Tony La Viña
tonylavs.bsky.social
Tony La Viña
@tonylavs.bsky.social
Lawyer, thinker, teacher, changemaker, social entrepreneur, and environmental, climate, and social justice activist. Filipino, Mindanawon, and global citizen.
Four gestures on this glorious day. I thought I would not live to see this beautiful day. Thanks be to God for making this happen!
January 5, 2026 at 1:20 AM
We are hoping to have a meaningful and colorful New Year! We pray you will have that as well! Malipayong 2026!
December 31, 2025 at 4:59 PM
This Christmas, we speak from the heart as a family. The past year brought moments of joy and also suffering, illness, and death, but through it all, God was with us.

𝓗𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓪 𝓫𝓮𝓪𝓾𝓽𝓲𝓯𝓾𝓵 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓶𝓮𝓪𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓯𝓾𝓵 𝓒𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓶𝓪𝓼!

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓛𝓪 𝓥𝓲ñ𝓪𝓼
December 24, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Advent ends, Christmas begins.

Today you will know the Lord is coming, and in the morning you will see his glory.
December 24, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Climate change is the defining crisis of our era, but its worst impacts are intensified by another, older crisis: corruption. Corrupt practices undermine climate science, distort policy choices, and divert resources meant for the public good. www.rappler.com/voices/thoug...
[OPINION] Climate and corruption, intertwined crises
Clean governance is not an optional add-on. It is essential for a fair energy transition and for achieving ambitious climate goals with public trust.
www.rappler.com
December 10, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Weighing everything, I fully support Sonny Angara and believe he will be one of the best education secretaries this country will ever have.

manilastandard.net/opinion/colu...
Why supporting Sonny Angara makes sense - Manila Standard
“Rejecting dynasties as a structural problem should not blind us to competence when it is evident” In the long arc of Philippine public service, few
manilastandard.net
December 5, 2025 at 3:09 AM
Constitutional scenarios arise when the public recognizes that corruption is not merely the result of individual misconduct but is embedded in the structure of political power itself. These pathways involve more fundamental reforms.

rappler.com/voices/thought…
November 28, 2025 at 3:19 AM
Legal scenarios involve reforms that take place within existing rules. These routes are the most controlled and predictable, although they are also the most susceptible to political interference. rappler.com/voices/thought…
November 27, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Hesus, aking Hari, aking kapatid at kaibigan, inaalay ko lahat sa iyo!

Teach me how to be compassionate to the suffering, to the poor, the blind, the lame, and the lepers.
November 23, 2025 at 12:56 AM
On eagle’s wings, flying back to Manila after a really good trip in Palawan. We did really meaningful work here for people and planet.

Thank you Bryce, Jomar, and Nica for being great travel companions and excellent work colleagues.
November 20, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Sunrise on the road to Sourh Palawan.
November 17, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Gina Lopez, former secretary of environment and natural resources, once warned that “nature will fight back if we abuse it.” Today, that warning is no longer rhetoric — it is a statement grounded in evidence.

www.rappler.com/voices/thoug...
The vindication of Gina Lopez
As the Philippines braces for Uwan and future storms, the lesson remains clear: sustainable development requires both moral commitment and administrative competence. Lopez embodied both.
www.rappler.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Against land grabbers, quarrying interests, & political obstruction, the Masungi Georeserve defends the Upper Marikina watershed. It restores limestone ecosystems, protects reforested mountains, & guards water sources from those who view land only as a commodity. manilastandard.net/opinion/colu...
More Masungis to stop floods - Manila Standard
“When the rains fall, the truth rises. What drowns us is not simply water. It is governance failure” Floods are no longer seasonal inconveniences in the
manilastandard.net
November 8, 2025 at 4:32 AM
Happy birthday Sister Mary John Mananzan! How to be you!
November 7, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Floods are no longer seasonal inconveniences in the Philippines.
They are national political events that expose how development aggression, regulatory capture, and corruption have reshaped our land and water systems to serve powerful interests.

manilastandard.net/opinion/colu...
More Masungis to stop floods - Manila Standard
“When the rains fall, the truth rises. What drowns us is not simply water. It is governance failure” Floods are no longer seasonal inconveniences in the
manilastandard.net
November 7, 2025 at 6:21 AM
Grateful to be the humble servant in the vineyard of the Lord. Happy to bloom where I was planted. Always hopeful.
October 22, 2025 at 1:58 AM
Happy to be part of a panel on the Philippine experience and practice of multilateralism in the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the United Nations hosted by the Department of Foreign Affairs. I spoke about our role in the climate negotiation processes in the last 30 years.
October 18, 2025 at 11:12 AM
United Nations Day at the Department of Foreign Affairs. Secretary Tess Lazaro and Mr. Arnaud Peral, the United Nations Resident Coordinator, led the toast.
October 18, 2025 at 11:09 AM
UN Day at Department of Foreign Affairs.

Happy to share to an audience of diplomats and students my insights (illustrated through many stories from my 35 years of engagement) on the contribution of the Philippines to global cooperation on climate change.
October 18, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Renei Dimla’s Republika ng Pipolipinas reminds us that hope begins in defiance.

Cora Vitug, the farmer who founds her own independent nation “Pipolipinas,” embodies the ordinary Filipino who refuses silence.

manilastandard.net/opinion/column…
October 18, 2025 at 3:33 AM
On eagle’s wings, flying from the homeland to my other home. May the stars and wind guide us this night!
October 13, 2025 at 1:18 PM
In my happy place in Mindanao. Here, I learned to fight a dictatorship and for social justice and democracy, for the poor and our country. Here, I learned to pray.
October 11, 2025 at 12:48 AM
On eagle’s wings, to the great island for a human rights mission.
October 10, 2025 at 12:57 PM
The Senate’s resolution urging International Criminal Court to place former president Rodrigo Duterte under house arrest carries no legal weight. It is a hollow gesture — politically charged, legally baseless, and morally corrosive. manilastandard.net/opinion/colu...
Spitting on the graves of Duterte’s victims - Manila Standard
“The Senate resolution betrays a profound misunderstanding of international law and a deliberate effort to serve domestic political optics” The Senate’s
manilastandard.net
October 10, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Lecturing at Office of Solicitor General on advisory opinions on climate justice by International Tribunal on Law of the Sea & International Court of Justice. I included implications of these opinions on our environmental jurisprudence & its relevance to our corruption crisis.
October 9, 2025 at 4:15 PM