Tag: poverty

Why London’s anti-homeless spikes are a great idea Filipinos should take note of

June 10, 2014June 10, 2014 benign0 10 Comments

A public uproar has erupted over a photo of metal studs installed on floors at the entrance of luxury apartment buildings in London to deter homeless people from sleeping in these areas. No less than the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has reportedly joined the social media indignation frenzy condemning these fixtures as “ugly, self…

Civics, Politics, Society

Grassroots Participatory Budget Process (GPBP): Malacanang’s new Pork Barrel distribution machine?

May 28, 2014 benign0 7 Comments

Now that Department of Budget Management Secretary Butch Abad is in hot water over allegations surrounding (among others) his being lead architect of the gazillion-peso presidential slush fund — the ‘Disbursement Acceleration Program’ (DAP) — purportedly used to fund efforts to motivate Philippine Senators to deliver a favourable verdict in the 2012 impeachment of former…

Crime, Development, Government, Politics

Filipinos’ obssession with ‘happiness’ is what keeps them mired in chronic poverty

May 27, 2014May 27, 2014 benign0 58 Comments

Again, I’m seeing the Happy card being played a lot these days. Filipinos can’t get enough of that card. It’s a poor man’s Ace. You can’t make yourself rich overnight, but you can certainly make yourself “happy” in the next minute. And so that is why “Happy” is de facto the buzzword of the Loser…

Culture, Development, Lifestyle, Society

The myth of ‘inclusive growth’ in the Philippines and why GDP alone does not matter

May 25, 2014May 25, 2014 Libertas 22 Comments

Why is there no inclusive growth in the Philippines? The critical component and measurement which goes a long way in explaining why no progress is being made, and inclusive growth remains only the ‘in’ slogan/mantra of the year is the Poverty Elasticity of Growth or PEG (the multiplier effect of percent growth to percent poverty…

Culture, Development, Economy

‘Where there is no corruption, there will be no poverty.’ – President Noynoy Aquino, #WEF Manila 2014

May 23, 2014May 23, 2014 benign0 33 Comments

Quotable quotes from Philippine President Noynoy Aquino addressing the World Economic Forum delegates in Manila yesterday… * * * “Where there is no corruption, there will be no poverty.” * * * “The Philippines reworked the formula for success in business – from one that required connections with influential people, to one that gives value…

Crime, Culture, Lifestyle

Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA): Why America is NOT the enemy!

April 30, 2014February 17, 2023 benign0 122 Comments

So America’s awesome military is now well on its way to staging a triumphant return to the shores of its bosses’ hapless former colony. The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) “highlights” the recent meeting between Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III and US President Barack Obama. However, reports abound that many Filipinos supposedly aren’t…

Crime, Development, Government, Society

The Philippines: Between Poverty and Ignorance

April 18, 2014September 14, 2015 Ilda 19 Comments

I have a friend who disagrees very much with my social and political views about the Philippines. He thinks that my commentaries about the country come across as negative and therefore running counter to his own views. This deeply offends him even when I’ve assured him many times these commentaries are not about him. I…

Education, Environment, Society

Bianca Gonzalez engaged to JC Intal after big NAIA public proposal!

March 21, 2014 Kate Natividad 2 Comments

Wow! Despite all the other important things going on here and all over the world, what is really the buzz in the Philippines is the engagement of celebrity model Bianca Gonzalez to her basketballer boyfriend JC Intal. What probably set off the Philippines’ mass kilig is the way the guy did it — in public……

Glitz and Glamour, Lifestyle, Media