By EARVIN SALANGSANG Ever wake up to the sound of someone calling out, "Te, pahulugan!"? These are the peddlers who roam our streets, usually in the morning, carrying everything from TV stands and dividers to sofas and sometimes even metal bed frames. I bet you've encountered them – they're a...
The Philippines reported a robust 5.6 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2024—the highest in the ASEAN region. From 2021 to 2023, the country also allocated the highest national budgets among ASEAN nations (surpassing even Singapore) and tied for second with Malaysia in 2025, just...
In business school, one of the fundamental lessons is that the greater the risk you undertake, the higher the return you should anticipate. Government-issued bills, notes, and bonds represent essentially sovereign risk and are typically regarded as the safest instruments in the market, consequently...
Gordon MacDonald’s Ordering Your Private World , one of my all-time favorite books, insightfully reveals how we can inadvertently trap ourselves in a "golden cage." I first encountered this impactful work in the 1980s, yet its wisdom remains relevant today. It opened my eyes to the subtle ways in...
When Republic Act No. 11223 was enacted in February 2019, it was hailed as a landmark achievement in Philippine public health policy. Also known as the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, the law carried the promise that every Filipino would have equitable access to quality and affordable health...
US President Donald Trump is tilting at windmills. Like it or not, his unexpected decision to hike US tariffs on imports is likely to be economically damaging in the long run. No one doubts that such a large US tariff increase is the biggest disruption in recent memory, given the pervasive...
Inspired by Holy Week, former Secretary of Health Jimmy Galvez Tan, “the Doctor of the Masses,” requested to interview me in his program on my "7 Last Words/Message” to my family. Dr. Jimmy is a very good friend, my mentor, and a resource teacher in Flor’s Garden in medicinal plants,...
BY Joel Dabao FINEX Foundation recently held the 1st JFINEX Summit, in partnership with JP Morgan Chase. The attendees were the top teams from the recently concluded Inter-Collegiate Finance Competition, also sponsored by JP Morgan Chase. It was a wonderful experience – both for the attendees,...
How much is enough to share on social media? This goes true not only for our personal use but for business purposes. Nowadays, social media has proliferated with various information and content, and we have to use discretion when sharing our own content. Unknowingly, we may be giving cyber thieves...
In a finance class on investments, I initiate a fund management simulation exercise using an initial virtual fund of ₱5 million. Students are asked to build a portfolio and track its growth or decline at the end of the semester. The group is assessed on how they set goals, develop strategies,...
The dilemma of whether voters will be influenced by "national ignorance" or educated judgment persists as the Philippines' national elections in May 2025 get near. Historically, the latter has frequently won out, with politicians taking advantage of cognitive weaknesses. Several concerning trends...
The outspoken Hollywood star Robert De Niro slams President Donald Trump as a "gangster running the country like a mob boss" with "fear, lies and intimidation." Having internalized a mob boss' mind in films like The Godfather, Good Fellas, and The Irishman, Bob knows whereof he speaks. Take the way...
