Category: Economy

The #Philippines suffers from acute intellectual bankruptcy and a lack of common sense

January 5, 2015 benign0 28 Comments

[The following is a piece originally published in The Manila Bulletin on the 09th April 2000 and featured in Get Real Philippines on the same year. How many of the issues mentioned here remain the same unchanged ones today? Remember, this was written back in 2000.] * * * AN admired Filipino economist, based in…

Crime, Culture, Development, Economy, Government, Politics, Society

AirAsia #QZ8501 disappearance highlights disturbing aspects of Southeast Asian air travel industry

December 29, 2014December 29, 2014 benign0 11 Comments

Less than 24 hours into the disappearance of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 and, already, conspiracy theorists are at work reading into the minutiae of minimal information being released by official sources. That QZ8501 is the third Malaysian aircraft (after Malaysian Airlines MH370 vanished with 239 people in March and, another, MH17 carrying 298 people was shot…

Civics, Economy, Lifestyle

Finished or not finished, pass your papers!

December 15, 2014December 15, 2014 Soy Lagman 54 Comments

My teacher used to shout “finished or not finished, pass your papers” as we hurriedly tried to cram in answers to questions during written exams in grade school. The same situation awaits President Aquino come June 2016. There will always be unfinished tasks and unfulfilled promises in a politician’s term but eighteen (18) long months…

Development, Economy, Government, Politics

In the Name of Development: Agta Dumagat people versus the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone (APECO) project

December 3, 2014 benign0 9 Comments

“Hindi kaunlaran ng nakararami. Kaunlaran lang ng iilan.” This is what Marlon Angara, a fisherfolk from Casiguran, said when asked about what he thinks of Aurora Pacific Economic Zone or APECO. He is one of the locals who are at risk of losing their land and livelihood to give way for the construction of a…

Development, Economy, Government, Politics, Society

Why is it so exceedingly difficult for the Philippines to change for the better?

December 2, 2014 benign0 28 Comments

Ultimately this is really the only question that really matters. There is no disputing the fact that the Philippines must change. The alternative? Well, that’s really up to Filipinos. If the Philippines does not change, it will continue along its current path. It would be a matter of being content with that course and the…

Development, Economy, Lifestyle, Politics, Society

It is not poor people but rich people who have a BIG problem with poverty

December 1, 2014December 1, 2014 benign0 35 Comments

So according the the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), 2015 will be “The Year of the Poor”, a declaration which coincides with the arrival of Poper Francis earlier that year… “We as the Church of the Poor are called to renew our commitment to Christ’s mission and to always take the side of…

Civics, Culture, Development, Economy, Lifestyle, Religion, Society

Did Butch Abad just out an Aquino SC justice for perjury?

November 29, 2014November 29, 2014 BenK 8 Comments

In the aftermath of the announcement of the unexpectedly disappointing third-quarter GDP figures earlier this week, Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad offered a rather strange explanation for part of it, the 2.9 percent retraction of government spending during the quarter: “…the decrease was largely caused by the low utilization of notice of cash allotments (NCAs)…

Crime, Economy, Politics

Black To The Future

November 16, 2014November 16, 2014 P. Farol 4 Comments

In my previous post, you’ll see a picture of Darth Vader with the words, “Voting is pointless. It is useless to resist me. I am your leader now.” It’s really a reference to what some have been saying about Vice President Jejomar Binay and that is, mainly, that he will win… …some say “by default”,…