With less than a year before the next national elections are held on May 9, 2022, what is the state of the Commission on Elections’ preparedness? There are just four months left before the end of the voter registration period on September 30. The Comelec is finalizing arrangements with mall...
Thanks to digital transformation, social communication has enabled and facilitated meaningful engagement between the governors and the governed. This was demonstrated earlier this week in the interaction between the Chairman of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and college students. In a...
From the standpoint of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the current COVID-19 pandemic is a “most opportune teachable moment.” Despite disrupting the rhythm and tempo of Filipinos’ daily lives, the acceleration of digital transformation has also fast-tracked their ability to comprehend...
The national government has set into motion the ramping up of the devolution of key functions to local government units (LGUs) starting in 2022. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) estimates an increase in the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of LGUs, from P695.49 billion in 2021 to...
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the pace of digital transformation worldwide. In the Philippines, the protracted lockdown has brought about a shift to digital and online payments. Artificial intelligence (AI) has become the catalyst for the increased tempo of what is now widely known as the...
The recent signing by the government of renegotiated concession supply agreements with Manila Water Company and Maynilad Water Services Inc. in April and May, respectively, represent significant strides toward the attainment of water adequacy in their franchise areas in Metro Manila, Rizal and...
The Philippine government continues to find ways to revitalize a sluggish economy from recession and to overcome an ongoing pandemic with a national public health infrastructure that is barely coping with its deleterious effects. While attention is presently focused on ramping up vaccinations...
One fundamental factor in the sustained growth of a country is having a strong and purposive research and development (R&D) program. R&D plays an essential role in society’s advancement. It provides science-based knowledge for the development of new products, solutions and services....
The country’s progressive farmers and corporate farms have high productivity and their products could compete with imports. Despite food exports totaling $5.1 billion, the Philippines still incurred a $5.9 billion trade deficit, thus earning the dubious distinction of being the only country with...
Last May 12, a day after the Philippine Statistical authority (PSA) reported that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 4.2 percent in the first quarter of the year, the Monetary Board (MB) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) “decided to maintain the interest rate on...
Filipinos have reason to expect a “better Christmas” this year as the government aims to achieve “herd containment” in September followed by “herd immunity” in November. Thus declared Secretary Carlito Galvez, the country’s vaccine czar, in a report during President Duterte’s...
From the twin woes of a health crisis and an extreme economic slowdown, the business and industry sectors are now gearing for a much-awaited economic turnaround that could materialize after the government’s massive immunization against COVID-19 shall have been implemented. Being firmed up in...
