April 29, 2024
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon. I welcome all of you to this distinguished gathering where we are to put a spotlight on topics close to my heart – the convergence of policymaking, science, and the arts, and the vital role of women in shaping our country and building our climate resilience.
Today, we celebrate the Filipina changemakers who are leading the charge in combating climate change and building resilient communities.
Our world is facing unprecedented challenges. The effects of rising temperatures are […]
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April 28, 2024
Mayad nga aga ka ninyo nga tanan. I am elated to be able to speak before my fellow Kasimanwa as we celebrate Filipino Food Month. Antique is still truly a place I call home.
Food is pamana. It is our rich cultural heritage. Food sustains us, identifies us, and connects us as a nation. Everytime I miss Antique, only a bite of bukayo and butung-butung and I am transported back to the province and connected to the generations of Antiqueños who […]
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April 25, 2024
The books we read shape our thinking, forge our beliefs, and teach us to imagine, beyond our lifetime, and sometimes for generations.
I am glad that we have initiatives like the Philippine Book Festival. I also would like to take this opportunity to share that the Philippines is the Guest of Honour country to the 2025 Frankfurter Buchmesse. It was in 2015, when Karina Bolasco approached me, and introduced the Frankfurt Book Fair. Immediately in 2016, we ensured adequate funding for […]
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April 25, 2024
The books we read shape our thinking, forge our beliefs, and teach us to imagine, beyond our lifetime, and sometimes for generations.
I am glad that we have initiatives like the Philippine Book Festival. I also would like to take this opportunity to share that the Philippines is the Guest of Honour country to the 2025 Frankfurter Buchmesse. It was in 2015, when Karina Bolasco approached me, and introduced the Frankfurt Book Fair. Immediately in 2016, we ensured adequate funding for […]
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April 22, 2024
My dearest fellow Filipinos, we are running out of Earth Days. If, on the first Earth Day, we set about to reach even a modicum of sustainability in 50 years, we would have failed. We are in year 54, and the planet has not shifted gears. I can still name a list of problems that existed in 1970 on the very first Earth Day, still challenging us, and today, we have hundreds more issues to grapple with.
I speak of a […]
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