Category: Development

Philippines to remain ‘paper’ tech tiger until local tech solutions applied

June 2, 2014June 2, 2014 benign0 2 Comments

The Philippines has “all the ingredients of an emerging tech tiger” — on paper, that is. Despite an enormous population “addicted to social media” and low labour costs, the “patchy at best” mobile internet coverage and “atrocious” internet speeds — a “measly 3.6 megabits per second (Mbps), well below the regional average of 12.4 Mbps”…

Culture, Development, Economy, Lifestyle, Tech Talk

Dear Senator Grace Poe, Your father FPJ wasn’t qualified for the presidency anyway

May 30, 2014May 30, 2014 Ilda 221 Comments

If the Philippines were to hold a Presidential election tomorrow, Senator Grace Poe would win by a landslide. Not only does she have everything the average Filipino voter is looking for in a candidate – a popular last name and connection to showbiz personalities – she also enjoys the privilege of using her late father,…

Culture, Development, Government, Media, Politics

The Philippines’ current situation: nakakapang-init ulo

May 29, 2014May 29, 2014 FallenAngel 6 Comments

As the rainy season draws near, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that the social, economic, and political scenes in the Philippines these past few months brought Filipinos face-to-face with very heated situations. The rise in temperature when talking about the weather in the Philippines is enough to cause one to blow his/her top. We…

Culture, Development, Lifestyle, Politics, Society

Hope is best served with a million dollars

May 29, 2014May 29, 2014 benign0 6 Comments

Like the word “happiness”, another word Filipinos — specially their politicians — like bandying around is “hope”. As long as there is hope, the saying goes, there is life. What the quality of that life will be, however, is an altogether different discussion. The idea that Hope conquers all is as old as the mythology…

Culture, Development, Politics

Manila airport upgrade up against tough regional competition!

May 28, 2014 benign0 17 Comments

Everybody is excited over a proposal coming from San Miguel Corporation to build a new $10 billion airport to replace the hopelessly decrepit and congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). NAIA is the main international gateway for travelers to the Philippines and is the hub for all Philippine airlines. The airport is named after the…

Development, Economy, Lifestyle, Money Talks

Grassroots Participatory Budget Process (GPBP): Malacanang’s new Pork Barrel distribution machine?

May 28, 2014 benign0 7 Comments

Now that Department of Budget Management Secretary Butch Abad is in hot water over allegations surrounding (among others) his being lead architect of the gazillion-peso presidential slush fund — the ‘Disbursement Acceleration Program’ (DAP) — purportedly used to fund efforts to motivate Philippine Senators to deliver a favourable verdict in the 2012 impeachment of former…

Crime, Development, Government, Politics

Filipinos’ obssession with ‘happiness’ is what keeps them mired in chronic poverty

May 27, 2014May 27, 2014 benign0 58 Comments

Again, I’m seeing the Happy card being played a lot these days. Filipinos can’t get enough of that card. It’s a poor man’s Ace. You can’t make yourself rich overnight, but you can certainly make yourself “happy” in the next minute. And so that is why “Happy” is de facto the buzzword of the Loser…

Culture, Development, Lifestyle, Society

Overseas Foreign Workers: the economic backbone, and the heart of the true Filipino spirit

May 25, 2014May 25, 2014 Libertas 34 Comments

Back to the beginning. I first got to know about the Philippines as I was travelling in other countries and met a number of Filipino Overseas Foreign Workers (OFWs). Over time I often helped some with English, form filling etc., and heard more about their lives, loves, and hardships, and was never once asked for…

Civics, Development, Economy, Government, Lifestyle, Society