The acceleration of digital transformation is one of the significant beneficial developments triggered by the pandemic. Day-to-day transactions, especially online buying and selling of food, medicines and other essential goods and services are now facilitated by digital technology. Most...
On April 6, 1961 or exactly 60 years ago this week, Congress passed Republic Act 3022 that was signed into law by President Carlos P. Garcia “proclaiming the ninth day of April as Bataan Day and declaring it as a legal holiday.” The continuing observance of quarantine restrictions mutes anew...
In a move that deserves public commendation, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) barred the state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) from passing on to consumers new universal charges (UC) for stranded debts (SD) and stranded contract costs (SCC). The focal...
The pervasive, long term harm brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic emerges with greater clarity more than a year after its onset. The inequality between men and women has widened, due to the disproportionate burden borne by women who have lost more jobs and have taken on the burden of childcare...
With the promulgation last week of the implementing rules and regulations of the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer (FIST) Act (Republic Act No. 11523), the government has delivered a solid jab into the financial muscle of banks as prime movers of business and industrial growth that has...
A ray of hope shone through the thick fog of anxiety over the latest COVID upsurge: the signing into law by President Duterte of Republic Act 11534, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE). It is regarded as a “historic economic reform” that is “one of the...
This year’s Easter observance is muted and subdued by the sobering realities brought on by COVID-19. An unprecedented surge has transformed the NCR+ bubble area from a hotspot into a cauldron of infection with more than 80 per cent of new cases. The trauma of the initial outbreak a year ago...
‘Red tape’ is a politically correct phrase that refers to over regulation, excessive and redundant processes that delay action and make service inefficient, resulting in high cost of doing business. This is not only common in government agencies, but red tape also happens in large private...
The first known use of Calvary, according to Merriam-Webster, was in 1738. It is the modern version of Golgotha, literally “skull,” and a place outside the walls of Jerusalem where Jesus Christ was crucified. With COVID-19 still rampant, it is humanity’s Calvary. While the arduous climb...
Following the success of his recent women's collection with "The Impalpable Dream of Faith," Dubai-based couturier Michael Cinco releases his latest triumph with menswear. The designer's modern vision of true grit comes fully realized in a fashion editorial featuring the spring-summer menswear 2021...
On the night of Holy Thursday, at the Last Supper, Jesus Christ issued a commandment to His disciples, “Love one another,” then washed their feet as an act of humility and kindness. Hence, it is also called Maundy Thursday, as it is derived from the Latin word for “command.” While the...
World Water Day, observed on March 22 of each year, seeks to create heightened awareness of the global water crisis. Some 2.2 billion people live without access to safe water resources. It calls attention to the attainment of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 6): water and...
