Commentary
Agriculture deserves a competent leader
July 1, 2023
The Marcos Jr administration has not been looking at the stark reality of long-term agricultural decline. This chronic crisis deserves a full-time, competent and diligent leader.
BBM’s US trip: It’s all about US
May 9, 2023
The current Marcos Jr administration will have US support despite its deeply corrupt, dynastic and rights-violating character. Or at least as long as the US keeps getting what it wants, and the Philippines doesn’t ask for anything that the US doesn’t want to give — like real freedom and development, or sovereignty and independence.
The right size for development?
March 9, 2023
The Marcos Jr administration’s rightsizing program goes in the direction of further weakening the government just when it is so needed to become bigger and better to transform the economy to serve the public interest.
“Wage hikes are harmful”: Kung ayaw maraming dahilan
March 6, 2023
It’s perplexing for the economic team to speak about workers and their wages as if they are a burden to the economy. It’s people who most of all create value in the economy and for whom the economy is for.
Bongbong will be tested on the economy in 2023
January 21, 2023
The binding constraint to steadier progress and development is the outdated faith in market forces. The blindness to the state’s responsibility to intervene will mean worse times in 2023. It will also reopen lockdown wounds that were hidden by last year’s rebound but haven’t really healed yet.
Marcos Jr’s first 100 days: The truth is out
October 8, 2022
The first 100 days are arguably the most crucial moment to make a break from the past – not just from the past administration but from poverty, inequality and underdevelopment. The Marcos Jr administration failed to do anything with this moment and, if anything, confirmed that it is unable to even imagine any real fundamental change.
Of fake democracy and open dictatorship
November 2, 2021
How do we vote then in 2022? We need champions of human rights and social justice, an economy governed by the people for their needs and their prosperity, equality, sovereignty, and freedom from the shackles of neoliberalism and foreign dictates and from the control of the few.
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.
2020 Yearender: Economic lessons from Jose Rizal
December 30, 2020
The worst economic collapse in Philippine history and in Southeast Asia is mainly due to the government’s stumbling pandemic response and lackluster economic measures in 2020. If, again, there is more bluster than action in 2021 then real recovery will be much farther away than it should be.
