An independent or vulnerable judiciary?
Today marks the first anniversary of the confinement of Sen. Leila de Lima in the PNP jail in Camp Crame. Tomorrow marks the 32nd anniversary of the People Power Revolution at Edsa.
OFW remittances: Where they come from
The Philippines today ranks as the third largest generator of international worker’s remittances, behind only India and China. Recently, it surpassed Mexico by a margin to become the third largest remittance receiver country.
And do our politicians care?
"The Philippines will continue to be the fastest-growing economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations despite some stabilization of investment growth.” That’s from the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects (GEP) which came out last month.
Managing inflation, or rising prices
The Philippine Statistics Authority reports that prices in January compared to those of the same month last year, rose four percent. While this is a moderate inflation rate, new conditions are creating inflationary pressures. Monetary authorities will face these challenges as they try to stabilize prices in a time of sustained growth effort.
Who put De Lima in detention?
Who are the persons responsible for Sen. Leila de Lima’s incarceration of almost a year? As I mentioned in last week’s column, her reputation was most enviable in her law practice and public service. Somehow, it started deteriorating in mid-July 2016, when she introduced a resolution in the Senate calling for an investigation of the...
New external shock: US stock market plunge
A new external shock to the world economy happened. The US stock market has suddenly turned southwards yesterday after a sustained period of climb.
Übermensch
In Shakespeare’s Act III of Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony joined the funeral of, after Brutus and kindred souls had done the Ides of March number on, Julius Caesar. The starting line of his famous spiel included: “I came to bury Caesar, not to praise him.”
Fearless and principled
In three weeks, Reader, Sen. Leila de Lima will have spent one year under incarceration. A duly elected senator of the Republic, elected without the help of a name ripe with political recall. Not a name tarnished by corruption, but a name that sparkled because of her excellent service to the Filipino people.
External factors affecting the 2018 economy
External developments are often the X-factor that bring surprises to our projections of the economic future. Using the language of sailors, we can only sail against the prevailing wind which only nature controls. Such external developments could be due to the forces of: (1) nature; (2) geopolitics; and (3) global or social trends.
Weighing Alcala’s rice self-sufficiency program
The rice self-sufficiency program of former secretary Proceso Alcala was the banner program of the Department of Agriculture. No less than former president Aquino bragged about it twice in Congress in his state of the nation addresses in 2012 and 2013.
