EDITORS DESK The contact center, a sub-sector of the entire IT-business process management (ITBPM) industry in the country, remains to be the biggest contributor in terms of revenues and jobs generation of this technology-driven sector. Come hell or high waters, the contact center as represented by...
EDITORS DESK 2023 was a year of turbulence. It was marked by record interest rates as central banks, including the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), had to keep pace with the US Federal Reserves. The BSP lifted its policy rate to 6.5 percent, its highest in nearly 17 years. The high...
EDITORS DESK I started covering global trade issues, which used to be GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), since my very first day as reporter covering the Department of Trade and Industry and its overarching role among industries and businesses. In December 1994, the...
EDITOR’S DESK Given the Filipino creativity and ingenuity in the area of designs and craftsmanship, it should be no brainer for the Philippines to become the darling of the furniture business, particularly in the export market. Sadly, this industry has so much difficulty taking off. Low-key...
A SOLEMN SITE A peaceful sight among the hustle and bustle of the city, this cathedral stands tall in Tromso, Norway Norway, one of the Scandinavian countries, may not be in most travel bucket lists, including mine, but it should be. A luxury destination There are good reasons though for...
EDITORS DESK The PUV modernization program, which seeks to overhaul the country’s old and inefficient transport system, was born out of many noble ambitions. We understand that the jeepney sector is just one part of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization (PUVM) program. But, it is now the...
EDITORS DESK Based on the latest macro-economic data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), we could deduce that the domestic economy is back on track to a growth path. Last week, the PSA surprised everyone with a better-than-expected inflation rate in October. Based on the Consumer...
EDITORS DESK As tensions beset more countries, including our very own, questions arise on how economic progress can be sustained and truly shared. With that, focus has been on the World Trade Organization (WTO), the global trading system in charge of ensuring compliance of its members to their...
EDITORS DESK Every government agency has to jostle for an annual budgetary allocation from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). Top officials have to defend their proposed budget before the Lower House and the Senate and face off questions from legislators, who are suspicious...
EDITORS DESK Rice is not just a very sensitive issue in the Philippines, but also an emotional one. As a daughter of a rice farmer and living in a community of farmers as a child, the ricefield played an important part of my childhood. Rice farming is backbreaking. One of the songs I learned...
EDITORS DESK I once heard a top government official sharing his conversation with his daughter as to why he accepted the position. He told his daughter that he accepted the job because he wanted to serve his country, to which his daughter retorted, “That’s corny.” Following that line, Paul A....
EDITORS DESK Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat The Philippines is in a precarious situation with energy generation falling short amid rising demand and the race for clean power. Worse, the government and the private sector are currently engaged in a legal battle over unmet demands for increases in supposedly...
