Category Archives: Editorial

Barangays can lead national transformation

While in Manila on a 10-day vacation recently, I had the opportunity to attend a media forum on barangays presided by former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. at the Club Filipino in Greenhills. No one could have explained to media members the barangay system in the Philippines better than the three-term senator who authored the Local Government Code in… Read More »

Christmas for Christ

The reason for the season has long been forgotten. Santa Claus is more popular than the birthday celebrant. All that matters now are the material things; the spirituality is gone. Let’s put back the true essence of Christmas – the glorious birth of Lord Jesus Christ. AVV1210 I have observed the complete transformation of the true essence of… Read More »

Sending mixed signals

A day after President Benigno S. Aquino III offered guarantees to foreign investors who would participate in his administration’s public-private partnership (PPP) program, an official of a Belgian firm contracted to dredge the Laguna de Bay for P18 billion complained that Malacanang unilaterally cancelled the contract without first informing them. Dimitri Ditielleux, North Asia manager of Baggerwerken Decloedt… Read More »

MAMANG COCHERO

Rig driving was a way of life among pinoys during the pre-war years in Manila. And Tondo was the main venue of these rig operators in the city. The Cochero or rig driver during those years were referred to as “king of the road” as rigs outnumbered the motor vehicles on the road, and the voting power of… Read More »

HEALING THRU BELIEF

Many ailments are beyond cure. Reasons vary for this failure but the body can heal and repair itself to such extent that one may survive whatever sickness he suffers. AVV1110 Ailments nowadays are called many names. Medicines and drugs have been phased-out and replaced. Medical procedures have been changed and improved but the ailments continue to affect people.… Read More »

Misplaced bravado?

While I commend President Noynoy Aquino for standing up for the country in protesting the travel advisories issued by seven nations against the Philippines, I must also agree with the advice of Senators Loren Legarda and Tito Sotto to take seriously the warnings against terror threats. These seven countries, six of which aired serious concerns about the threat… Read More »

The trouble with hope

“The trouble with hello is goodbye,” thus says the song of the same title popularized by Shirley Bassey and Sergio Mendez in the mid-70s. I remembered this beautiful song as I pondered on the eve of the mid-term election in the US, thinking how a campaign for change that raised the hopes of millions of Americans has turned… Read More »

Time to hang up gloves?

It’s becoming obvious that Manny Pacquiao’s mind is no longer focused on the ring. His trainer, Freddie Roach, who sees the Filipino boxing icon up close and who has become like a father to him since he took him and turned him into the world’s greatest boxer, has been saying this since the start of Pacquiao’s training for… Read More »

GLORY BE TO THE DEAD

One of the businesses many would refuse to undertake during early time is funeral service. Call it part of culture but only a handful wants to talk about the dead, coffins or cemeteries. Of course, there are some families associated with funeral business that have become legendary, like Ford being synonymous with cars, or Smith & Wesson with… Read More »