2011’s positive spots
Still and all, “there is a time and a season for everything.” And now is a time for counting our blessings, not for grieving our mistakes. So I will end the year on a positive note.
In defense of the whistle blowers
It is traditional to end the year on a hopeful note, and this is one tradition I will adhere to, not only because there is nothing wrong with it, but because there is indeed something of substance to be positive about.
Progress in our daily lives II (personal productivity)
As the standard of living rises with income, our willingness and capability to apply new conveniences enable us to relish life all the more. In all situations, a little learning process is involved. As we age we sometimes refuse to learn new things or are simply hampered by old habits and old conveniences to be...
Undermining congressional authority
The Aquino government surprised the world, including the members of Congress, by coming up with a P72-billion fiscal stimulus to make up for its serious underspending during the first nine months of the year. Where did the P72 billion come from? In which particular items in the budget were the savings generated?
In defense of the whistle-blowers
It is traditional to end the year on a hopeful note, and this is one tradition I will adhere to, not only because there is nothing wrong with it, but because there is indeed something of substance to be positive about. And what is that? I refer to the very small tribe of whistle-blowers
Hopes and realities
As the year came to a close last year, when asked about his number one wish for 2011, President Benigno Aquino said, “I hope the economy will take off.” “I hope the number of jobless will be lowered by 2011,” he added. The economy turned out much worse than expected, and while the jobs market...
Soft underbelly of the Supreme Court
One would have thought that with the arrest and incarceration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Secretary Leila de Lima’s defiance of its TRO on Arroyo’s travel ban would be uppermost in the Supreme Court’s mind. But that doesn’t seem to be the case at all.
Progress in our daily lives I (the food we eat)
Progress in our daily lives is best experienced through the consumption of the goods that we can buy. Through the years, the variety and quality of the goods made available have improved because of rising standard of living.
Cautionary tale
What happened in Cagayan de Oro (CDO) is your typical cautionary tale -- in spades -- with the three elements present and accounted for: the warning of danger, the disregard of the warning, and the disastrous consequences of such disregard.
Coordination games, “mano”, and “silya”
A two-by-two version of a “coordination game” goes as follows: two agents prefer different activities but would still rather do things together than do things alone—even to the extent of engaging in the less preferred activity.
Philippines Equity Report: Investment Case for Financing Equitable Progress towards MDGs 4 and 5 in the Asia-Pacific Region
(with Paul Mariano, Samuel Kault, Eliana Jimenez-Soto, and Kim-Huong Nguyen)
This report presents a comprehensive analysis of inequities in child mortality and intervention coverage in the Philippines.
A lack of maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) equity analysis in recent years has led to a substantive gap in the literature. Responding to this, we use the best available...
Let the rebuilding begin!
Even as the nation grieves the constantly rising deaths from the Sendong tragedy, the rebuilding should begin immediately. The number of deaths would likely surpass the near thousand deaths from the most damaging tragedy in recent Philippine history -- the Ondoy and Pepeng twin typhoons in 2009.
