Features
Building destruction? Foreign creditors gain more from Duterte’s infra plan
Hulyo 21, 2017
by Arnold Padilla #PeoplesSONA2017 / IBON Features — One of the anticipated highlights of President Rodrigo Duterte’s second State of the Nation Address (SONA) is his grand infrastructure plan dubbed Build! Build! Build!. There are concerns that it would result in a heavy debt burden. The issue is valid. After all, the price tag of […]
Dutertenomics: lost cause?
Hulyo 20, 2017
During the Duterte administration’s first year, there was all the hype about aiming for inclusiveness and championing the common Filipino family’s dream for a comfortable life. The President took important, some unprecedented steps including hinting nationalism, willingness to work with progressives in the cabinet and pursuit of peace negotiations. Yet the administration capitalized on bloody […]
Rehashed neoliberal policies: One year of Dutertenomics
Hunyo 28, 2017
The Philippines is in a worsening socio-economic crisis. The direction of economic policies under the Duterte administration is alarming and in urgent need of correction. The government’s economic team still uses the anti-development policy framework of past administrations which will mean greater economic distress for the majority of Filipinos. The economy’s poor performance since June […]
Buwis(et)! DOF’s Top 5 Tax Reform Lies
Hunyo 20, 2017
By Sonny Africa IBON FEATURES — The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN), the first part of the Duterte administration’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP), has hurdled the House of Representatives (HOR) and is up for deliberations at the Senate. The Department of Finance (DOF) targets approval of TRAIN, or House Bill No. […]
A challenge to reverse power privatization
Hunyo 16, 2017
In 2001, the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) was enacted with the promise of delivering affordable and reliable electricity to the country. Sixteen years later, electricity remains expensive and unreliable, and electric power industry monopoly has intensified, further enriching big firms. The following points elaborate on why the Duterte administration should all the more […]
PDP 2017-2022: Unchanged Market Fundamentalism (Second of Two Parts)
Hunyo 9, 2017
by Sonny Africa The Duterte administration’s public launch of its PDP 2017-2022 on June 2 somewhat coincidentally happened the day after the supposed June 1 end of the fifth round of peace talks between the Philippine government’s peace talks and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). The cancellation of talks by the government […]
PDP 2017-2022: Unchanged Market Fundamentalism (First of Two Parts)
Hunyo 6, 2017
by Sonny Africa The Duterte administration’s public launch of its PDP 2017-2022 on June 2 somewhat coincidentally happened the day after the supposed June 1 end of the fifth round of peace talks between the Philippine government’s peace talks and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). The cancellation of talks by the government […]
The Shin Sun workers – a test case for DO 174
Mayo 27, 2017
IBON Features – The Korean-owned Shin Sun Tropical Fruit Corp. in Brgy. San Miguel, Compostella Valley has approximately 287 agency-hired banana workers employed under ECQ Serve Human Resources for different jobs such as harvesting, fruit care, plantation, and delivering services. Most of the workers had been working for the company for two to seven years […]
Four reasons why RCEP will be detrimental to Filipino farmers
Mayo 16, 2017
The fight of Filipino peasants such as the farmworkers of Hacienda Luisita and Lapanday Foods Corporation for land, food, and justice, stands to be further undermined once the Philippine government fully accedes to the China-backed mega Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). While the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was seemingly put […]
