Category: Development

The Philippines’ long road to recovery after Yolanda: Are Filipinos up to the task?

November 19, 2013November 19, 2013 benign0 37 Comments

In the aftermath of the devastation wrought by Typhoon Yolanda (a.k.a. Haiyan) the hard question stares us squarely in the face: What’s next for a nation that, even in normal times, struggles to deliver the most basic services to the majority of its people?. According to recent reports, up to four million Filipinos are left…

Civics, Crime, Development, Economy, Environment, Government, Politics

Much-needed crisis leadership: the United Nations action plan for Typhoon Yolanda victims

November 14, 2013December 4, 2013 benign0 44 Comments

Within several days, a coherent picture of the situation in the areas devastated by Typhoon Yolanda (international code name: Haiyan) which hit the Philippines on the 8th November 2013 has been produced by an international team of crisis management experts. The Situation Report published on the 13th November 2013 by the UN Office for the…

Civics, Development, Education, Environment, Government

The coming Christmas season: Will Filipinos step up to the opportunity Yolanda presents?

November 13, 2013December 19, 2021 benign0 22 Comments

I find it interesting, to say the least, that Filipinos are looking to the “developed” countries of the world to take responsibility for the purported climate changes that, according to Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III, are “playing havoc” on hapless developing countries like the Philippines. Over in Warsaw, Poland during a United Nations…

Civics, Culture, Development, Environment, Government, Science, Society

Pinoy-style ambag-ambag not enough: You need military might and precision to manage the Yolanda disaster

November 12, 2013October 8, 2014 benign0 60 Comments

So was the disaster wreaked by Typhoon Yolanda God’s fault? That question and the whole topic of Filipinos’ faith in a Catholic god is of course a no-go-zone at the moment as we all need to be “positive” in the face of the appalling tragedy unfolding before us courtesy of “The Situation Room” set up…

Civics, Development, Environment, Government, Politics, Religion

Victims of Typhoon Yolanda should not have to endure President Noynoy Aquino’s blame game and tantrums

November 11, 2013November 18, 2013 Ilda 83 Comments

The first few hours and days after a devastating natural calamity like a typhoon strikes an area are crucial. In the first few hours and days, the chances of saving people who have been injured or trapped by debris is higher. In the first few hours and days after the devastation, the focus should be…

Civics, Development, Environment, Government, Politics

Super-typhoon Haiyan (code name Yolanda) set to plow through central Philippines

November 7, 2013 benign0 23 Comments

Super-typhoon Haiyan (Philippine code-named “Yolanda”) continues to barrel towards the Philippines threatening to wreak havoc across southern Luzon, the Visayas, and northern Mindanao as it plows through the Philippines… Haiyan is expected to reach central Philippines as a super typhoon by Friday noon local time, packing winds of 233-249 kilometres per hour, according to Michael…

Development, Environment, Lifestyle

How Serious is the Philippines’ Educational Crisis?

November 6, 2013 Richard Javad Heydarian 9 Comments

Lately, the Philippines has — for a number of good reasons — enjoyed the limelight, emerging as an economic bright spot in Asia. Receiving a stamp of approval from the world’s leading rating agencies, namely Fitch, S&P, and Moody’s, the country stands — in label — as a full-fledged investment-grade economy. This, at least theoretically, means…

Development, Education

Does the government of President Noynoy Aquino govern? Or does it MERELY spin?

November 6, 2013 benign0 30 Comments

In a rare stroke of balance, “social news network” site Rappler published the scholarly work of eminent sociologist Nicole Curato, “a post-doctoral research fellow at the Center for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the Australian National University” according to the short bio included at the foot of her article The President as spin doctor….

Crime, Development, Government, Media, Politics