MY friend Casiano Mayor, 81 – who runs Marilyn’s Kitchen in Bacolod City — has been is getting impatient over the entry of a better power distributor to replace the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco), which is saddled with ₱600 million debts to the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and several, banks. What if the
May 24, 2024
THIS writer has known Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Perez Treñas since the 1980s when he was a practicing lawyer, not yet a politician. He would often treat me and my colleague Neri Camiña to lunch at the defunct Tavern. Not once did we see him fume mad. I feel sad now that he
May 22, 2024
THE higher electricity bill we are expected to pay for this month stems from the unusual heat index that necessitates extensive use of air-conditioners and electric fans. Extreme sunlight dries up certain sources of energy — hydropower, for example – thus resulting in low power supply. Another valid reason is our peso’s depreciation
May 20, 2024
HAVE you attended your golden jubilee or 50th year following your high school graduation? If not, you were either in bad shape or far away abroad, as I was in the year 2016. But I hope to make it on Sunday in a hotel for our unexpected reunion marking our 58th year since graduation
May 17, 2024
ONCE a week, a group of us senior citizens meet for coffee at Hotel del Rio to discuss anything under the sun. The oldest in the group is widower Leopoldo “Pol” Causing, now 89, who always regales us with old memories, if only to prove that his brain remains sharp. He also
May 15, 2024
MAYDAY! Mayday! Yesterday’s financial news hit me like a distress signal. The exchange rate of the US dollar against the Philippine peso has hit ₱57.60 for the first time. Bad timing, I said to myself, since I was trying to buy dollars for a visit to my relatives in New York. Inflation
May 13, 2024
BBM not keen on shielding D30 PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. must have realized by now that his survival as president until the end of his term in 2028 rests on his cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC). That is the inference we glean from the announcement of Department of Justice (DOJ) Assistant Secretary
May 10, 2024
PAST president Rodrigo Duterte has been tagging President Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos “bangag” when speaking in “prayer rallies” here and there. BBM seems to be living up to that allegation. He said he would not surrender Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face trial for the “extrajudicial killings” (EJKs) committed during his term.
May 8, 2024
ACCORDING to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), poverty incidence in the country has dropped to 22.4 percent from 23.7% in the past three years despite higher population growth. The Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) attributes this to the President’s plan of action aimed at addressing the population problem and improving the
May 6, 2024
HAVING turned 74 years young, I occasionally wonder how many more years are left in my lifespan. Last night, for example, I had that nagging feeling of time running out due to an unusually high blood pressure. “Not now, Lord,” I whispered to the unseen God. “I wish to make it to
May 3, 2024
YESTERDAY’S papers quoted President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as having denied claims that an artificial power crisis lurks behind the daily red and yellow alerts issued by the Department of Energy (DoE). “No,” he told farmers in Pikit, Cotabato last Monday. “It definitely is not an artificial crisis. Our consumption suddenly increased significantly,
May 1, 2024