Category: Government

Next step after Bangsamoro peace deal: Philippines to pay up – drop Sabah claim

March 27, 2014 benign0 38 Comments

So what happens to the Philippines’ claim on the Malaysian state of Sabah following the signing of the Bangsamoro “peace deal” between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)? It seems this is now conveniently in the backburner as Filipinos, on cue, dance to the tune of Malacanang’s “celebration of peace”. But…

Civics, Government, Politics, Religion, The South

You Want A Progressive Economy? Let The Foreign Banks In

March 26, 2014March 26, 2014 iMoneyPH 6 Comments

The Republic Act No. 7721 is set to be amended to allow more than ten foreign banks in the country. But do you know what the financial implications on Filipinos are? The Philippine Senate committee on banks studies the approval of recent legislations and these are the pros and cons we can expect from this new legislation….

Economy, Government, Money Talks

Repeat after me: I am the Philippines and I am home to a dysfunctional society

March 26, 2014March 26, 2014 benign0 37 Comments

I realised the whole problem with the prevailing discourse within the social media space I inhabit: there is too much discussion about politics and not enough about the underlying issue with Philippine society that I have long highlighted is the real deal here — Filipino culture. Fact is, the Philippines is beset by a really…

Crime, Culture, Development, Government, Media, Politics, Society

The country we’ve made for ourselves: why we need an outsider’s perspective

March 25, 2014November 22, 2017 benign0 2 Comments

The following is a copy of the Foreword I wrote for my friend Ben Kritz’s new book Same Planet, Different World: An Outsider’s Inside View of the Philippines. You can download the book from Amazon here onto Kindle or any of a variety of apps also supported by Amazon. We in our clique of the…

Civics, Development, Economy, Government, Money Talks, Politics, Society

The Noynoy Aquino Show

March 23, 2014March 23, 2014 P. Farol 53 Comments

Long time acquaintance and friend Junep Ocampo just posted this revelation on Facebook about President BS Aquino III‘s much publicized interaction with students from Tacloban City who are now studying at Hope Christian Highschool: I finally got to talk with the parents of some of the students from Tacloban who were part of the dialogue with…

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Government

#TwitterIsBlockedInTurkey: Turkish PM Erdogan mirrors PNoy style

March 21, 2014 benign0 2 Comments

Hours following an announcement by its prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has blocked its citizens’ access to Twitter last night. At his campaign rally in Bursa on the 20th of March, Erdoğan announced “We now have a court order. We’ll eradicate Twitter. I don’t care what the international community says. Everyone will witness the…

Civics, Government, Media, Politics, Tech Talk

President Noynoy Aquino’s mouth is his own worst enemy

March 21, 2014September 30, 2018 FallenAngel 26 Comments

Despite how president Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino keeps telling the public about how he is going to ignore his critics, or how “he prays for their enlightenment”, how he wishes to suppress dissenting views, or even just basically wishes for them to vanish, it looks like he is actually giving them more reason to exist….

Civics, Government, Media, Politics

The Talented Mr. Aquino The Week That Was

March 21, 2014March 22, 2014 Gogs 8 Comments

Tom Ripley: I always thought it would be better, to be a fake somebody… than a real nobody. The Talented Mr Ripley is a movie about a con man played by Matt Damon. All throughout the movie we see Damon’s character convincingly deceive almost every person in his path. Which is something that goes…

Culture, Government