On the morning of May 9, GCash issued an advisory intended to assure its millions of users: “We’re back!” The advisory was posted after GCash extended a scheduled maintenance job “to investigate and determine that no hacking had occurred” the day before, when unauthorized deductions were made on certain accounts. The downtime that prevented users...
Category: Business
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Contract awarded for world’s largest floating solar project
The government has awarded to SunAsia Energy Inc. and Blueleaf Energy the contract to build and operate the world’s largest floating solar project in the Philippines. The project has a cumulative capacity of over 750 megawatts (MW). The move is viewed as a milestone in the Philippine energy sector, with the Department of Energy (DoE)...
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Southeast Asia’s economic perils
The easing of pandemic restrictions and the opening up of economies saw Southeast Asia’s growth for 2022 being calculated by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at a higher 5.5% from an earlier estimate of 5.1% “on stronger-than-expected domestic consumption, exports and services, particularly tourism.” Downplaying the Philippines’ seemingly impressive 2022 growth of 7.6%, economist JC...
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Imagine if gov’t allocates P15B for PUj modernization
That amount is equivalent to only 14.7% of the budget for the planned Mega Manila Subway (P102 billion), which is expected to carry 370,000 passengers per day. It’s also equivalent to just 9.8% of the budget for the planned North-South Commuter Railway (P152 billion), which is expected to transport 400,000 passengers per day. It’s likewise...
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Jeepney driver says: Let us run our own show
By all means, phase out the traditional jeepneys, but let the operators and drivers modernize on their own—basically, run their own show—without the need of a cooperative that may only serve big business. This, in essence, is jeepney driver Rey Escanilla’s stance on the government’s fresh push to modernize the Philippines’ iconic “king of the...
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Needed: a just transition for jeepney drivers and operators
EDITOR’S NOTE: What was intended as a weeklong strike starting March 6 to protest the phaseout of traditional jeepneys was ended late the next day by strike leaders after a meeting with officials in Malacanang. Manibela chair Mar Valbuena said the protesters were banking on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to concerned agencies to fully...
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My understanding of economics
High prices often confront us. Government is trying to control inflation, which is increasing beyond its desired levels—an ideal of about 2% annually but currently is about 9%. Why do prices increase and why do they drop? Why do things appreciate and increase in value over time? Why do they depreciate? Market forces, we are...
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The struggle against trade liberalization continues
The Senate concurred in the ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on Feb. 21, with a vote of 20 in favor, 1 against and 1 abstaining.In lamenting the results of the Senate vote, Trade Justice Pilipinas joins 130 other organizations and 9 individuals who issued a collective statement calling on the Senate to...
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Is the Philippine economy ‘backward’?
We are not a “backward” economy. It’s just that economies capable of producing sophisticated manufactures necessarily require economies that must specialize in raw material or labor exports. That’s global capitalism for you. Ours is a developed capitalist economy to the extent that the capitalist economic system that grips the world today is already fully mature,...
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Will World Economic Forum folks believe Bongbong?
Before leaving for the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said he will “highlight the significant economic gains we have achieved in the last part of the year.” He is the only leader eager to attend from Southeast Asia. The WEF was set up in 1971 as a global multistakeholder...