Our collective actions will help reduce rising temperatures, strong typhoons, floods, food shortages, wildfires, and pandemics. It is not really the environment that needs saving, it’s us. I was hesitant to write about the environment. It felt hypocritical because I am an environmental offender in many ways. Among my offenses are running a neighborhood retail store and a small woodworking business.

The richest family in the Philippines is Chinese. Out of the ten richest in the Philippines in 2020 by Forbes, seven are Chinese or have Chinese descent; they are the Sy siblings, Lance Gokongwei and siblings, Andrew Tan, Lucio Tan, Ramon Ang, Tony Tan Caktiong, and the Co couple Lucio…

By the time I’m thirty, I’ll have my own house, car, and restaurant — said my thirteen-year-old self. If she meets me now she’d be disappointed. I’m turning 33 this month and none of her dreams came true. Yet I’m content, happy even. There are still days when I’m frustrated…

A ten-year-old lad had a humungous task of finishing a project about birds which was due the next day. The magnitude of the task paralyzed him so he couldn’t start. His wise father told him, “Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.” The lad is best-selling author…

Humans are wired to move towards pleasure and move away from pain. Yet healthy and productive activities are usually less pleasurable and sometimes painful while destructive activities are the opposite. If we don’t proactively design our environment to lessen distraction, it’s easy to fall into a mindless or even toxic…

This book has been first published the year I was born. I only read it now that I am 32 years old but the lessons in it remain relevant. Perhaps we even need the contents more than ever. I’m not yet done with the book but I have already gained…

Different provinces in the Philippines are currently experiencing the ill effects of a storm for the Nth time. Floods and landslides are typical news content that many have become desensitized to unless they are directly affected. The country is hit by around 20 typhoons a year, five of which are…

I had been sickly as a child. I wasn’t diagnosed with any chronic illness. But I often had cough and colds. The trend continued till adulthood. There almost wasn’t a month where I haven’t caught a cold or had a severe migraine, until five months ago. After reading several articles…

Filipinos are resilient. This is the story we keep telling whenever disaster strikes. I know we are. But what if this story is hurting our chances to get better and get treated better? Resilient: able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. The Filipino smiling and pushing through a…