Uncle Sam is literally back. Through our Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca), the United States has access to a number of our military bases. Unlike before, when the former US bases on Philippine soil were exclusively America’s, now America has the run of some of our military facilities in Cagayan, Isabela and Palawan. Also, while...
Tag: opinion
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In the trenches of the law
“See you in the trenches,” the human rights lawyer and law professor Ted Te said at the tail end of a brief online post addressed to the passers of the 2022 bar examination, whose names were released by the Supreme Court last April 14. Te’s message evoked in the attentive observer, not the glamorous, de...
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Accountability and transparency issues hound UP Board of Regents
The University of the Philippines Board of Regents (BOR) is to convene on April 27 for its monthly meeting at Quezon Hall, the base of the university’s administrative offices and the scene of protests over the BOR’s selection on April 3 of Edgardo Carlo L. Vistan II as UP Diliman chancellor. The meeting takes place...
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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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Wealth tax now: an argument by numbers
In August 2022, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed that the poverty incidence rose to 18.1% in 2021 from 16.7% in 2018. Completely understandable, our technocrats said: After all, we all bore the brunt of the pandemic-driven recession. Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 9.5% from 2020 to 2021, the worst since 1947. Of...
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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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Southeast Asia, democratic deficit
Southeast Asia is a favored region for investments and trade by developed countries seeking to rebound from the pandemic and other economic problems. In terms of its political indicators, however, the region is hobbled by varying levels of democratic deficits. Nikkei Asia observes that Southeast Asia remains “largely a fortress of authoritarianism, with military-based regimes...
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Has Southeast Asia reached a post-pandemic stage?
By mid-2022, governments worldwide had begun easing up on the severe Covid-19 restrictions and regulations imposed on their peoples and opening their countries to visitors. These moves were intended to ease the debilitating impact of Covid-related policies on the economies and social fabric of virtually all countries. Most economies suffered recession, companies went bankrupt, supply...
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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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Can Southeast Asia achieve sustainable tourism?
Southeast Asia has long been a preferred tourist destination due to its diverse and culturally rich settings, incredible sights, unique local cuisines, and affordability, as depicted by travel websites. For governments in the region, tourism is a major contributor to economic growth; the Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimates that it contributes “at least 15% to...