We beg to differ.
You can’t have your cake and eat it. If Filipinos want more and better-quality public services, they’re gonna have to cough up the dough and pay more taxes. The reality is that most of the infrastructure required to deliver the services they demand involves foreign technology and imported goods — which is why they cost…
Read More “Filipinos have no choice but to pay more taxes” »
I came up with a new public relations (PR) concept for Malacanang. I call it the Flypaper Trick. To understand this trick, a brief explanation of how flypaper works is in order. Flypaper is a sheet of paper coated with a strong adhesive that attracts flies that happen to be buzzing around. A fly that…
Every woman and her dog is saying that the recently-implemented Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law is “anti-poor”. They cite how increased taxes on commodities will be an “additional burden” on the poorest Filipinos with increased costs incurred in procuring input into businesses being passed on to customers and “trickling down” to the…
Read More “It is NOT TRUE that the Philippines’ new Tax Reform (TRAIN) bill is “anti-poor”” »
The Philippine Opposition suffered another loss as President Rodrigo Duterte’s “net satisfaction ratings went up by 10 points to 58% in the last quarter of 2017”, according to the latest survey results by survey firm Social Weather Stations (SWS). It has been a bad year for the President’s critics particularly members of the Liberal Party,…
The trouble with the Philippines’ political discourse today is that it is hopelessly partisan. As a result, there is no energy channeled into mapping a way forward for the Philippines. Instead, much of the talk is around discrediting one other. Whilst there is a small niche within the social media chatter that appreciates and rewards…
My previous article regarding the potential high cost of free college education has elicited interesting reactions from readers. Some readers have argued that free college, much like free contraceptives, is a good investment by the government that would lead to economic improvement in the Philippines. In support of the argument, some have blamed the high…
Read More “Population control? Education? Infrastructure? Let us get our priorities straight!” »
So the bill for free college education at state universities and colleges was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte. Many Filipinos are rejoicing for yet another freebie for the people. We have free contraceptives and now we have free college education (among other freebies). But what does “free college” really mean? Does it mean…
What happens if President Rodrigo Duterte is toppled? Easy. Things revert to the status quo. The Liberal Party (LP) – the no-results, hypocritically decent, group of politicians whom Filipinos have had to bear with for the past thirty years – will be back in power. The drug problem, which has been the cornerstone of Duterte’s…
Read More “Is the Duterte presidency fated to be a wasted opportunity?” »