Category: Economy

Philippine-China conflict: How did we come to be so dependent on Chinese imports?

June 14, 2011March 7, 2014 benign0 24 Comments

Last weekend Governor Joey Salcedo of the Philippine province of Albay issued what on the surface looks to be a ludicrous proposal — that Filipinos “boycott” Chinese-made products. Salcedo made this call to Filipinos to “hurt [China] where it counts” in light of recent military and diplomatic tension between the Philippines and China over the…

Culture, Development, Economy, Lifestyle

Philippines: Stuck in reverse since Independence Day

June 11, 2011June 12, 2014 Ilda 60 Comments

A lot of Filipinos want to copy everything about the United States of America. From the form of government down to the style of music, Filipinos look to Uncle Sam for direction. For as long as everyone can remember, Filipinos have always viewed the home of our former colonizers as the land of milk and…

Culture, Development, Economy, Government, Media, Science, Society

Foreign direct investment: Are Filipinos up to the task of seizing opportunities served up to them?

June 4, 2011September 22, 2014 benign0 18 Comments

Seeing foreign direct investment, cash handouts, and subsidies as the silver bullet that will cure chronic Filipino poverty? Think again. Lots of lessons are to be learned in what former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad said in a speech at the Harvard Club of Malaysia dinner on 29 July 2002 about how the presence of…

Culture, Development, Economy, Education

Foreign capital will not solve Filipinos’ inability to apply capital profitably

June 3, 2011April 26, 2018 benign0 41 Comments

In my 2006 book Get Real Philippines Book 1, one of the key solutions I cited to the challenge of effecting fundamental change in the path we have (rather consciously) set for ourselves to chronic impoverishment is to re-evaluate the content of our mass media. I highlighted that it is an easy solution, because much…

Development, Economy, Media

Iran: model of successful population control and an inspiration to Filipinos

May 23, 2011July 23, 2013 benign0 9 Comments

The Iranian experience in implementing a successful population management program has become a model for many countries that seek to overcome the debilitating burden overpopulation presents to development aspirations. The most remarkable aspect of Iran’s program is in how what was once a religious directive to go forth and multiply had been repealed by the…

Development, Economy, Education, Media, Religion, Society

The RH Bill: Economic growth alone will not solve overpopulation

May 20, 2011May 24, 2011 Ilda 23 Comments

I cannot say in absolute terms that I am a strong advocate of the proposed Reproductive Health bill (RH Bill). In a perfect world, we wouldnâ€™t need to introduce such legislation. But we do not live in a perfect world and if one’s intention is to seek flaws in the proposed bill, one will surely…

Development, Economy, Education, Environment, Government, Politics, Religion

Over-population is not just a problem of poor countries

May 20, 2011May 20, 2011 benign0 19 Comments

Think of what it takes to sustain human civilisation at the standards of living we believe that everyone is entitled to. Have we stopped to think what it would mean for a billion Chinese people, say, to have access to a standard of living equivalent to that enjoyed by Western Europe and North America today?…

Development, Economy, Environment, Society, Technology

Overpopulated Philippines: reduced to panhandling for foreign investment

May 11, 2011May 11, 2011 benign0 33 Comments

Everytime I hear this and that initiative to “attract” foreign investment to the country and then see these touted as “solutions” aimed at uplifting Filipinos from the clutches of poverty and the setting of our economy on a “firm” path to prosperity, I find my eyes rolling up to the high heavens as if to…

Culture, Development, Economy, Education