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BusinessMirror Editorial
Bad RH TRO
The government has embarked on a 10-point socioeconomic program aimed at significantly reducing poverty in the country until 2022. But it looks like the Supreme Court (SC) is hardly on the same page as the Executive branch as the ruling on the reproductive-health (RH) law would actually perpetuate poverty.
Time to diversify
Rice is the staple food of Filipinos, and its affordability will always be a paramount concern of any administration. In place of more expensive protein sources like meat and chicken, rice, for the poor, is usually the answer to a grumbling stomach. It is for this reason that the Philippine government has been, for the longest time, fixated on supporting rice production.
Why Trump beat Clinton
Candidates for public office at the national level are often, so far, out of touch with the concerns of the voters that when they lose, they blame factors completely unrelated. The Clinton-Trump presidential race is a textbook example.
President Trump and the Philippines
The Bible says: “There shall be the weeping and gnashing of teeth” for people who look into heaven, but are not allowed beyond the “Pearly Gates.” Apparently, some have been able to look into the presidential term of newly elected US President Donald Trump, and are already weeping and gnashing.
A stupid story
The deaths of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa and inmate Raul Yap inside their cell in Baybay Sub-Provincial Jail in Leyte early Saturday morning is a slap on the face of the rule of law. The incident cows our sensibility. No idiot can believe the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) explanation that the mayor was killed inside his cell while fighting back with a gun as he was about to be served a warrant.
Beware the noneconomic risks
Among policy-makers, so-called noneconomic risks count just as much and sometimes even more than their economic counterparts. On Tuesday one more noneconomic risk surfaced in the form of a Supreme Court decision and quite a number of Filipinos, especially of a particular age, were either enraged or have become despondent. We are 100-percent certain the Supreme Court decision will divide the $292-billion economy into those who laud the nine justices for making an equitable decision and those who condemn it for desecrating hallowed ground and spitting in the face of justice.
PHL agriculture needs a comprehensive plan
A few weeks before President Duterte assumed office, Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade suggested the crafting of a 30-year road map to end traffic jams and improve mobility nationwide. During the BusinessMirror’s Coffee Club forum in June, Tugade said the 30-year blueprint will span five administrations and will be legislated by Congress to ensure that the President’s successors would continue to implement it.
Is responsible journalism dying?
We like to think that, back in the “good old days”, the press and then the media were unbiased and objective. Newspapers were supposed to disseminate the “news”, information and facts surrounding an event. The reading public wanted to know what was going on in the world and expected the truth.
No Spam, and now no assault weapons?
Just a week after President Duterte had returned from his state visits to China and Japan, international news outfit Reuters reported that the United States State Department has halted planned rifle sales to the Philippines. Citing information gathered from the aides of Sen. Ben Cardin—who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee—the senator opposed the sale of the rifles on the grounds of the continued reports on human-rights abuses and extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.
We need a big brother
Former President Fidel V. Ramos (FVR) has resigned as special envoy to China, as confirmed on Tuesday by no less than President Duterte. In his resignation letter, FVR said he is stepping down as the special envoy of the President to the People’s Republic of China in the belief that “the efforts of our team, of the special envoy, played a modest but productive role in the breaking of the ice that led to your successful visit” to China.
Free trade’s bleak outlook
AFTER years of talks and a week or two of comic opera, Canada and the European Union (EU) stifled resistance from Wallonia—the French-speaking part of Belgium and signed their Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta). It was a good result, though with disturbing implications.
The Billionaire Rocket Boys Club
FOR years, billionaire entrepreneur and SpaceX Founder Elon Musk has expressed his passion for colonizing Mars. With the recent explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral (not to mention the trouble with the Tesla, Musk’s other high-profile venture), we wondered if his Mars enthusiasm had waned. We’re glad to say that the answer is: apparently not.
Divine inspiration?
THE “Divine Being” by whatever name or identity you choose to believe seems to be taking a more active role in the Philippines lately. No, this is not thoughts on the All Saints’ Day holiday and traditions.
Editorial Cartoon October 27, 2016
Image credits: Jimbo Albano
‘We love you, Mr. President’
“All of a sudden, Filipinos matter” is an opinion piece recently published by the South China Morning Post. The title sounds derogatory for us, but the author, Alex Lo, was just trying to explain something impressive about President Duterte. His words: “The Philippine President is making everyone sit up and take notice, and that includes Hong Kong.”
The hole we created
In recent days a fair amount of the discussion on economic issues centered on the current account, which is a component of the balance of payments that signals the direction of trade, and had been in a state of surplus since 2003. The current-account surplus had been a source of pride among the monetary authorities, mostly because it has counterbalanced the impact of the budgetary shortfalls in the fiscal sector the past 10 years, for example. The literature on national economies is filled with horror stories about the twin deficits in the current account and the government budget program.
Beggars can be choosers
A Cabinet official was once reported as saying, “beggars can’t be choosers,” apparently in imploring Filipinos to grab the jobs that are available. That official drew criticisms because of that statement.