Another misfiring LEDAC agenda

Oktubre 3, 2025

The LEDAC list of priority bills for the 20th Congress, much like those in past administrations, are strikingly unsuited to the country’s structural ills.

Making upper middle-income status matter

Pebrero 20, 2025

Understanding what upper middle-income status really means easily clarifies that it is in many respects just a fantasy.

Rate expectations: Rethinking PH credit ratings

Disyembre 12, 2024

The economic managers don’t seem to realize that credit ratings are just, well, credit ratings. These shouldn’t be overstated as any kind of measure of economic performance or much less of national development.

BBM admin to foreigners: Take our land, please

Nobyembre 12, 2024

COMMENTARY

The proposal to increase the land lease limit to 99 years really won’t make much difference in making the Philippines more attractive to foreign investment, and certainly won’t mean anything for long-term economic development.

Unregulated power rate hikes: What are friends for?

Oktubre 31, 2024

The automatic power rate hike proposal is yet another step backward away from protecting consumers and regulating profit-seeking firms providing essential electricity services.

Mining incentives for our industrialization?

Oktubre 30, 2024

Incentives for mineral processing will support industrialization only if they prioritize Filipino firms over foreign ones and as part of a more comprehensive industrial policy.

What, more tax cuts on the rich…?

Oktubre 29, 2024

We should be skeptical about this nonsense that tax incentives for companies to establish corporate pension plans will create wealth for Filipino workers.

The fakeness of economic freedom indexes

Oktubre 17, 2024

The metrics of “economic freedom” indexes come from a narrow prioritization of so-called market freedoms and property rights that unfortunately doesn’t align with a broader and more inclusive understanding of economic well-being and development.

Non-alignment to benefit from West Philippine Sea

Hulyo 10, 2024

COMMENTARY

The Philippines is so desirable for the US and for China because it is a geographically self-standing archipelago with an incomparably strategic location.