Category: Economy

Blame on Marcos and, now, Duterte for the Philippines’ underdevelopment is a LIE

July 21, 2021July 21, 2021 Ramon Ortoll 9 Comments

I keep wondering why everything that is wrong with this country is blamed on former President Ferdinand Marcos and current President Rodrigo Duterte and not the political bloc that was in power for thirty years since 1986. Marcos was in power for twenty-one. Duterte six. That’s a total of twenty-seven. You don’t need to have…

Development, Economy

Philippines ill-equipped to battle two fronts; the South China Sea and the COVID-19 pandemic, must choose sides wisely

July 20, 2021 Ramon Ortoll 10 Comments

The US quietly pulled out of Afghanistan last week. It was actually more sneaking out as the last Americans pulled out under the cover of darkness as Alex Magno writes in his PhilSTAR piece “Defeat”. The Americans left behind the Afghans who supported their war against the Taliban, which was also their own creation at…

Economy, History, Society

Opposition prefers a Philippine sellout to the US over working with China

July 17, 2021 Ramon Ortoll 5 Comments

Appeasement or rapprochement? How it it exactly that you deal with a regional superpower like China? Among Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries, only Vietnam has fought a land and sea conflict against China. But among ASEAN also, Vietnam has the most battle-seasoned military. The Vietnam War ended relatively recently in 1975. In…

Business, Economy, Environment, History

COVID-19 Delta Variant a bigger threat than “downgraded” credit ratings

July 14, 2021 Ramon Ortoll 3 Comments

The opposition will surely make a mountain out of a molehill about this issue of the Philippines’ “downgraded” credit rating again. https://twitter.com/PhilippineStar/status/1414713681485520896?s=19 There is, however, no basis for worry. The debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio is still manageable. The budget deficit increased but the gross international reserves of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) are…

Economy

Philippines no longer a US lapdog, now a respectable ASEAN member and a REAL Asian nation

July 12, 2021 Ramon Ortoll No Comments

The national artist for literature F. Sionil Jose cites Richard Javad Heydarian in “Our foreign policy”, his PhilSTAR piece . That’s probably due to both of them being Ilocano. On Javad’s part, he’s only part Ilocano so he’s no GI, but I digress. Jose, delves into the wisdom and pitfalls of abandoning the cozy embrace…

Development, Economy

Yellowtards’ behaviour following PNoy’s death reminds Filipinos why they SHOULD NOT vote for their candidates

June 26, 2021 Ramon Ortoll 1 Comment

The edification of Benigno C. Aquino III (PNoy) begins. My basic problem with the Yellowidiots is their holier-than-thou attitude and the hypocrisy that comes with it. I’ve experienced what it’s like to be gaslighted into believing that all of former President Ferdinand Marcos was bad. That was my political naiveté at its peak. But since…

Economy, Politics

Platform or agenda to DISRUPT local governance status quo critical post-2022 to address persisting COVID-19 impact to ordinary Filipinos

June 24, 2021 Ramon Ortoll 1 Comment

Devolution. This was the spirit in which Nene Pimentel authored the Local Government Code of 1991. Pimentel and Ruben Canoy were the leaders of the federal movement which was fledgling then. Since the movement couldn’t find legs to stand on, Pimentel decided that devolution was the next best option. The local government code was passed…

Economy, Government

Opposition “economists” like Winnie Monsod sow doom and gloom in lead up to 2022

June 19, 2021 Ramon Ortoll 1 Comment

If the fundamentals weren’t sound, as Winnie Monsod asserts in her Inquirer piece “So much for sound fundamentals”, we’d be worse off to begin with. Mareng Winnie attempts to dismiss even the smallest iota of optimism in the prognoses issued by the country’s economic managers saying these are all just coming from people whose job…

Business, Economy, Money Talks

Gabsboy
on The Philippines reels from yet another global “crisis”
"Tingala sa langit" "Tingala sa gobyerno" "Tingala sa Amerika" Learned
zzz
on The Philippines reels from yet another global “crisis”
It's funny how those without contribution run their mouths, seek
benign0
on The Philippines reels from yet another global “crisis”
Filipinos' tingala mentality. It is WORLD renowned.
Slaves
on The Philippines reels from yet another global “crisis”
How’s being American puppets going? Maybe if you chose a
Gabsboy
on EDSA 40 years after: Overthrow and “Leftist” Ideals Don’t Work
It would have been absolute cinema had the military coups
Ven
on The Philippines reels from yet another global “crisis”
Who the hell is prepared for a crisis when any
megget
on The Philippines reels from yet another global “crisis”
the filipino way is scraping by on the least amount
Gyn
on The Philippines reels from yet another global “crisis”
This whole thing is not working, and you know it