Southeast Asians classified as poor and low-income shared a high 44.7% of the region’s population, or 306 million of a total of 686 million. Social inequalities are similarly endemic in Southeast Asia, as reflected in the distribution of incomes across seven categories—poor, low income, lower middle, middle, upper middle, upper income and rich (see Table...
Author: Eduardo C. Tadem (Eduardo C. Tadem)
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The unrest in Indonesia is driven by inequalities and entrenched oligarchic rule
Indonesia has been ravaged by its worst popular unrest since the downfall of the dictator Suharto in 1998. Large-scale street protests began last Aug. 25 in the capital Jakarta—the culmination of widespread economic frustration and anger at widespread corruption, democratic regression, gross inequalities, and the indifference and lack of empathy of Indonesia’s leaders, elite classes...
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Southeast Asian social protection systems have an erratic record and ignore informal work
Social protection refers to a set of policies and programs designed to reduce poverty, inequality, vulnerability, and social exclusion, and to mitigate economic shocks by ensuring income security, access to essential services (e.g., health, education, and housing), and support for life’s hazards (e.g., unemployment, sickness, disability, and old age). In Southeast Asia, social protection systems have a...
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The delusional promises of the Asean 2045 Roadmap
At the 46th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) last May, leaders adopted what appears to be a landmark document, the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Asean 2045: Our Shared Future. The declaration sets a 20-year roadmap to transform Asean into “a resilient, innovative, dynamic, and people-centered community.” It further emphasizes “regional solidarity,...
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Donald Trump’s brutal tariff assaults on Southeast Asia
As of Aug. 1, US President Donald Trump has finalized a sweeping set of new and brutal trade tariffs on Southeast Asian countries after a series of bilateral negotiations with the region’s leaders and trade representatives. These tariffs reflect an increasing trend toward protectionism and moving away from free trade principles and practices. The tariffs...
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The uncommon life and struggles of Francisco ‘Dodong’ Nemenzo
Once in an era an uncommon person comes along whose life bears the stamp of profound influence on the actions of others and on society. Such was the life of Francisco “Dodong” Alfafara Nemenzo who passed away at the age of 89 last Dec. 19. An unorthodox Marxist scholar of politics, an inspiring socialist leader-activist of...
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Floods, foreign funds and fiascos
At the House of Representatives’ deliberations on the proposed budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) last Aug. 30, legislators questioned Secretary Manuel Bonoan on why record flooding continues to be a problem despite P1.2 trillion having been spent by the department on flood control projects since 2009. Pinpointed were the Pasig...
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Transcending borders: alternative approaches to territorial disputes
The rapidly unfolding reconfiguration of societies in the world today brings into question long-held systems of thought and action with respect to international relations, state-citizen interactions, concepts of national identity, territoriality, and national sovereignty. States are becoming less and less able to assert their notions of national sovereignty in the face of globalizing actors and...
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James Taylor in my mind and live in Manila
When I told my research team of millennials at the University of the Philippines that Tesa and I were going to watch a concert by James Taylor, I was met with blank stares and polite smiles that seemed to say, “James who?” So, I asked Janus Nolasco to accompany me on guitar while I sang...
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The dimensions of inequality in the Philippines, by the numbers
Throughout Asia, the Philippines conspicuously stands out when it comes to social and economic inequalities. The latest World Bank calculations place the Philippines at the highest level of inequality in the region (see Table 1). In a grouping of 27 Asian countries monitored by the World Bank, the Philippines ranks No. 1 in inequality with...