Duterte administration

Gov’t fails to convince int’l community of improved human rights situation in PH
November 15, 2022
At the United Nations Human Rights Council’s 4th cycle of the Universal Periodic Review, many countries expressed concerns about ongoing human rights violations in the country and the Philippine government’s inadequate responses to recommendations made in the last cycle in 2017.

PH gov’t violated social and economic rights during and after COVID-19
November 14, 2022

PH government misleading UN on state of social and economic rights
November 12, 2022
The Philippine government grossly misleads the United Nations Human Rights Council about the state of social and economic rights in the country in the report it belatedly submitted for the 4th cycle of the Universal Periodic Review, according to the Philippine UPR Watch network.

PH government violating social and economic rights during and after COVID-19
November 11, 2022
The policies of the Philippine government during and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 adversely affected the realization of economic, social and cultural rights for the people.

New admin needs new policies to fix old problems — IBON
June 30, 2022
As the next president is inaugurated and the new administration is ushered in, new policies are desperately needed to fix old economic problems that worsened under the Duterte administration.

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.

No Mavericks Among Economic Top Guns
June 15, 2022
The next administration’s economic agenda will be fully presented at the state of the nation address in July. There are hardly any specifics yet. Still, the tidbits already emerging can be interpreted against the incoming economic team members’ individual track record and especially in the context of the long arc of neoliberal thinking that has defined Philippine policymaking over the last half century.

PH among worst performers in Southeast Asia
June 13, 2022
The government hypes the Duterte legacy but comparing growth, jobs, inflation, trade and debt figures with other Southeast Asian countries shows the Philippine economy as among the poorest performers. This is due not only to its poor COVID response, harsh lockdowns and refusal of economic stimulus but to pre-pandemic mispriorities.

1.3M jobs lost: Fall in number of employed bursts full recovery hype bubble
June 11, 2022
The incoming finance secretary claims that the economy is on its way to full recovery, but the over one million drop in employed persons in April 2022 proves otherwise.