, and some ignoramuses in the movie world. These stemmed from her remarks... Read More