I WENT to Carriedo this week for an errand and saw the latest Christmas items on the bangketa, brought to you courtesy of China. Piles and piles of fake Crocs slippers and loafers, toys, wrappers, plaid shorts and plastic animals doubling as seats for kids are this year’s gift-giving street fare. Talk about angels heralding Christmas—uncannily, in the form of vendors. Instead of sweet voices singing heavenly music, we hear loud voices calling out to crowds who are only too willing to lap up the bargains for their Christmas shopping.

AS any successful businessman or woman will tell you, besides doing the necessary research and having the foresight to see a potentially good business venture, a successful business is also grounded in establishing and maintaining a good relationship with everyone around you. It is important to not burn your bridges whenever and wherever possible, be it with family, friends, employees, coworkers or clients.

AS a country of 7,107 islands, traveling by sea is nothing out of the unfamiliar for most Filipinos. Long before the Republic was established back in the late 1800s, we have taken to the seas to migrate from one region to another, from one province to the next...to set down roots and establish families and earn our keep.