September 10, 2025
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues,
It is with great honor that I rise today to co-sponsor the Resolution commending and congratulating the 2025 Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipinos.
Every year, this recognition reminds us that true public service is alive in the everyday acts of our teachers, our soldiers, and our police officers who carry out their duties with integrity, courage, and compassion.
This year’s awardees, educators who nurture young minds, soldiers who safeguard our sovereignty, and police officers who ensure peace and order, embody […]
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September 8, 2025
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues:
Ang tama ay ipaglaban. Ang mali ay labanan. These words capture the essence of Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson’s public service. They are not mere slogans, but a creed he has lived by in more than fifty years of public service as a police officer, humanitarian, and legislator.
On just the twelfth session day of this Congress, while many committees were still preparing to organize, Senator Lacson had already pieced together a puzzle long hidden from the public eye. […]
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September 8, 2025
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues:
The Filipino people have always looked to the Senate as a pillar of our democracy. In times of profound challenges, when our citizens yearn for clarity and wisdom, they expect us to steady the ship and steer it with a clear compass toward safer shores. They do not ask for eloquence alone, but for proof that we can all place country above self, and that we can govern with discipline, foresight, and courage.
Discipline to resist the distractions […]
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September 5, 2025
Being this year’s Guest of Honour at the Frankfurter Buchmesse, the Philippines is at a moment where our narratives, voices, and ingenuity gather and resonate in every listening ear and receptive mind.
Within this landscape of dialogue, openness, and reflection, I welcome you to “Pagtatahip | Winnowing | Windsichten,” an installation created by MeLê Yamomo, Nico D’Alemann, and Jay Yamomo, which brings into focus something deeply familiar to every Filipino.
In the Philippines, we have a tradition called “pagtatahip,” the careful sifting […]
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September 4, 2025
Friends, colleagues, and partners in culture, thank you for joining us today. It is inspiring to look back and reminisce about how our journey started. What was once a distant dream has now become our present reality.
When I first envisioned the Philippines as the Guest of Honour at the Frankfurter Buchmesse, some felt that it was far too 2 ambitious, that we were too diverse and too complex for the world’s largest book fair to embrace. But I believed then, […]
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