Ernesto Hilario

It escapes me now as to who originally came up with the term “principled pragmatism” to refer to the how one’s approach to complex issues should be made with practical solutions in mind while strictly adhering to one’s principles. The objective, quite simply, is to deliver results.

Newly installed Tourism Secretary Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat needs all the help she can get from the Duterte administration—and the people under her—in the gargantuan task of eliminating the contagion of graft and corruption in her own turf.

Why is it that everytime there’s a spike in cases of violence against journalists, lawyers, judges and, of late, priests, the usual knee-jerk reaction is to call on the government to allow them to carry guns so they can defend themselves?

When President Duterte traveled to Hainan, China, in April to attend the Boao for Asia Forum, he and President Xi Jinping agreed during a bilateral meeting to pursue cooperation in offshore oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea. This agreement in Hainan followed an earlier meeting between Filipino and Chinese officials in Manila, where they agreed to pursue confidence-building measures, such as joint initiatives in the disputed waters, including oil and gas exploration and marine scientific research.

The recent ouster of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes A. Sereno by eight members of the Supreme Court (SC), six of whom should have inhibited themselves from the quo warranto proceedings but chose to act as witness, prosecutor, judge and virtual executioner all rolled into one out of seemingly personal spite, is an act of treachery that should not go unredressed.

Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo recently found herself at the receiving end of a broadside from critics apparently unhappy with her success in pushing the closure and rehabilitation of Boracay Island and the continued increase in tourist arrivals in the Philippines.

An Ilocos Norte politico wanted to give the incumbent governor a shaming in what he considers as his turf, the House of Representatives. He even went to the extent of incarcerating six Ilocos Norte government workers in a futile try at crucifying Gov. Imee R. Marcos for using the so-called tobacco funds for procurement of needed equipment and vehicles for tobacco producers.

THIS year we can expect strong foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to continue, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

We’re glad that last week, the Supreme Court ordered Solicitor General Jose C. Calida to deliver on his promise to submit the Philippine National Police (PNP) investigation reports on the killing of more than 4,000 drug suspects in President Duterte’s brutal war on drugs.

IN the ongoing debate on what type of government is better suited for the country, many people interchangeably use the terms “federal form of government” and “federal system of government” to refer to what should be the alternative to the current unitary system.

Are there vested interests behind the Dengvaxia immunization program of the health department?

The Duterte administration pushed for the prompt passage of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) bill last year to raise more revenues to fund infrastructure and other vital programs.

IF the new director general of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants to pursue the reforms she has initiated in the agency, she better learn to watch her back.

What should be the correct approach to strengthen the bilateral relations between the Philippines and China?

Once upon a time, casino moguls Kazuo Okada and Steve Wynn were formidable business partners. It was Kazuo Okada who saved Steve Wynn when he invested $260 million to build the foundation of the current Wynn Resorts in the year 2000, after Wynn was ousted from Mirage Resorts Inc. in a hostile takeover.

Will the creation of a full-fledged Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD)help solve the acute housing shortage in the country?

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman Sen. Richard J. Gordon should take a close look at reports that the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) may have caught the “mole” within the agency being used by big pharmaceutical interests to advance their agenda and short-circuit the regulatory process.

No less than Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III has ordered the Internal Revenue (BIR) and Customs (BOC) bureaus as early as September last year to intensify the campaign against smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes in the wake of multibillion tax-evasion charges filed against a local industry player.

Don’t look now, but casino mogul Steve Wynn and his Las Vegas gambling empire, Wynn Resorts, faces a losing streak, not in the gaming tables but in courts of law.

If Bitcoin is the rage these days as it promises big returns even on small investments and much-bigger returns on big ones, we can understand the huge interest in this latest money-making scheme.

Will 2018 bring a closer working relationship between the government and the two private concessionaires in charge of supplying potable water to Metro Manila and surrounding provinces?

While Congress strongly supports President Duterte’s socioeconomic program, it is also the same institution that could pave the way for the administration’s failure to deliver on its promises. This is clearly shown in the way the House of Representatives ratified the bicameral version of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) program.

The Philippine economy is doing well as its growth prospects for this year remain within target. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) sees a 6.6-percent GDP growth for 2017 based on what it said are continued robust domestic demand driven by investments and consumption, and fiscal policy supportive of growth. While the multilateral lender has lowered its 2018 growth projection for the Philippines to 6.7 percent, from 6.8 percent, it has emphasized that this still “remains one of the fastest growth rates in Asia.”

“Enterprising” officials of the pension agency for government workers have hatched a scheme to rake in a few millions of pesos in the purchase of an insurance treaty from a reputable international insurance or reinsurance provider. The practice is meant to safeguard and earn from the insurance treaty duties to the country and pensioners.

Whatever happened to the much-vaunted opposition to the recertification of some 51 contraceptive products covered by a Supreme Court (SC) temporary restraining order (TRO)?

The Duterte administration has been pushing for the passage of its comprehensive tax reform package (CTRP) aimed at raising more revenues for its various infrastructure and social-development programs. But the CTRP also includes a provision raising taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), including soft drinks and powdered juices, that’s generating concern, not only from a broad range of people—sugarcane farmers, employees of food and beverage manufacturers, owners of sari-sari stores and small eateries and ordinary consumers—who all consider it insensitive, as it would hurt them the most. All in all, if passed, the bill would adversely affect an estimated more than 1 million Filipinos nationwide.

We basically kept our distance from the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War era from the 1950s up to its disintegration in 1991, as we focused on our “special relations” with the United States. From 1991 to 2016, we maintained nominal diplomatic and economic ties with Russia but, on the whole, we still cold-shouldered the Russians, fixated as we were with keeping our friendship with the Americans and their allies in Western Europe.

IS there a correlation between free and fair elections and economic growth?

‘AN investment in the future of our children” is how it’s been described by  its main proponent, and, well, it’s right on the money.

The new head of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) should be advised by the people around her to exercise greater prudence and caution. Otherwise, the number of her enemies may keep growing and take a toll on her and the FDA at some point in time.

IF there are clear winners in the latest surveys by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) and Pulse Asia, says the ruling political party, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP), they’re none other than their two top leaders: President Duterte, the party chairman; and Senate President Aquilino L. Pimentel III, party president, who both enjoy high trust and satisfaction ratings from the public.

The new head of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Director General Nela Charade G. Puno, should be warned that she and her agency may be caught in the crossfire as warring business and political interests bring the fight to her territory.

Plans to impose new taxes to fund government’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program will be for naught if no decisive action is taken against smugglers.

With the recent Quezon City Regional Trial Court’s (RTC) decision favoring the enforcement of the Singapore-based International Commercial Court’s (ICC)  award to Maynilad, the water concessionaire is hopeful that Malacañang would finally protect the Manila Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) from the mistakes of the past administration and save it from the series of legal debacles simply by  honoring the court ruling.

I’m totally dismayed by the move of Congress to reduce the 2018 budget of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) from P623.38 million to a mere P1,000, thus practically abolishing this constitutional body tasked with protecting our civil and political rights.

On July 24 the three-member International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitral tribunal in Singapore unanimously

WE welcome the signing of the the bill granting full  government subsidy for tuition in state universities and colleges (SUCs).

When the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) issued earlier this year an administrative order requiring pure-cement importers to obtain an Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) on top of the Product Safety mark but exempting the big cement manufacturers-cum-importers, they probably did not anticipate that this would kick up a firestorm of protests from the small importers, who are now fighting for their very survival, amid the dire prospect of being pushed out of the industry by the giants.

IN a news conference after his second State of the Nation Address on June 24, President Duterte unleashed another tirade against the Commission on Human Rights (CHR): “Iyong CHR…you are better abolished. I will not allow my men to go there to be investigated.”

The scuttlebutt in business circles is that an undersecretary at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) now faces a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman filed by a subordinate over the issuance of a department administrative order (DAO) that’s seen to give undue advantage to the giant cement manufacturers-importers at the expense of small importers.

The legal tussle between the House of Representatives and the Court of Appeals regarding the detention for contempt of six Ilocos Norte officials at the Batasan complex is far from over.

Several labor groups are asking for an increase in the minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR), saying workers need higher pay to be able to afford basic goods for their families.

The recent approval by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA)  of a petition by Manila North Harbour Port Inc. (MNHPI) for a 24-percent increase in the cargo-handling tariff in the facility doesn’t sit well at all with shipping firms, as well as a coalition of consumers and commuters.

It was a move earlier described to possess surgical precision and haste. On May 30, 2016, or a month before President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office, the PLDT Group and Globe Telecom jointly announced they would acquire the telecommunications assets of food giant San Miguel Corp. (SMC) in a megadeal perceived to strengthen the duopoly of the two telecoms behemoths.

The Duterte administration’s aggressive “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure-development project is supposed to usher in what is touted as the “golden age of infrastructure” in the country, at a whopping cost of P8 trillion until 2022.

With climate change now an urgent global concern, one question  residents of Metro Manila may well be asking is: Can the government assure us of adequate water supply in the future?

Part Two

In August last year a top Chinese economist, Zhang Yuyan, director  of the Institute of World Economy and Politics of the prestigious Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, delivered a lecture at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) in Makati City, during a forum on “The Role of  China in Global Economic Affairs”.

IS a compromise deal between the government and tobacco firm Mighty Corp. regarding its tax liability in the offing?

IF the recent Asean Summit in the Philippines was a smash hit, credit should go to President Rodrigo R. Duterte as chair of the event.