“It is not good to cross the bridge before you get to it.” –Judi Dench It’s a white lie. I have serious misgivings Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar “confirmed” the construction of the much-ballyhooed Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridge, sometimes called the Western Visayas Bridge, will “start under the Duterte administration.” If he …
OPINION
Welcome remarks by Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia during the 15th Meeting of the ASEAN Senior Officials Responsible for Information opening ceremony
Our compatriots from Southeast Asia, fellow public servants, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. It cannot escape from my mind that we are meeting today in this modern building built on land that used to be part of the sea. As a small boy growing up in this city, I used to look out to this …
Keynote address by Presidential Communication Operations Office Undersecretary Noel Puyat during the 15th Meeting of the ASEAN Senior Officials Responsible for Information opening ceremony
The Philippines is honored to be the Chair of ASEAN, during a very important milestone, the celebration of its 50th anniversary. I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the Philippines’ ASEAN National Organizing Council. Their competence and diligence have made Philippine-hosted ASEAN meetings and gatherings this year run like clockwork. For the 15th …
The real controversy surrounding ‘Beauty and the Beast’
“I wish I could say I’m like Ian McKellen and immediately go rip pages out of the Bible.” –‘Beauty and the Beast’ director Bill Condon The new live-action remake of the Disney classic “Beauty and the Beast” is drawing both a massive wave of fans excited to see the film and another sector outraged by …
HIV test for inmates
“HIV infection and AIDS is growing – but so, too, is public apathy. We have already lost too many friends and colleagues.” –David Geffen HIV cases are reportedly on the rise again, especially in jails and rehabilitation centers in the Philippines. Chito, ‘floor manager’ at a night club along JM Basa Street, Iloilo City, once …
Ilonggo solons are not rubber stamps… yet
“Enjoy your time in public service. It may well be one of the most interesting and challenging times of your life.” –Donald Rumsfeld We still have faith in our Western Visayas representatives, even if the authenticity of their independence has been under a microscope after constituents believed their unanimous approval of the death penalty revealed …
Promoting Bacolod City, Negros to northern Mindanao
Last Thursday, I took the maiden Cebu Pacific Air Bacolod City-Cagayan de Oro flight, hosted by Department of Tourism-Region X (DOT-10) Director May Unchuan. It was my first time in northern Mindanao and I was provided a tour of Iligan City, a RoRo crossing to Ozamiz City, and spent the night in Oroquieta City. Misamis …
Nurturing a ‘suplado’
Four years and counting since moving to the Philippines after living in the United States for nearly 30 years and there are still cultural barriers encountered in the assimilation process. One of the first issues that continue to linger is the habit of many individuals who refuse to offer friendly greetings and, in many cases, …
Duterte wants to hurt Drilon, not Mabilog
“I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” –Thomas Jefferson It is becoming obvious, after repeatedly tormenting Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog with unfounded accusations he is engaged in narco-politics, President Rodrigo Duterte is really targeting Senator Franklin Drilon. For the nth …
Nurturing a ‘suplado’
Four years and counting since moving to the Philippines after living in the United States for nearly 30 years and there are still cultural barriers encountered in the assimilation process. One of the first issues that continue to linger is the habit of many individuals who refuse to offer friendly greetings and, in many cases, …