Features
From stalled WTO to a new world order
Disyembre 18, 2017
Trade deals were stalled mainly due to large developed countries’ differences at the recently concluded World Trade Organization (WTO) 11th ministerial conference (MC-11) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The bigger powers especially the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) pushed their own development agendas and set aside that of the lesser economies, while accusing the […]
With Duterte’s TRAIN, poor pay higher taxes so rich can take home more
Disyembre 13, 2017
By Sonny Africa The Duterte administration’s Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) bill reportedly due for ratification by Congress this week burdens the poor with higher consumption taxes so that the rich can have higher take-home pay. The Department of Finance (DOF) used income tax gains for a few middle-class families as a smokescreen […]
Economic rights violations also worsen under Duterte admin
Disyembre 10, 2017
IBON Features – Contempt for human rights is fast becoming a Duterte administration trademark. Over 10,000 people, mostly poor, have reportedly been executed in its war against drugs. Extrajudicial killings, harassment and intimidation, illegal arrests and forced evacuation of communities have continued and recently started escalating. The victims include many opposing the government’s anti-people policies. Authoritarianism […]
Peace talks a casualty of the Trump-Duterte meeting?
Nobyembre 24, 2017
By Arnold Padilla IBON Features – President Rodrigo Duterte’s hosting as chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and related meetings solidified the sort of foreign policy that his administration will chart throughout its term. It is one that critics have already pointed out as still dependent on the patronage of the […]
Will amid woes: Dismantling large landholdings, staving off hunger
Nobyembre 16, 2017
Despite decades of land reform programs, millions of peasants remain landless. Land monopoly persists and continues to expand under various agribusiness venture agreements (AVAs) and other market-oriented land reform schemes such as the stock distribution option (SDO). Farmers and farmworkers who stand their ground demanding land distribution are meanwhile met with violence or intimidation by […]
Rising US, China protectionism: Philippines still on losing end
Nobyembre 14, 2017
By Audrey De Jesus Free trade agreements (FTAs) are a major agenda item for countries attending the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit. whether at the meeting proper or the sidelines. Contrary to the projection that FTAs promote partnerships for development, however, these FTAs are becoming more and more one-sided. As the world […]
No thanks: US behind Duterte’s anti-poor tax reform
Nobyembre 13, 2017
At the onset of the much-anticipated first-ever bilateral talks between United States president Donald Trump and President Rodrigo Duterte on Philippine soil, it should be reiterated that the US has a hand in what would be the most anti-poor tax program in the country’s history. The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) exemplifies how […]
Five ASEAN features that show “One Community” is exclusionary
Nobyembre 12, 2017
By Casey Salamanca On its 50th year, and under Philippine chairmanship, the Association of South East Asian Nations or ASEAN is being hyped to have brought development to its member countries. Themed “Partnering for Change, Engaging the World” for 2017, the convergence of ASEAN’s ten-member countries and its dialogue partners is anticipated to bolster the regional […]
Yolanda rehab tragedy: Bound for a repeat?
Nobyembre 9, 2017
Four years after Typhoon Yolanda struck the Visayas region, reconstruction and rehabilitation is still not being felt by many of those in disaster-affected communities. This is because the Philippine government’s approach to recovery and rehabilitation and its measurement of success has been based on an erroneous neoliberal framework that prioritizes big business interests over the […]
