It’s raining season once again and we face the yearly problem of flooding in Metro Manila. I keep getting calls from broadcast media asking for interviews about the problem, its historical origins and urban redevelopment solutions. READ FULL STORY
Nancy Binay is the product of a political system in which “Anak ni…” is a prevalent and effective campaign slogan. She joined the senatorial race without a day of experience in elected office, and she survived the campaign without engaging her opponents in televised debates. READ FULL STORY
Mateo Ragonjan took a leap of faith in August last year. The executive sous-chef of a seven-star luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi packed his bags to take up a similar job back home in the Philippines. He is one of a small group of like-minded Filipinos returning to jobs back home, a sign of confidence in an economy that for decades has seen millions leave in search of better prospects overseas. Ragonjan now helps run a 300-man kitchen that caters to guests and high-rollers flocking to Manila’s newest and most luxurious casino resort, one of 400 overseas Filipinos who came home to work at the hotel. “The Philippines is booming at the moment, so I thought it was the right time to go back,” Ragonjan, 41, said on a break from his 10-hour shift at the Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila Bay, developed at a cost of $1.2 billion. The Philippines economy is leaving behind its reputation as a regional laggard. It reported annual GDP growth of 7.8 percent in the first three months of the year, outstripping China to make it Asia’s fastest-growing economy. Earlier this year, the government secured an investment grade credit rating, reducing its borrowing costs, while the stock market has reached a series of record highs this year. Returnees like Ragonjan are just a trickle compared to those still leaving the country, but the hope is that the more the country can draw the diaspora back to the Philippines the more that the entrepreneurial Read More …
Just like its infamous traffic gridlock, Manila’s airport woes have defied solution for the longest time. But if our officials are to be believed, there is a glimmer of hope, at least on the airport scene. (Forget the monstrous traffic jams on EDSA, they’re beyond salvation.) The Aquino administration is hell-bent on finding a long-term solution to Manila’s airport woes after numerous rehabilitation efforts at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have failed to uplift the gateway’s reputation as one of the world’s worst airports. Transportation and Communications Secretary Emilio Abaya said the government is studying several options on whether to rebuild NAIA into a modern facility or move the international airport somewhere else. In a speech before the Makati Business Club last April, Abaya said his department has submitted three proposals on the airport system to President Aquino and the Cabinet. The first option, Abaya said, involves a single airport system. Under this proposal, the government will end operations at NAIA and sell the property, and develop the Clark International Airport in Pampanga. The second option is the twin airport system, where the government will develop Clark while maximizing operations at NAIA through 2025. At the same time, the government will look at an alternative site for a new airport, preferably 25 kilometers or 30 minutes away from the NAIA. The third option is also a twin system, where the government will develop both Clark and NAIA, while considering an alternative airport. “Previously, the direction was to move all Read More …
Overseas absentee voting (OAV) turnout in the last May 13 mid-term elections was way below the Commission on Elections’ hoped-for 60 percent in major precincts around the globe. Based on available reports, the overseas vote may be even less than the 26 percent achieved in 2010 despite the stepped-up OAV campaign, with some major areas logging only five to eight percent voter turnout. The troubling development prompted Senator Franklin Drilon to demand an explanation from the Comelec and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). Drilon, tipped as the incoming Senate president, wanted to know how the poll body and the DFA spent the additional funds they received to ensure that the overseas voting turnout in the last elections would surpass that in the 2010 presidential polls. Through Drilon’s efforts as chairman of the Senate finance committee, Comelec received P105-M from the 2013 national budget, while the DFA was granted P43-M to implement the absentee voting law and “influence the result of the election by electing qualified leaders,” Drilon said. But the turnout of only 113,209 overseas Filipinos means each absentee vote costs P1,310 per vote. “This is outrageous. I wonder how the Comelec and the DFA can justify these numbers,” said Drilon, one of the principal sponsors of Republic Act No 9189, or the Overseas Absentee Voting Act enacted in February 2003. “I hate to sound like a broken record, but I again deplore the dismal implementation of the absentee voting law in the just-concluded midterm elections,” Drilon said in Read More …
Three beaches in the Philippines landed on CNN’s “100 Best Beaches” list. These are Palaui Island in Cagayan Valley (No. 10), El Nido in Palawan (No. 14) and Puka Beach in Boracay (No. 84). CNN cites Palaui’s “raw beauty’, calls El Nido “the gateway to adventure”, and bills Boracay “a tropical paradise”. READ FULL STORY
The Philippine economy grew by 7.8% in the first three months of 2013, surpassing every single analyst estimate and putting it just above China as one of Asia’s fastest growing economies. The torrid growth, the best in nearly three years, is especially impressive given that exports declined 6.2% as electronics shipments collapsed. READ FULL STORY
Dan Brown could be right: Metro Manila indeed has places with names that may lead the unwary to the “gates of hell.” While many communities in this predominantly Catholic country invoke the names of saints and things holy, there are pockets with a shared history of darkness called “Kalye Impyerno” (Hell Street) in Navotas City, “Pasong Dyablo” (Devil’s Pass) in Muntinlupa City and “Pulong Dyablo” (Devil’s Island) in landlocked Antipolo City. READ FULL STORY
By Ana Maria Villanueva-Lykes Back in the day, women hid their smiles behind lace fans. Today, girls hide behind profile pictures doctored by Photoshop. There was a time when men would agonize to hear the “matamis na oo.” Today, guys will celebrate a mere “K”. After all, a “K” can mean “Ok, I will go out with you.” And this single character can eventually lead to “I do”. How the Filipino love language has been reduced to a letter is a love story in itself. Although Filipino courtship has greatly evolved since the days of Maria Clara, how women are regarded has always been a constant. Filipinas are mostly considered as the homemaker, but they are highly revered and treated like queens. And they see this treatment with indifference knowing that they are entitled to this kind of worship. Filipinas cannot let on about their feelings. They are expected to be coy and pakipot. It would be scandalous of her to show any interest, much more to make the first move. But even before any move is made, permission first needs to be obtained. Courting the parents It is customary for the gentleman to request approval from the lady’s parents. In fact, back then, when one tries to win the affection of his love, he is really trying to win the heart of the family. Often, this takes years – months of cutting wood for the family, days of following her around like a dog even though she pretends that Read More …
Will the Philippine government’s ambitious plan to attract luxury tourism threaten the environmental wonders that have made the country one of the last unspoiled tropical destinations in Asia? Two islands—one pristine, the other overpopulated—sound a cautionary note. READ FULL STORY