We beg to differ.
Economist Cielito Habito in his Inquirer piece “Election boost” writes of his optimism that the coming elections will boost the Philippine economy “from the deepest slump seen in our part of the world as a result of the ongoing pandemic”. Why do elections perk up the economy? As everyone knows, large amounts of money go…
The now self-appointed “Chief Political Analyst” and Dr La Salle University professor Antonio Contreras details in his Manila Times piece “Surveying beyond who is leading: Looking into the minds of voters” a survey on “what drives voters to make certain preferences and choices”. The survey, Contreras writes, aims to inform candidates making a bid for…
There are two key things Americans learned from the unexpected victory of Donald Trump in 2016: (1) traditional pre-election polling is no longer reliable and (2) Google search activity provides better insight into voter preferences than social media engagement. That these lessons were mainly learned in hindsight accounts for much of the shock everyone felt…
It’s really sad that there’s barely any intellectual debate when it comes to Pinoy politics. Truth be told, in more developed countries, the primary strategy in politics involves promising a good strategy for the improvement of the country as a whole but here in the Philippines, it’s more about entertaining the people and distracting them from…
Read More “5 Typical Pinoy Political Tricks To Watch Out For” »
Metro Manila is a dump. And it is getting worse, not better. The city is being crushed under the weight of its own success as a magnet for domestic migrants looking for jobs the Philippines’ barren hinterlands cannot provide. But why is Metro Manila, the Philippines’ premiere economic and cultural centre, not improving? Not only…
Many Filipinos will not vote for Bongbong Marcos for the same reason they voted for President BS Aquino back in 2010 — because of who their parents are. Whatever people of any camp say, that sort of thinking pretty much makes most Filipinos of the same ilk as far as thinking faculties go. That pretty…
Read More “Why a Bongbong Marcos presidency in 2016 is unlikely” »
How exactly does one “surrender” to the President of the Philippines? Does one come knocking at Malacanang’s door with their hands in the air? What exactly does turning a fugitive over to a cabinet Secretary for “processing” mean? Regardles… now that Janet Lim Napoles has reportedly surrendered to Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III,…
Perhaps if our “activists” focused more on creating buzzes around real issues rather than on presuming to police the campaign tactics of our politicians and auditing their token fly-by-night “platforms” we’d gain more traction around creating a more issues-based political discourse. Indeed, unless you are as brilliant as Lee Kuan Yew, there is little point…
Read More “SC upholds candidates’ freedom to air as much TV and radio political ads as they want!” »