THE Philippines and Japan have been promoting bilateral cooperation in the maritime field for several decades, through exchange of views and dialogues.

WHAT we do monthly, we can and should do also annually, except that this time we spend a little more of effort. Moreover, the duration of the exercise is much longer, and the environment more conducive for deeper reflection. This is what the annual retreat provides.

THIS week the Supreme Court dismissed with finality all petitions to stop political dynasties, declaring that the issue raised asked for answers to a “political question” which only Congress can address by passing an enabling act to implement the constitutional provision.

TO mark the 113th Public Library Day, the National Library of the Philippines (NLP) will conduct a panel discussion on “The Librarians in the World of Copyright” on March 11, 2013 at the NLP Auditorium. The event seeks to raise the awareness of public librarians on developments and issues pertinent to copyright.

JESUS addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. 

MARICHU Vera-Perez Maceda once advised aspiring and rising stars: “Always have a little Carmen Rosales deep within you and you can look forward to a lasting, exciting relationship with your viewing public.”

A FEW hours after the call made by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to end hostilities in Sabah, Sultan Kiram ordered a unilateral ceasefire. But it was rejected by Malaysia’s Prime Minister Razak who said that the Royal Army must first lay down its arms.

DURING the days of the Civil War in America, a guard was caught sleeping on duty. For that, he was sentenced to death.

When John Kerry took to Twitter on his first day as US secretary of state, he joined an army of diplomats using social media to reach out and connect directly with people around the world.

Fighting the tobacco industry’s tactics in the world’s poorest countries and ensuring the best vaccines get to those most in need are key to cutting the number of cancer deaths worldwide, according to a report by specialists in the disease.

Fresh UN sanctions are unlikely to halt North Korea’s nuclear program considering that seven years of previous measures from the world body and more than 50 years of US penalties have failed to dissuade North Korea from trying to develop banned weapons.

It is unfortunate that this Sabah excursion occurred.  We are pushed towards a solution of violence which never works to benefit of the many.  

Gary Lising says he cannot hear all the din on Sabah, because he has a banana in his ear.

The Philippines was named among the top 20 emerging markets for investors in a list released on February 1, 2013 by United States of America-based Bloomberg Markets Magazine on areas of particular interest to foreign investors: Ease of doing business, and economic freedom. The top 20 emerging markets are China, South Korea, Thailand, Peru, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Turkey, Chile, Russia, Indonesia, Colombia, Poland, Namibia, Zambia, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Hungary, Morocco, and the Philippines.

One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well [Jesus] had answered [the Sadducees], asked Him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

“We often give our enemies the means of our own destruction.”

Let us take the case of the Business Process Outsourcing  (BPO) sector.  After listening to Mr. Ramon Dimacali about how K + 12 can be partly channeled to the needs of the BPO sector in the coming five years or so, I am making the following proposal. 

“Philippine Aviation must serve as a Pacific bridge between North America and Southeast Asia.” 

In my book, there are only three government agencies whose pronouncements are always what newspaper editors call “a good copy” – the Commission on Audit (COA), the Ombudsman, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).