July 9, 2025
Faculty and staff, proud parents, esteemed guests, alumni, and most especially, the graduating Class of 2025—isang napakagandang hapon sa inyong lahat.
Being with you today feels like coming home. I was born and raised in Malabon, in Barangay Potrero. My childhood unfolded among mango trees I used to climb, butterflies I chased, and stars I traced from our yard at night, dreaming of becoming an astronaut. That was the Malabon of my youth: a place of wonder, safety, and possibility.
Our home […]
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June 26, 2025
Paano na ang kinabukasan ng isang bayan kung ang mga kabataan ay mawalan ng kakayahang bumasa, umunawa, at paganahin ang imahinasyon sa paglikha ng kanilang sariling kuwento?
Sa ating mga guro, mga katuwang sa edukasyon, mga tagapagtaguyod ng kultura, at sa lahat ng ating mga kasama sa pagbubukas ng ikalawang yugto ng Wikaharian, katuwang ang Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc. (KCFI) at ang National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), magsilbi sanang hamon ang katanungang aking ibinungad upang mapagnilayan ang ating […]
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June 25, 2025
Excellencies, esteemed colleagues, friends:
Allow me to begin with a question that frames our purpose today: Who are the Filipinos?
Walk through the islands of our archipelago, and you will encounter a people of many tongues, rituals, and traditions that shift with every coast. What you hear sung in Cebu differs from what you taste in Pampanga, or what welcomes you in Marawi. We are a people of many ways of being, yet listen closely, and you will find a rhythm: centuries […]
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May 30, 2025
To the Climate Change Commission, to the visionary leaders of the University of the Philippines Visayas – Antique, the resilient communities of Antique, our fisherfolk, scientists, youth champions, fellow advocates, and stewards of our seas: Magandang umaga sa ating lahat!
Today, we gather as custodians of a sacred trust: the future of our oceans. Here in Pandan, where the mountains meet the sea, we are reminded that our survival depends on a delicate balance.
Let me begin by grounding our discussion in […]
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May 27, 2025
Good afternoon to our distinguished guests, fellow advocates for sustainability, members of the diplomatic corps, colleagues from government, civil society, academe, and especially, our youth leaders.
A decade ago, we issued a call. Today, we raise it into a demand, along with concrete constructive measures.
More than commemorating the 2015 Manila Call to Action and its origin, we celebrate its achievements and enduring relevance.
In 2015, the world was waking up to the full gravity of the climate crisis. Typhoon Haiyan had devastated […]
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