Transparency
I was not aware, until two days ago when Supreme Court (SC) Public Information Office (PIO) chief Ted Te pointed it out to me, that one can now listen to, at one’s leisure, the oral arguments that have taken place before the SC. It must have been Ted’s idea, Well, it is a great idea....
Do nothing, don’t intervene
Many stock traders and fund managers, who benefited from the exuberant stock exchange and who bet that the peso would continue to appreciate, are pressuring monetary authorities to do something to reverse the depreciating peso. Doing so would be a monumental mistake.
How college textbooks became affordable (A memoir)
There was a time when college textbooks were very expensive. Today, college textbooks are more affordable and available for the country’s youth and teachers. current state of affairs just described did not come about naturally. It was paved by a law that made possible the printing of books in the country.
Kristal Tejada, in memoriam
Oh UP! the realization of many years of dreaming. Then for a measly P6,000 tuition loan, she had to stop schooling. It was near-impossible for her parents to raise P6,000 to pay the loan on time. Where would a taxi driver find the funds for this large outlay?
Ben — bulalo and back
In the early 1980s, there was a group of us among the younger faculty who bonded naturally, partly because of age and an absence of real responsibility (none of us held administrative posts), and partly because of the conceited express need to eat a better lunch than was served at the first-floor cafeteria.
Opportunism, governance failure — 3
The emergence of the PDS Group as a trilateral monopolist lording it over the secondary trading of government securities could not have come about without the active support and assistance of the BSP, the SEC, the Department of Finance and the Bureau of the Treasury.
Opportunism, government failure — 2
Subsequent actions show that the BSP, in connivance with SEC, actively provided the PDS Group the fig leaf of legality which allowed it to virtually monopolize government securities (GS) trading. With no public discussion and scrutiny, the PDS Group successfully inserted itself in GS trading system where once it did not exist, where it was...
Intolerable and unreasonable
I’ve got to hand it to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. She did not waste any time trying to excuse herself or her department, or attempting to cover up. Instead, she described it as “an unfortunate and deplorable case of violation of the constitutional and human rights of the respondent,”
Opportunism, government failure — 1
This is an incredible and deplorable saga of how a bunch of private, financial opportunists (PDS Group), in connivance with top bankers and key public officials from BSP, Department of Finance, Treasury, and SEC, have enriched themselves at the expense of the Filipino people.
Recent macroeconomic developments: the peso, local stocks, and US ‘quantitative easing’
We witnessed in the last week some macroeconomic directions that demonstrate how vulnerable we could be to what happens in the world beyond our borders. The changes do not alter the country’s economic fundamentals which remain essentially sound.
Speedy justice
In a column I wrote almost two years ago, I discussed a ₱10-million case filed in the Makati RTC against PAL and flight attendant GQ Shariem exemplary damages to be borne by PAL. Plaintiffs were the spouses Eliseo and Angelina B. (for Binay) Alcantara.
Why did Kim Henares blink?
Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares was the first to blink in the confrontation with the PCCI over RR No. 18-2012. Under this RR all unused receipts/invoices printed prior to the RR’s effectivity will no longer be valid after June 30 of this year.
