Discussions around the marketplace, including at the influential Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), centered on the historic Tuesday and its effect on the political arena, which eventually influences the environment of doing business. Sandwiched between former president and chief...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT We have been participating almost every year in the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Asian Regional Forum on Investment Management of Foreign Exchange Reserves, before and after my retirement from central banking in 2019. While there was some lull during the pandemic in...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT It was the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences that announced the winners of the Nobel Prize for Economics at a press conference in Stockholm last week. They were Daron Acemoglu of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Simon Johnson also of MIT, and James...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT The photos of those who trooped to the Manila Hotel and other Comelec offices to file their certificates of candidacy (COCs) gave us the impression that they have all figured out what they seriously intend to do in the next few years once they get...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Disrespecting the law is no less than an act of insolence, and in the “Law Insider” formulation, that is arrogant, presumptuous, impudent, or in fact even insulting. It could even be at once rude because it is no less than the Philippine law that is being crushed. ...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT (Concluding Part) Last week, we concluded our piece with the quote from Finance Secretary Ralph Recto that the full remittance and appropriate use of PhilHealth’s ₱89.9 billion could boost GDP by 0.88 ppts and employment by 600,000. It is not as simple as deciding...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT (Part 1) Clear from the genealogy of PhilHealth is its continuing mandate to provide comprehensive and equitable health care. Policy-wise, there should be no more question that aside from quality education, effective public health is a good “strategy for bringing about...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT (Part II) As we suggested in our last column, it is no secret that the Philippines’ official sports program is not perfect. The first known government sports organization was the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (PAAF) in 1911, which was formed only to resolve...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT (Part 1) Tik Toks have institutionalized the Carlos Yulo landings in his floor routine for which he was awarded a perfect 15. We see people ending whatever they are doing with Yulo’s trademark open arms, or a series of tumbling into their shoes. With a 3.5 twist, Yulo...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT To be sure, and we heard them from NewsWatch Plus, there were many “sanas” during the 3rd SONA (State of the Nation Address) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Sana bumaba ang presyo ng bilihin. Sana dumami ang trabaho. Sana ipagtanggol ang West Philippine Sea. Sana...
OF SUBSTANCE AND FOREST Certainly it was exhilarating news last Sunday, that decision of Fitch Ratings to affirm the Philippines’ investment grade rating at BBB, a notch above the minimum investment grade. Equally significant is the stable outlook that Fitch maintained for the country. Such a...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT It was the American political scientist Hans Morgenthau who proposed that the word “equilibrium” is equivalent to “balance.” Nothing is more important than ensuring the stability of the whole while preserving the independence of its components. In its global...
