She walks the talk. Livelihood programs and environmental issues are the closest to her heart. As a private citizen and way before she became chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, Senator Cynthia A. Villar has been very busy and active in implementing her own environmental programs (through Villar SIPAG or Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance). Her livelihood projects have environmental component since all of them use wastes as raw materials. These are water hyacinths for the water lily basket-weaving enterprise and the handmade paper factory; coconut husks for the coconet weaving enterprise and the charcoal-making factory; kitchen and garden wastes for the organic composting facility; and plastic wastes for the plastic recycling factory that produces school chairs.  “With the help of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), we give rotary composters to public markets and areas nationwide, for the people to proces

With the advent of technology and globalization, no one remains to be just a citizen of his or her own country. He becomes a citizen of the world -- a global citizen—transcending color, creed and culture. The Labor market in the 21st century is in need of global skilled workers who are products of technical vocational education and training (TVET), trained to become  skilled professionals, equipped with practical and soft skills, backed up with professional subjects, and are licensed to perform their duty. Progressive countries are known to excel in the technical vocational (techvoc) industry. For one, Singapore makes headlines for always introducing new methods, new ideas, and new products. While Japan constantly introduces something new, and is always number one in technology innovation. Unfortunately, much has to be desired in the Philippines’ techvoc industry where graduates are looked down as second class citizens and whose products and services are questioned for the

Who doesn’t eat rice? Ask any Filipino and he or she surely loves eating rice and the many variants it is prepared. Unless, of course, he is on a very strict diet either for health or medical reason. But after that, for sure, he’ll turn to rice once again. Rice, after all, is the staple food in the country. It is the meal of most of us three times a day: for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In fact, steamed rice with a simple viand could make up for a meal. Fried rice, on the other hand, a popular meal for breakfast at home, is also served at restaurants with different toppings anytime of the day. With rice as Pinoy’s staple food, business buddies Ronald Allan Callao and Antonio  Atienza, drawn together by their similar passions for Filipino cuisine, came up with Boy Kanin, now a growing Filipino food business managed by MB Flavored Rice Corporation. Boy Kanin offers everyone’s favorite Filipino dish. It is every Juan’s companion for low-budget on-the-go rice meals. It speci