Category: Development

Lead-up to SONA 2014: The sorry report card of Philippine President Noynoy Aquino

May 22, 2014May 22, 2014 benign0 11 Comments

It’s been four years into his so-called “Daang Matuwid” (“straight-and-narrow”) administration with just two years to go to make good on his many unfulfilled promises before he bows out of the office he reluctantly took in 2010. Philippine President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III is under an even more powerful magnifying glass now. The country…

Crime, Development, Economy, Government, Media, Politics

Boracay to suffer ‘engineering intervention’ in order to be ‘saved’

May 21, 2014 Kate Natividad 11 Comments

Yeah, so now they start moving their fat asses. The Philippine government is now supposedly “bent on saving the island paradise of Boracay,” saying that “climate change and unchecked development threatens to destroy” it. You don’t say. What do we do next after that major government brainwave? Appoint a ‘Save Boracay Czar’? Thing with troubleshooters,…

Development, Environment, Glitz and Glamour, Government, Lifestyle

Philippine tourism touted as key to ‘inclusive’ growth while decay of key infrastructure continues

May 20, 2014 benign0 13 Comments

Climate change continues to loom as one of the biggest risks to the Philippines’ long-term future. Speaking before the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s ASEAN International Conference on Tourism and Climate Change in Legazpi City yesterday, Philippine President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III, asserted that the ‘new normal’ it will bring will compromise the long-aspired-for…

Development, Economy, Environment, Government

Manila ranks near bottom as Tokyo, London, New York top IESE 2014 ‘smartest cities’ list

May 15, 2014May 16, 2014 benign0 16 Comments

According to the IESE Business School website post on the subject, the Cities in Motion Index (ICIM) is basically a ranking of the world’s “smartest” cities along ten dimensions: “governance, public management, urban planning, technology, environment, international outreach, social cohesion, mobility and transportation, human capital, and economy.” The aim of the ICIM initiative is to…

Development, Economy, Environment, Lifestyle

Philippines least ‘networked ready’ in ASEAN according to World Economic Forum

May 9, 2014 benign0 6 Comments

The Philippines ranks last in “networked readiness” among its former peers in the ASEAN’s major economies with Singapore taking the second spot in the top ten most “networked” economies in the world… This is according to the 2014 Global Information Technology Report issued by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Networked readiness is measured by the…

Development, Economy, Lifestyle, Media, Tech Talk

The future of media: will it create a stronger society? Think again

May 6, 2014 benign0 3 Comments

Is the trend in social media really moving towards building stronger networks? Or is it really just weakening them? If we look back at the last several years from the dawn of the “social networking” revolution in the early- to mid-2000s, we will find an interesting trend: social networking models have gone from being defined…

Development, Lifestyle, Society, Tech Talk

Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA): Why America is NOT the enemy!

April 30, 2014February 17, 2023 benign0 122 Comments

So America’s awesome military is now well on its way to staging a triumphant return to the shores of its bosses’ hapless former colony. The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) “highlights” the recent meeting between Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III and US President Barack Obama. However, reports abound that many Filipinos supposedly aren’t…

Crime, Development, Government, Society

Philippine Labor Day rhetoric: the same old bullshit

April 26, 2014April 26, 2014 benign0 24 Comments

So it’s “Labor Day” again this 1st of May in the Philippines. What do the usual suspects who champion the workers’ “fight” have to offer this time in terms of rhetoric? Considering that they’ve milked the easy ones dry — anti-Americanism, anti-imperialism, anti-incumbent-government, higher wages, more jobs, etc. — what else is there? There is…

Development, Economy, Politics