We beg to differ.
The Philippines with its population of 96 million registered a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $117 billion in 2006. Singapore for its part, with its relatively paltry population of 4.6 million delivered a GDP of $132 billion on the same year. For less than half a tenth of the humanity Filipinos apply to the job…
Read More “The Philippines vs Singapore: Jeepney vs Formula 1” »
I do regard with wonder the virulent and militant nature with which Ateneans today raise their fists in quaint anger over photos of Imelda Marcos schmoozing with their fellows in an Ateneo Scholarship Foundation (ASF) social event. Yet hardly an organised peep had been heard from the collective community of alumni and students over the…
Read More “Are Ateneans making too much of a big deal over the Imelda Marcos photos?” »
At the coffee shop where I routinely get my morning fix, customers mill around the counter in a way that often makes it difficult to distinguish those who are (a) in the process of ordering and paying, or (2) waiting for a concluded order to be served. So it is a normal and routine courtesy…
Read More “Filipinos desperately need a shared sense of belonging” »
Do we really experience reality? Think about it. Where does our personal concept of reality really exist? We think that we are in touch with our surroundings through our senses. That is of course true — up to a point. Without minds that have been honed by years of experience turning nerve and neural signals…
Read More “How easy it is for people to lose touch with reality” »
A photo of what looks like several Ateneans posing beside former First Lady Imelda Marcos has been making the rounds. The photo clearly shows the seal of the Ateneo in the background and students assuming various provocative poses while flashing the “V” (‘victory’) hand gesture. That hand gesture came to be associated with loyalty to…
Read More “Ateneo students in provocative ‘selfie’ poses with former First Lady Imelda Marcos” »
For old times’ sake, let us revisit how the Inquirer back in 2010 crowned President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III “our Filipino of the Year” after just six months in power. This honour was bestowed on the incumbent Philippine president supposedly for being “the living Filipino who made the most positive impact in 2010”. And,…
Read More “Recall: President BS Aquino was crowned ‘Filipino of the Year’ by the Inquirer in 2010” »
The Philippines is imprisoned by a deep systemic inability in its people to extricate themselves from poverty. It is a problem that is an outcome of (1) the sheer number of Filipinos that inhabit the planet, (2) the average productive output of each warm Filipino body earning (or seeking to earn) a living, and (3)…
Read More “Philippine employment dilemma: Dumb down the jobs? Or smarten up the workforce?” »
The Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) is a fund created by the administration of Philippine President Benigno Simeon ‘BS’ Aquino III that serves as a vehicle for transferring unused appropriations from one project to another. It has since been deemed unconstitutional by the Philippine Supreme Court because it was ruled that the President does not have…
Read More “4 memes that illustrate all the wrong arguments about the #DAP” »