(Second of two parts) In its preliminary review, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) disallowed the expenses of National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) amounting to P3.7 billion, which it said were “improperly documented or not recoverable for customers.” The biggest items disallowed were for public relations, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and advertising expenses. NGCP’s...
(First of two parts) The Supreme Court petition filed by National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) to halt a long-delayed review of its rates could keep power costs high and delay potential refunds to consumers. NGCP is a private monopoly that operates the country’s power transmission lines, or the grid linking power generators to...
Getting to Barangay Lico in San Rafael, Bulacan, was half the fun. My batchmates at St. Paul College (now a university) of Quezon City, high school class of 1973, decided to meet at the home of Baby, our classmate until the fifth grade, then travel to the Central Luzon province in a convoy. The car...
The woman has apparently just risen from her wheelchair and her companions seem to be urging her to take a few steps forward. But ever so gently: You feel love pervading the tight little scene as you walk past it on this Sunday afternoon at the UP Oval late In January, when the sun’s rays...
Way back in my seminary philosophical study in ontology (a branch of metaphysics that deals with the study of “being, existence, and reality”), there’s this Latin maxim, “Ens est unum, bonum, verum, et pulchrum.” Every being is one, good, true and beautiful. More often than not, we wish to be like others or even better than our...
ILOILO CITY—Ilonggos and their guests can expect a double treat of weekend revelry when the “Kasadyahan sa Kabanwahanan” and “Dinagyang” go centerstage one after the other on Jan. 27 and 28 in this city, in what looms as a face-off of festivals reflecting the dynamism of local culture, faith and tradition. “This year’s Kasadyahan is...
Let me clarify at the start my thesis-thought for this piece: I’m in no way advocating solitude at the expense of or minus social interaction, or isolation over meaningful contact with others. Verily, in the objective scheme of things, according to the “no man is an island” precept, a good life cannot exclude family and...
A fast-paced year of opportunities and challenges: This is how feng shui master Hanz Cua describes the coming Year of the Wood Dragon. Chinese New Year 2024, which starts on Feb. 10, is very different from the past Rabbit year, according to Cua. “The Dragon represents assertiveness and energy, in contrast to the Rabbit which...
That Julia Child dictum of wisdom has guided me late in life, especially in this holiday season when one moveable feast after another in Baguio City, where I live, summoned me and my bottomless appetite. The feasting began early as balikbayan friends from the United States trooped to professor emeritus Delfin Tolentino’s art-filled abode in...
Five days before Christmas Day we went on a 24-hour road trip that took us to a Ghibli-inspired Christmas village, a 400-year-old watchtower, and a city with cobblestone streets and ancestral houses. The initial plan was to drive early in the morning to Bayambang, Pangasinan, to check out the Christmas village that features some of...
