Opinion and Commentary

Zaldarriaga: NLEX goes full throttle on road infra, service improvements

June 20, 2023, 8:21 am

There is a renewed interest among Filipinos to travel, and tourism is vibrant again now that the pandemic is over. In Central and Northern Luzon, beach resorts in Zambales and Pangasinan, surfing resorts in La Union, parks in Baguio, and historical sites in Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte are popular… Read More

Lu: Addressing effects of Covid-19 among Filipino learners

June 16, 2023, 6:05 pm

The continuing casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic is children’s education. The Philippines was one of five countries that failed to immediately start in-person schooling when the pandemic began. The United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that 27 million students were… Read More

Samonte: First PH Freedom Day parade after 1896 Revolution against Spain

June 15, 2023, 6:54 pm

Did you know that although Gen. Emilio F. Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine Independence from Spain on June 12, 1898, the Filipino people were only able to hold a formal public celebration of their freedom from colonial rule with a civic parade in the present Metropolitan Manila area more than a… Read More

Lauengco: The LEGO MOC process, winning NBA championships and politics

June 14, 2023, 9:34 am

“Perhaps, play would be more respected if we called it “self-motivated practice of life skills” but that would remove the lightheartedness from it…” – Dr. Peter Gray Most everyone knows what LEGO means. LEGO is a line of plastic construction toys which consists basically of variously… Read More

Zaldarriaga: Meralco empowers LGUs in making communities more resilient

June 13, 2023, 10:29 am

Mt. Mayon continues to exhibit signs of unrest several days after it spewed lava on the evening of June 8. This phenomenon serves as a reminder for everyone on the importance of having an emergency preparedness and disaster response plan on standby. This is especially crucial for countries like… Read More

Samonte: PHA sets conference on Filipino people's struggles for nationhood

June 9, 2023, 10:38 pm

When the Philippine Historical Association (PHA) conducted its 2023 Annual Conference at the historic Metropolitan Theater in Manila on Aug. 31-Sept. 2, I have an ardent wish that the delegates will exert their best efforts to settle and put to rest the decades-old debates over certain aspects of… Read More

Lu: RCEP and Philippine agriculture

June 9, 2023, 4:56 pm

On June 2, 2023, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement entered into force. Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno was very ecstatic when he stated on Feb. 23 "the ratification of the RCEP is key to a more open, transparent, and predictable trade and investment environment.… Read More

Lauengco: Bare minimum Mondays, quiet quitting, pushback of the youth

June 7, 2023, 10:08 am

“If you do the bare minimum, expect bare minimum results. You want to be great, work to be great” – JJ Watt A few days ago, I noticed a number of articles, both here and abroad, about a new trend among millennials and Generation Z called, “Bare Minimum Mondays”. According to some, the… Read More

Zaldarriaga: e-GOV PH Super App gets support from telecom giant

June 6, 2023, 10:11 am

Maximizing new technologies and solutions to simplify government transactions and reduce red tape in local and national government agencies, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has developed and rolled out the e-GOV PH Super App that would enable Filipinos to… Read More

Castillo: War on garbage: Continuous zero waste IEC program

June 5, 2023, 6:00 pm

 As our society continuously progresses through modernization, our world is facing a multitude of environmental challenges that include climate change, soil and forest degradation and pollution, among other issues. It is incumbent upon us to take steps toward protecting and preserving our… Read More

Lu: A doable approach to solving self-sufficiency in food security

June 2, 2023, 10:24 am

We all know that the Philippines is an agricultural country. It is unfortunate, however, that all sorts of agricultural products are imported, undermining local production. What is untenable is that hunger and malnutrition continue to hound Filipinos when we have the most fertile land and abundant… Read More

Samonte: Why rainy season is also time for water conservation?

June 1, 2023, 12:17 pm

As the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) is expected to announce soon the country's official transition from the dry season into the rainy season, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has advised the public to conserve water amid… Read More

Lauengco: MSMEs, RCEP, BTS ME

May 31, 2023, 4:54 pm

“Supporting another person’s success won’t ever dampen yours” – We Buy Small This week, about a thousand owners of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) gathered in Cabanatuan City to launch the city’s chapter of the MSME NGO group, “Basta Tayo Sama Sama sa Micro/Medium/Small… Read More

Zaldarriaga: Government, private sector team up in war vs. illegal drugs

May 30, 2023, 11:34 am

Although implementing a slight change in its approach, the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. remains steadfast in its fight against illegal drugs. Under the Department of the Interior and Local Government's (DILG) “Buhay Ingatan, Droga'y Ayawan” (BIDA) program, the government… Read More

Lu: Nano enterprises in the limelight

May 26, 2023, 2:57 pm

It was an unprecedented move for President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. On the 42nd Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he pushed for recognition and support for nano-businesses that have been "unrecognized but are impacting on the everyday lives of the people." To quote the… Read More

Lauengco: Denver Nuggets, media influencers, neurodivergence and innovation

May 24, 2023, 9:53 am

“You want to be ahead of that curve. You don’t want to be the team reacting to it or fighting that. It’s fun. You just got to make sure you’re constantly challenging yourself.” - Michael Malone, Denver Nuggets Coach In this basketball crazy country, where Filipinos follow the NBA as much… Read More

Zaldarriaga: Public deserves more ride-hailing services

May 23, 2023, 8:56 am

For the nth time, ride hailing giant Grab Philippines has again been slapped worth millions of penalties allegedly for its repeated failure to refund its customers for the supposed surcharges it imposed a few years ago. In 2019, it can be learned, that the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC)… Read More

Samonte: How Caloocan's Bagong Silang became biggest barangay in PH

May 20, 2023, 1:13 pm

Fifty-two years ago, or in 1971, the administration of then president Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. created Barrio Bagong Silang from the former Tala Estate in Novaliches, North Caloocan City, bordering with San Jose del Monte, Marilao and Meycauayan, Bulacan, and Montalban, now Rodriguez town in Rizal.… Read More

Lu: Senate’s push for an anti-smuggling court

May 19, 2023, 1:05 pm

Due to the failure of courts, our senators are now pushing for the creation of special courts to exclusively try smuggling cases that are worth billions of pesos. For business owners whose operations have consistently suffered from goods smuggling, this is a welcome development. For so long,… Read More

Lauengco: Youth mental health, pandemic and more participative solutions

May 17, 2023, 2:59 pm

“Not caring about many things does not mean being indifferent; it means being comfortable with being different” Mark Manson During a recent hearing on the implementation of the Mental Health Act of 2017 conducted by the Senate Committee on Health, several figures from the Department of Health… Read More