The Manila Times Opinion

04/06/2026

EARLIER this week, the Department of Energy and the Maharlika Investment Fund announced that they were cooperating on the development of a strategic petroleum reserve for the Philippines. It is an objective that was mentioned early on in the current energy crisis, but until now there has not been any indication of serious work on it. According to the news reports, the project is being supported by technical assistance with Japan, and seeks to establish an “initial” stockpile of 2 million barrels of oil to be managed by the government-owned Philippine National Oil Co.

EARLIER this week, the Department of Energy and the Maharlika Investment Fund announced that they were cooperating on the development of a strategic petroleum reserve for the Philippines. It is an objective that was mentioned early on in the current energy crisis, but until now there has not been an...

04/06/2026

BEFORE the headline topic, an invitation to the Eucharistic Miracles Exhibition in Greenhills, first at Santuario de San Jose Parish Church from May 30 to June 7, Solemnity of the Sacred Body and Blood of Jesus Christ; then at GH Mall near the Holy Family Chapel on June 8 to 14.

03/06/2026

I AM a pensioner of the Social Security System (SSS). My monthly pension of almost P20,000 goes to my maintenance medicines, rent, utilities and food. That’s not enough to cover everything, of course. That is why I took work as a teacher of communications and creative writing at the University of the Philippines in Cebu. My pay as a special reports writer and columnist of The Manila Times, as well as my royalties from Penguin and the local textbooks, all go to my retirement fund.

I AM a pensioner of the Social Security System (SSS). My monthly pension of almost P20,000 goes to my maintenance medicines, rent, utilities and food. That’s not enough to cover everything, of course. That is why I took work as a teacher of communications and creative writing at the University of ...

03/06/2026

THERE is a point at which politics ceases to be merely contentious and becomes something else entirely: unhinged, incoherent and detached from reality. We are nearing that point. What we are witnessing today in certain corners of our political landscape, particularly among diehard enablers of the Duterte political project, is not just aggressive partisanship. It is the normalization of behavior that would once have been dismissed as fringe, irrational or plainly absurd.

THERE is a point at which politics ceases to be merely contentious and becomes something else entirely: unhinged, incoherent and detached from reality. We are nearing that point. What we are witnessing today in certain corners of our political landscape, particularly among diehard enablers of the Du...

03/06/2026

Hajj experience, a reminder of climate threat

03/06/2026

THROWN OUT

03/06/2026

Last of four parts

03/06/2026

AS we witness the excavations for the subway stations of the Metro Manila Subway project, the images of subterranean living comes to fore. For those who have experienced daily commuting in the labyrinthine maze of Tokyo Station in Japan, this experience is an ordinary experience.

03/06/2026

GAMBLING has a profound impact in a city. A few years ago, while doing volunteer work with Filipino migrant workers (OFWs) in Macau, I observed the exuberance of its gambling economy at its apex and its sudden collapse when Xi Jinping banned Chinese mainlanders from gambling in Macau.

03/06/2026

LAST week, I had the honor of meeting Mr. Ben Yao, the chairman of SteelAsia, together with his top leaders, Rafael Hidalgo, Pek Hoong Chong, and my good friend, Bobby Batungbacal, who had the kindness to arrange this meeting. I felt so honored to have the top honchos of the biggest Filipino steel manufacturing company spend a few hours of their very important executive time with me. Mr. Yao is an inspiring figure and one of those rare Filipino visionaries who led the growth of the Filipino steel industry and filled the gap in the development of industrial and manufacturing industry that governments should have been doing. He built SteelAsia with vision and grit. He led it through difficult times to be what it is today. Meeting them left me with much hope for the country. There are still indeed Filipino entrepreneurs and business titans who care for the nation. Kudos to his mother from Lukban, Quezon, who instilled in him such compassion and love for his fellow Filipinos.

LAST week, I had the honor of meeting Mr. Ben Yao, the chairman of SteelAsia, together with his top leaders, Rafael Hidalgo, Pek Hoong Chong, and my good friend, Bobby Batungbacal, who had the kindness to arrange this meeting. I felt so honored to have the top honchos of the biggest Filipino steel m...