THE VIEW FROM RIZAL “What was the most important lesson you learned from your teachers?” That is the question I usually get from the organizers of the several events that take place during the celebration of National Teachers’ Month and World Teachers’ Day. I realized it is important for...
By Derco Rosal Investor demand for the national government’s long-term debt dropped due to reduced chances of the US Federal interest rate cuts, strong job growth, weaker peso, rising inflation, and heightened geopolitical tensions. On Tuesday, Oct. 15, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr)...
Senator Raffy Tulfo strongly opposed the proposal to privatize, in any capacity, the operations of the Philippines’ Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management system (CNS/ATM) through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). Tulfo, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public...
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is looking to file a bill that seeks to decouple the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ (NGCP) roles as both system operator and network transmission provider in a bid to address national security concerns. “I truly believe that the system operation of the...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Our health system really needs help. With a burgeoning population mainly made up of poor people (self-rated poverty is 42 percent), we are struggling to meet their medical needs aside from their day-to-day living. Government hospitals are overwhelmed by the number of patients...
REFLECTIONS TODAY It is worth noting that Jesus specifies what kind of impurity the Pharisees have in their hearts. He says that their hearts are full of plunder and evil. We are made aware that these men who follow strict external observances are not disciplined internally, for letting...
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian denied that the agency turned down requests from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for financial aid such as the Assistance to Individuals In Crisis Situations (AICS). Gatchalian had this to say during the hearing of...
Interest rates on short-term government debt continued to increase, driven by a weaker peso and external factors such as rising global oil prices and reduced chances of the US Federal Reserve rate cuts. At Monday’s auction, Oct 14, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) successfully raised P20 billion...
REFLECTIONS TODAY An anecdote tells of a group of women whose modus operandi revolves around pretending to be friends with the owner of the restaurant in order to make waiters cater to their whims. Once, they entered a restaurant and attempted to throw their weight around based on that pretense....
FROM THE MARGINS Last month, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. signed into law Republic Act (RA) No. 12022, the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, one of the priority bills of his administration. The passage of the law is a welcome development in the government’s fight against agricultural...
As interest rates drop and investors take a closer look at "risky" long-term assets, the wealth management arm of Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) anticipates more client investments to achieve 20-percent assets under management (AUM) growth for 2024. BPI Wealth president and chief...
The Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) has dismissed the administrative charges against former Department of Health (DOH) secretary Francisco T. Duque III over the alleged anomalous purchases of Covid-19 supplies worth P41.4 billion in 2020. “The administrative charges for Grave Misconduct, Conduct...
