Category: Education

Blocking Grok and other AI chat apps in the Philippines is a good idea

January 16, 2026January 16, 2026 benign0 4 Comments

Given that Filipinos are famously intellectually-stunted as it is, moves by the Philippine government to block Grok (the artificial intelligence (AI) app within X — the social media site formerly known as “Twitter” — should be a welcome development. At the moment, the Philippines is reportedly exploring options around this but under the pretext of…

Education, Society, Tech Talk

The Philippines needs to implement a total ban on access to social media apps for ALL ages!

January 3, 2026 benign0 7 Comments

A recent trend that is closely being watched by governments around the world is the banning of minors’ access to social media sites and apps. Australia had led this initiative being the first to pass and implement legislation to effect this ban. Following behind it are Western European countries including, among others, Germany, France, Denmark,…

Education, Tech Talk, Technology

Stupid and stunted: Why Filipinos are looked down upon by the world

December 27, 2025 benign0 4 Comments

This is, after all, a society that still looks up to clowns like Vice Ganda. Is it then any surprise that the “issues” that pervade in the “national debate” are no different to the ones that trended ten — even twenty — years ago? Wars on corruption and congressional inquires are the same circuses that…

Culture, Development, Education, Society

An entire generation of young Filipinos are growing up to be liabilities

June 29, 2024 benign0 7 Comments

Certain “activists” take exception to a country’s people being referred to as “capital” to “invest in” in order to “get returns from”. This is in reference to the recently-published World Bank Philippines Human Capital Review report where some pretty damning facts about the collective ability of the Filipino people to compete in a rapidly-evolving world…

Development, Education

50% of Filipinos stunted at childhood in the 1980s could be why the Philippines is so intellectually-bankrupt today!

June 25, 2024 benign0 3 Comments

For many of the world’s richest — or even emerging — economies, the biggest threat to continued prosperity is a rapidly aging and, in the worst cases, declining populations. The effect of wealth and better education on fertility has long been known. As people get better-educated, enjoy a greater variety of lifestyle options, and gain…

Development, Economy, Education

The Philippines cannot progress without an intelligent civil service

June 17, 2024 benign0 13 Comments

Nothing is more confronting than statistical facts. Today’s Inquirer op-ed, “Dismal passing rate”, paints a sobering picture of the Philippines’ brains trust — perhaps an oxymoronic term to use considering that it is anything but. The Inquirer Editor in essence issues an indictment on the ability of the Philippines to sustainably implement good governance and,…

Development, Education

Filipinos’ ability to compete with other Southeast Asian countries hobbled by their dismal reading comprehension and listening skills

August 8, 2023August 8, 2023 benign0 25 Comments

At first it seems baffling that the Philippines continues to suffer the same problems it had suffered over more than half a century after it was granted independence by the United States in 1946. The same inability to innovate, build industrial capacity that matches its enormous population, and move from labour-added-value up the food chain…

Development, Education, Religion, Society

#MeToo Movement erupting in UP Diliman “activist” community amid avalanche of sexual misconduct allegations

May 8, 2023May 8, 2023 benign0 No Comments

It seems that beyond Carl Ieuan Uba, a former member of the University of the Philippines (UP) Student Council (USC) and who served under the UP Diliman campus organisation Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP (STAND UP), recently called out as an alleged sex offender by a comrade, there are many…

Crime, Education, Society