UNDER THE MICROSCOPE We used to talk about the Philippines hitting a demographic sweet spot, with a majority of the population made up of young productive persons that will propel the country into a developed and prosperous nation. But recently, fertility rates have been dropping from 4.1 children...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE In a Jan. 10, 2025 resolution, made public recently by the Department of Justice, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla announced the withdrawal of 98 cases of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide against former Health Secretary and incumbent Iloilo...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Let’s face it. The Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country, has a major problem with teen pregnancies and a steadily rising rate of HIV infection. One in 10 female teenagers below 15 years of age get pregnant or already have a child of their own. The...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE After some 20 years, I flew to Kuala Lumpur upon the invitation of a friend. There, I developed a case of country envy. This is akin to penis envy, a Freudian concept wherein females realize they don’t have a penis, which triggers a competition with the mother for the...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE The WTW Global Medical Trends Survey found health care benefit costs in the Philippines continue to be high at 18.3 percent compared to 19.3 percent in 2024. It is the second highest in the Asia Pacific region next to Indonesia at 19.45 percent. The rate is expected to be...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Babies born from Jan. 1, 2025 to around 2039 are said to belong to Gen Beta, following Gen Alpha (2011-2024). If Gen Alpha are digital natives, Gen Beta will be living in a time when “digital and physical worlds are seamless,” according to McCrindle Research. ...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE The new year is now upon us. It is tempting, nay, compelling, to forget the awful and tawdry events that happened in 2024, with its many natural and man-made disasters, if only to try saving our sanity in these trying times. How can we forget the continuing suffering of our...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE The Central Bank recently announced the rollout of the new polymer banknotes series (₱500, ₱100 and ₱50), in addition to the previously released ₱1000 note, which was front-page news as well as meriting a massive two-page colored ad in national- circulation...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE For weeks and even months now, we’ve been witness to political spectacles as in hearings in the senate and congress. First was the investigation of POGOs, which stirred quite a hornet’s nest, leading to the President banning all of them. Then it shifted to an...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Recently, Oxford Dictionary announced its word of the year: brain rot, noting its new prominence in 2024 and increased frequency of use to 230 percent from the year before. Brain rot is defined as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state,...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Recently, we got news that my cousin was diagnosed with dementia, forcing her only daughter, a nurse, to take leave from work and fly from Australia to be with her mother. This cousin of mine was someone I grew up with and it pains me to know that she is mentally deteriorating....
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Here I am in Christchurch, on the South Island, the pristine and green Garden City of New Zealand, preparing to return home to the Philippines, with the news that Super Typhoon Man-yi a.k.a. Pepito, just made landfall in Luzon, wondering if my flight will be able to...
