Diwa C. Guinigundo
When nations fail…
October 17, 2024 2:22 am
It was the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences that announced the winners of the Nobel Prize for Economics at a press conference in Stockholm last week. They were Daron Acemoglu of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Simon Johnson also of MIT, and James Robinson of the University of Chicago. They collaborated in working on the linkage between political institutions, economic development, and long-term prosperity. We have been citing their work in many previous economic briefings on the Philippines’ failure to translate its decent economic growth since 1999 until the 2020 pandemic into real progress and catch up with its ASEAN neighbors.
Candidates, legacy problems, and false hopes
October 09, 2024 11:37 pm
The photos of those who trooped to the Manila Hotel and other Comelec offices to file their certificates of candidacy (COCs) gave us the impression that they have all figured out what they seriously intend to do in the next few years once they get elected.
Same old bananas?
October 03, 2024 2:28 am
Two days ago, Oct. 1, poll aspirants started to flock to various filing centers of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to file their certificates of candidacy (COC) for 18,280 elective positions for the May 2025 national and local elections. Filipinos will be choosing 12 senators, 254 members of the House of Representatives, 63 party-list representatives, 82 governors, 149 city mayors and 1,493 municipal mayors, among others.
Alice’s disrespect of Philippine law
September 11, 2024 4:03 pm
Disrespecting the law is no less than an act of insolence, and in the “Law Insider” formulation, that is arrogant, presumptuous, impudent, or in fact even insulting. It could even be at once rude because it is no less than the Philippine law that is being crushed.
Disaster risk management and SDG goals
September 04, 2024 11:34 pm
While we were rocked by the news of alleged irregularities in the use of confidential funds in one government office, it was as shocking to know of another irregularity in the procurement of laptops in the Department of Education, of all departments. As if these were not enough, the Commission on Audit flagged the same department over its feeding program. Audit teams found “there were either unsanitary packing, questionable expiry dates, or pests and molds on the bread meant for students.” The program was funded up to ₱5.69 billion.