THE WORLD is struggling with simultaneous energy and climate crises. To solve the first could require undoing all the progress made toward greener power and cleaner air. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

By July 1, it will be the Marcos II Administration’s responsibility to keep track of COVID-19 and other pandemics that may affect the country.

THERE ARE COSTS to living a virtuous life; It requires going without. This is true psychologically, because sacrifice gives virtue meaning.

The day after they cast their ballots on May 9, the bulk of the more than 600 athletes, coaches, and officials comprising the Philippine team to the 31st Hanoi Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) flew to Hanoi, Vietnam.

ESPECIALLY for one who never agreed to hard interviews (we want to talk directly to the people we know) or debates (we don’t like to disagree), the topics for discussion or needed attention could be selective. Once in charge, urgent matters can no longer be selective. Priorities are dictated by events and are no longer controllable.

The Philippines has one of the world’s longest coastlines, spanning 36,289 kilometers (22,549 miles), filled with abundant marine resources and maritime industry potential. Its strategic location, critical for trade and security, also elevates the importance of protecting national interest over the country’s territorial rights.

Even before the pandemic, there were already clear signs that highly congested urban areas like the National Capital Region (NCR) and Metro Cebu were growing slower than emerging regions like Calabarzon*, Central Luzon, and Davao.

IT FEELS LIKE SINGAPORE has only just switched from combating the pandemic, with some of the developed world’s strictest curbs, to plunging headlong into a fight against inflation.

The Philippines has had its fair share of financial fraud scandals. Only recently, in December 2021, one of the largest banks in the Philippines was hit by a cyber fraud attack by hackers who illegally transferred funds from the accounts of more than 700 of its clients.

SRI LANKA has a habit of selling off its assets when times are tough. And it doesn’t get much tougher than this. The tiny island nation is in default and in desperate need of $4 billion to pay for food, fuel, and fertilizer to stave off a deeper crisis.

After a bruising two-year pandemic, the world is eager to start living again, albeit in a changed environment. We are in the midst of transition from epidemic to endemic, in the lengthy process of crossing over to a more stable recovery path and regaining the balance we seem to have lost in the crisis.

During the BusinessWorld Virtual Economic Forum (BWVEF2022) last week (May 25-26), net-zero, decarbonization, and more renewable energy (RE) were discussed on Day 1.