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We will green more backyards
October 16, 2021
From idle or sweat-and-blood-stained rural land
greened by united farmers’ hands
To urban Church grounds, factory belts,
mass housing patches, informal decks,
Add to the school plots, herb and vegetable walls,
rooftops and flowerbeds,
We are greening more backyards.
Who is afraid of degrowth?
A Global South economic perspective
October 12, 2021
Environmental scientists, economists, academics and social movements have been talking about “degrowth” as an approach in dealing with the climate crisis. The concept makes perfect sense, but it has provoked doubts and objections, even among well-meaning environmentalists.
The neglect of PH education: Where do we go from here?
October 5, 2021
The Philippines is one of two remaining countries in the world that have not reopened schools and conducted in-person classes. This is quite telling not only of the Duterte government’s poor pandemic response but also of the pre-existing problems of the Philippine education system. This is aggravated by the administration’s budget mispriorities, where it allocates more for infrastructure projects than education.
Railroading 2022 national budget without ayuda confirms Duterte govt’s apathy
October 2, 2021
Important pandemic emergency aid programs implemented in 2020 were discontinued in 2021 and are also not in the proposed 2022 budget. The budget and social welfare departments should bat for this in the 2022 expenditure plan in Senate and bicameral deliberations
Worsening joblessness and informal work can be fixed with immediate ayuda, stimulus
September 30, 2021
Latest labor force data of high unemployment and increasing informal workers should be a wake-up call for government to immediately undertake stimulus measures.
Billionaire tax can fund ayuda and health–IBON
September 27, 2021
The Duterte government’s insistence that it lacks funds for a bigger COVID-19 response does not hold water. Substantial revenues can be raised by taxing the country’s super-rich who can well afford to contribute much more to pandemic response and other needs.
Golden years?: The real long-lasting economic damage wrought by Marcos
September 21, 2021
The Marcos administration was notorious for world-beating cronyism and corruption. But this is not enough to fully explain the worst economic collapse in Philippine history and continued decline long after the dictatorship was overthrown.
On military modernization: Money for nothing
September 16, 2021
There have been a series of mishaps lately, involving newly acquired AFP aircraft. Yet, the Duterte government continues to prioritize defense in the 2022 budget, particularly AFP modernization.
Rediscovering our traditional and indigenous knowledge in agriculture
September 15, 2021
To rediscover is such an apt word for our traditional and indigenous knowledge in agriculture – it is there, but we have gone through episodes of collective memory loss. Such loss can be directly traced to the rise of modern capitalism.
