The unbelievable indifference of the Duterte administration

July 16, 2020

FEATURES

The Duterte government insists that it is successfully responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The reality is a little bit different – it hasn’t done enough, and is planning to do even less.

On the BBB fix: Why do you build me up?

July 11, 2020

FEATURES

The government is still hell-bent on pursuing a grand infrastructure program amid the pandemic and despite its actually bleak accomplishments so far. The government says it will revise its list of infrastructure projects to adapt to COVID-19. But does it really have the will to shift the focus of its infrastructure program, or even the capacity to fully implement this?

Extend Preparation through a 6-month Bridge Period, and Postpone School Opening to January 2021

July 7, 2020

POLICY NOTE

The EFD shares in the objective of ensuring the right and access to education of Filipino learners, and believes that learning should continue despite the pandemic. But we cannot support any rushed implementation without ensuring the maximum support to the three most important stakeholders – teachers, learners and parents.

Hatid Probinsya and Balik Probinsya, more harm than good?

June 29, 2020

In the absence of a mass testing program, Balik Probinsya and Hatid Probinsya are turning out to be additional sources of COVID-19 transmission in some provinces. It is a disaster slowly unfolding especially with the healthcare capacity in rural areas much lower than in the NCR.

Part 2: The anomaly of transport modernization

June 27, 2020

FEATURES

The Duterte government can address the transport crisis in the time of COVID-19 and in fact can look at the pandemic as an opportunity to overhaul the system. The health protocols may be followed indeed if only the government recognizes and addresses the transport crisis in a scientific manner.

The anomaly of transport modernization

June 26, 2020

FEATURES

If there is anything that COVID-19 has emphasized, it is the fact that the Philippine transport sector is in its worst crisis – a reality that the Duterte administration had repeatedly denied before the pandemic. If the economy has to transition to a genuinely better shape, the government has to address the basic woes of the transport sector. Vice versa, if the mass transport system has to be more efficient, the economy has to be transitioned to a genuinely better one.

PH Debt: All’s well that swells

June 13, 2020

The finance department underscores the need for government to borrow from foreign sources to fund its economic recovery plan. Multilateral and country creditors have unsurprisingly exploited the situation and recycled funds to lend. But do we really need to borrow for COVID-19 response? How are we going to pay for all of these debts?

Anti-terror law worsens economic policymaking for a few at the expense of the many

June 8, 2020

STATEMENT | The Duterte administration wants an anti-terrorism law giving it unchecked power to surveil, harass, arrest and detain government critics under the pretext of fighting terrorism. It has been on a trajectory of violating human rights, due process, rule of law, and accountability since the start of its term. With the new law, the government will achieve authoritarianism unmatched since Martial Law in the 1970s.

Statement on government’s COVID-19 stimulus measures

May 30, 2020

STATEMENT

Fiscal decisions are critical especially in times of crisis – when the need is greatest for the State to commit to its obligation to respect, protect and fulfill the social and economic rights of the people.