OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Diwa C. Guinigundo Two columns ago, we referred to noted book author Yubal Noah Harari’s contribution to Financial Times published in February which argued that “while science has turned (epidemics) into a manageable challenge,” we reaped death and poverty during...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Diwa C. Guinigundo After inflicting us with economic scars which portend another bad year for output and employment, this pandemic is spreading the spirit of fear. From a Christian perspective, this is pathetic. The Scripture is categorical that “God hath not given us a...
Of substance and spirit Diwa C. Guinigundo There is science in lockdowns. Starting the first quarter of 2020, with shared information and scientific findings among scientists, lockdown strategies have been designed to be principles-based, aimed at fast but regular succession between lockdowns and...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT T hree years ago, Yubal Noah Harari released his book, 21 Lessons for the 21 st Century . Harari wrote on contemporary affairs and future of human societies. He observed the overwhelming victory of liberal democracy at the end of the 20 th century against fascism and...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT L ast week, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report on the Philippines’ death statistics for January 2019 through December 2020 must have surprised many. The PSA reported fewer deaths in 2020 relative to 2019 tally. Despite the 9,244 deaths due to COVID-19 in...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT O ur column last week “Israel shows how to do things right” elicited several comments, admitting that while Israel also fouled up in the early days of the pandemic, it got things right towards the end of 2020. Israel’s government imposed lockdowns a few times and...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Diwa C. Guinigundo In the last quarter of 2019, this column discussed in three parts the whys and wherefores of financial literacy. We were inspired by the earlier discussions during the first Asia Pacific Financial Education Institute organized by our friend Dave Fernandez,...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Diwa C. Guinigundo In many of our previous columns, we would always emphasize that mobility and business activities are not something that government can simply mandate and wish for. Mobility and business activities are not something like rising pork and chicken prices that...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Diwa C. Guinigundo Our economic managers fully realize, and we agree, that prior to the pandemic, they inherited one of the most promising, most dynamic emerging markets. We reaped the benefits from a 30-year pursuit of policy and structural reforms that unleashed the...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Diwa C. Guinigundo UP Diliman early this week unveiled an art installation appropriately labelled “Barikada” at the Oblation Plaza. Toym Imao could not have created a more fitting tribute to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1971 Diliman Commune. When this eight-day...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT O ne thing we cannot ascribe to the British is the propensity to secrecy. In monetary policy, the Brits could not be more than transparent. The Bank of England for over 20 years has been publishing the minutes of its meetings on monetary policy held eight times a year. While...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Diwa C. Guinigundo We certainly are not Hamlet to contemplate on whether it is better to live or to die. It is quite obvious for us to keep safe and stay healthy. We all want to live unless we give more weight to Hamlet’s musing that life is lack of power. Some of us must...
