Ombudsman sitting on IBON red-tagging complaint for a year

February 11, 2021

The Ombudsman is becoming an enabler of the non-stop red-tagging by its failure to take action on IBON’s complaint filed a year ago. The Ombudsman should live up to its mandate and take immediate steps to hold red-tagging officials accountable.

CREATE’s three mistakes

February 7, 2021

From a development perspective, the fundamental problem is that CREATE asks the wrong question: what CIT will attract foreign investment? This puts us in a mindless race-to-the-bottom where our fiscal policy is defined by what corporations want rather than what national development and upholding social and economic rights demands.

Faster inflation underscores urgency of new cash subsidies — IBON

February 5, 2021

NEWS

As prices continued to soar amid a collapsing economy as of January, there is immediate need for the Duterte administration to provide substantial aid to the poorest Filipino households.

Inequality in a time of pandemic: perspectives and proposals from the global South

February 5, 2021

The severity of inequality has never been starker during the pandemic. We need to break the barriers of social distancing and isolation to collectively call for urgent proposals, for after all, addressing inequality will start from social solidarity.

Expansionary fiscal stance more urgent than ever

January 28, 2021

The economy is not just hindered by quarantine restrictions. It is also stifled by the unprecedented loss of informal sector livelihoods and enterprise closures which has contracted household incomes, wiped out savings, and collapsed aggregate demand. These have to be directly addressed.

Wage hike necessary, overdue amid pandemic and high prices

January 23, 2021

A substantial wage hike remains just and necessary even amid the pandemic economic shock. It is incumbent on the government to come up with schemes to enable a wage hike that increases incomes of low-income households and which will also stimulate aggregate demand in the economy. This can include mandating higher wages while giving wage subsidies to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)

Crisis upon crisis: 2021 Yearstarter Birdtalk highlights

January 23, 2021

It is important that the government acknowledge the enormity of the public health and economic crisis. This is necessary for the vital shift in attitude from business-as-usual to undertaking urgent COVID-19 response and long-term reforms.

IBON debunks economic Cha-cha movers’ claims on FDI

January 19, 2021

Charter change proponents claim that removing economic protections against foreign investments is needed for economic recovery. But FDI liberalization will instead have long-term adverse impacts on national economic development.

The 2021 Yearstarter Birdtalk

January 16, 2021

There’s certainly much we can do to make sure that 2021 is better.