Lamentillo launches two new ‘Night Owl’ books

MANILA, Philippines — Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo has formally launched two new “Night Owl” books during a ceremony held at The Manila Hotel on Tuesday, March 14.

Lamentillo launched the Night Owl: Second Edition, which includes a new chapter on the present administration’s Build Better More program, which builds on the gains of the Build, Build, Build; and the translated Night Owl: Edisyong Filipino.

Two former presidents graced the occasion—Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and Deputy House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Also in attendance were Senators Mark A. Villar, Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, Francis Tolentino, and Cynthia Villar; former Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade; former Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana; former National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon; Land Transportation Office Chief Jay Art Tugade; Manila Bulletin President Dr. Emilio Yap III, as well as other government officials, ambassadors, members of the diplomatic corps, and media.

In her speech, Lamentillo shared snippets of her experience as part of the Build, Build, Build a team—the challenges they had to overcome and the reforms that had to be instituted.

“I am honored to have been among men and women who exemplify true leadership and public service. I am immensely proud to have worked with 6.5 million Filipinos whose skills, work, and sacrifices turned vision into reality. It is fulfilling to be part of something bigger than yourself. Night Owl is the story of our nation; a narrative on how, through our collective action, we were able to chart the course for a better nation,” she said.

“Night Owl: A Nationbuilder’s Manual” narrates the nation’s journey to improved lives and plentiful opportunities by President Rodrigo Duterte’s massive infrastructure program.

It is also a report on the accomplishments of Build, Build, Build, particularly: 29,264 kilometers of roads, 5,950 bridges, 11,340 flood mitigation structures, 222 evacuation centers, 150,149 classrooms, 214 airport projects, and 451 seaport projects built during the Duterte Administration.

As former chair of the Build, Build, Build committee under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Lamentillo also narrates in the book how the DPWH, under the leadership of then Secretary Mark A. Villar, was able to find solutions to lingering problems on the right-of-way, ghost projects, and unmet deadlines.

“Through Night Owl, we want the years of the Duterte Administration to be remembered as a collective movement of the Filipino people who wanted change and acted on it. We may have set our sights too high, but our country and the men who stood behind it deserve nothing less,” said Lamentillo.

Night Owl was authored by Lamentillo, edited by Manila Bulletin’s AA Patawaran and Richard de Leon, and published by the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation.

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