I cannot help but become emotional when I discuss the unequal distribution of income and wealth in the Philippines with my students. On-line discussions make it is more challenging to elicit their powerful reaction. I am unable to see whether my students are troubled by the unequal...
Having been accustomed to hosting and participating in zoom workshops, I thought that organizing a virtual conference will be a breeze. I was thinking beyond my head. Staging a virtual summit is as difficult as organizing a national conference in- person. Certainly, there are advantages...
I could not help but smile in finding out that a student in my graduate class was just a toddler when I served government. In his eyes, I must be ancient! My students have a faint recollection of how it was in the nineties during the administration of President Fidel V. Ramos (FVR). They grew...
Our local chief executives must feel harassed or embarrassed when I call them to take the stage and read a children’s story book in front of a large audience. They may have felt that story books are for children. But since I give them no other option, they dutifully comply. ...
There are standing jokes about the creation of committees and task forces to solve a problem. I can recall three: “If you want to kill an idea, create a committee to work on it.” By Charles Kettering “I hate being placed in committees. They are always having meetings at which half are...
It was the first time in eleven months that I wore a formal Filipina dress for the TOYM function. It took me time to find a “tapis” that matched my “patadyong” (Filipina skirt). I couldn’t even remember if I had matching shoes to wear, and was totally surprised to find a pair. All...
The then Senate President Edgardo Angara invited me to head the newly created Senate Tax and Research Office. But there was a big problem. The Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile did not want me. “She comes from the Department of Finance and has a lot of...
Many moons ago, the Vietnamese government invited me to guide their Finance officials on how to shift to value-added taxation. We communicated through an interpreter because they hardly spoke English. Thus, it was truly a feat that the Vietnamese students ranked 16 th in Mathematics, 18th in...
The days’ events can be pretty tiring. The news over local television is all about COVID, falling GDP, and the military. We see the same faces over our screen all the time. There must be such a thing as face fatigue and some of us have reached it. Foreign news does not give us much relief...
I first heard of the TOYM when then Mayor Estrada was chosen as one of the winners. He was legendary—a matinee idol tuned mayor who personally accosted thugs late in the evening. And then came choices who were truly outstanding—my Department of Finance (DOF) Bosses, Messrs. Bobby de Ocampo,...
It may have been a hundred years ago, but the memory of losing in a high school election remains vivid in my memory. It was painful and heart wrenching. Rejection is a big blow to one’s sense of self. It is so difficult to accept defeat especially when one has done her/his best. Our wish...
Our Economics Professor at CRC, Dr. Bernardo Villegas introduced us to the power of “Hidden Persuaders” by Vance Packard. By playing on our hidden fears and dreams, advertisers are able to influence our preferences. They manipulate and rely on subliminal suggestions to drive us to...
