OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT (Part II) Diwa C. Guinigundo Notwithstanding the sustained decline in the daily COVID-19 cases, the Pharmally scandal will never be moot and academic. Pharmally represents the corruption of our health. Its ghosts will continue to haunt us. Our health authorities always...
Of substance and spirit Diwa C. Guinigundo W hile Omicron threatens to enter the Philippines’ area of responsibility and our health authorities continue to caution us against panic, the Senate hearing on Pharmally might as yet unearth “billions of pesos in ghost deliveries of...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Diwa C. Guinigundo Those latest health data from the Department of Health looked encouraging. Only 425 new cases were reported last Tuesday with 909 recoveries and 44 new deaths. Since the start of the pandemic, some 2.83 million have been infected with COVID-19 of various...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Diwa C. Guinigundo The news about the highest unemployment rate of 8.9 percent for the whole of 2021 came out in the first week of November 2021 but its impact had already resonated with the respondents of Pulse Asia for September 2021.We saw this crystal clear in the...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Diwa C. Guinigundo Atty. Howard Calleja of 1Sambayan described the political circus prior to Nov. 15 as cirque du freak, circus of freaks. Trying to stretch their flexibility before finalizing their political plan, some politicians actually subvert the spirit of our...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Diwa C. Guinigundo It is always good for public authorities to check their bearing before continuing their journey. It might be too late to reverse course. We recall almost 10 years ago when inclusive growth became imperative becauseour economic growth, while...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Diwa C. Guinigundo In Pulse Asia’s latest survey covering quarterly rating from September 2020 to September 2021, the Duterte administration scored the lowest approval in controlling inflation. From September 2020’s rating of 63 percent, controlling inflation slumped to...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Diwa C. Guinigundo Malampaya tops both Pharmally and Starpay in size and consequence. What is at stake here is not medical gears or cash remittances. It is no less than the Malampaya gas field, an offshore, deep-water gas condensate reservoir in northwest Palawan, discovered...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Diwa C. Guinigundo Corruption will definitely be a big issue in the May 2022 election. The continuing Senate investigation points to some conspiracy to make big money out of the pandemic. This is not without social cost. Many Filipinos paid for it with their lives because...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Diwa C. Guinigundo The President’s order preventing his cabinet from attending Senate investigation was no surprise. Every time Pharmally executives and staff open their masked mouths, testimonies accumulate to corroborate possible graft, swindling and plunder. If...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Diwa C. Guinigundo It is scary, this recent economic briefing of Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua on the cost of coronavirus pandemic that is in progress. He estimated the total cost of both the sickness and quarantines on the present generation. Then he calculated...
OF SUBSTANCE AND SPIRIT Diwa C. Guinigundo T here is only one way of interpreting the recent observation of Fitch Solutions Country Risk and Industry Research that “there is a risk that policy-making processes will slow as attention is turned to political jostling rather than measures to speed up...