Is it time to move on?

The resiliency myth

June 29, 2022

The Philippines recently ranked as one of the five worst places to be as the ripples of COVID-19 continue. This is contrary to the outgoing Duterte administration’s repeatedly built narrative – that it did well on the pandemic and is leaving behind an economy that is on a quick rebound.

Global COVID-19 Vaccine Inequality

May 27, 2022

New taxes to pay for Duterte indulgences, not for COVID response—IBON

May 26, 2022

The DOF’s proposed new taxes for the incoming administration are for paying off the Duterte government’s relentless borrowing for its infrastructure and debt servicing fetish, not for much-needed COVID-19 response.

IBON on the inefficiency of WHO’s COVAX mechanism

May 26, 2022

The scourge of price hikes

April 16, 2022

Prices keep rising, cash subsidies are limited, and real wages keep falling. The situation will not get better if the government does not acknowledge that the rampant jobs crisis and worsening poverty are huge problems that require big solutions.

Chronically ailing PH public health system under Duterte

April 7, 2022

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Duterte has not taken significant measures that will strengthen the public health system and make health services accessible and equitable to the Filipino people.

10 things about the economy that the Duterte administration should admit

April 4, 2022

At its economic briefing, the Duterte government will likely hype growth, claim successful COVID response and play up so-called reforms. All this seeks to distract from how social and economic development has been set back by the administration even before the pandemic.

Gov’t, not pandemic, caused record deficits and debt – IBON

March 5, 2022

Had the Php5.3 trillion gross borrowings in 2020 and 2021 been spent on ayuda and producer subsidies, and less on infrastructure and debt servicing, economic rebound would have been bigger, revenues would have recovered faster, and there would have been less need for borrowing.

Record debt not due to COVID-19 response

March 5, 2022

The Duterte administration did not change its priorities despite urgent pandemic needs and, if anything, only used COVID-19 response to cover up massive borrowings for continued debt servicing and infrastructure.