Jaime Aristotle B. Alip, PhD
Typhoon after typhoon: How can we cope?
November 18, 2024 1:16 am
An average of 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year. But climate change is making them stronger, more frequent, and harder to predict. Just last week, Tropical Storms “Marce” and “Nika” battered Northern Luzon, even as we were bracing for Typhoons “Ofel” and “Pepito.” These successive typhoons came in the wake of Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine” and Super Typhoon “Leon,” whose back-to-back onslaught in October killed more than a hundred people, displaced millions of individuals, and caused billions-worth of damages to agriculture and infrastructure.
TYM Vietnam: Transforming women’s lives
November 10, 2024 4:06 pm
I visited Vietnam recently, reconnecting with old friends and partners in development. I met the leaders and clients of the Tinh Thuong Microfinance Institution (TYM or Affectionate Fund), Vietnam’s first licensed microfinance institution, and I remember what Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, once said:
Reducing poverty while slowing climate change
November 04, 2024 12:13 am
Even as we were preparing for Severe Tropical Storm Leon, my family and I spent the weekend repacking goods for distribution to communities that were devastated by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine. It was the most destructive storm we have had this year — killing more than a hundred people, displacing 1.6 million families, and causing an estimated ₱2.5 billion in agricultural damage, as well as ₱1.5 billion damage to infrastructure.
Supporting MSMEs and inclusive growth
October 28, 2024 1:26 am
Last week, Henry Tan, a partner at SGV & Co., published an article entitled, “Why Entrepreneurs are Critical to the Philippine Economy.” Citing worldwide and local statistics, he made a very convincing point on why we should celebrate the success of entrepreneurs and why we need to encourage their robust growth.
Yes, poor people are bankable
October 21, 2024 12:04 am
It is difficult to speak truth to power, but if we want social reforms, we need to do it. Through the years, the concerted efforts of advocates of social and financial inclusion to engage with policymakers and government regulators have yielded positive results. We had successfully launched campaigns for the adoption or changing of policies or programs to push our poverty eradication agenda.