The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
For some, the fact that we picked Benigno Aquino III over Joseph Estrada, an actor and convicted—albeit pardoned—plunderer, in 2010 is indicative of our growing political maturity. If we consider it mature to pick white or black. Indeed, both political personas are miles apart, the difference, then akin to day versus night.
Points of View & Perspectives
July, 2015
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12 July
A slumbering rain god
Drought in British Columbia and other parts of Canada, but especially in Vancouver, which Filipinos have given the moniker “Vanc-ulan,” with obvious reference to its being rainy, in the past few weeks, has blazed the headlines.
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12 July
Will Bongbong run for president?
The only son and namesake of former President Ferdinand Marcos is being mentioned as a possible alternative candidate in next year’s presidential elections. He is up for reelection as senator and is perceived as a sure winner.
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12 July
China allays war fears over territorial row
China has sought to allay fears in the Philippines of a possible armed conflict over the growing tensions related to the territorial dispute in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).
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6 July
Qualities of the next president
In our advocacy for voter education, one of the default tasks is to identify the leadership qualities we want. Oftentimes, those are dictated by the qualities of the incumbent, rather than what we might consider the ideal. And whether we are conscious of it or not, in our highly charged political arena, the tendency is to seek the opposite or …
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6 July
Lessons from Divo
Divo gazes at me, his marble eyes translucent as still water with no obvious thought in them. I am scooping teaspoons of his tuna meal from a can, crooning, “Wait, Divo. Good boy.” When I scrape bits of the meal stuck in the can, he knows I’m about ready to take his plate to his feeding corner.
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6 July
Binay battles the Ombudsman
Vice President Jejomar Binay’s accusation of “selective justice” against the Aquino administration flies in the face of recent directives by the Office of the Ombudsman involving various personalities of different political stripes.
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6 July
8990 Holdings’ bond float
The move of 8990 Holdings, now the No. 1 low-cost housing developer in the country, to issue bonds is something worth emulating for other listed shares, as it would result in increased business growth.
June, 2015
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29 June
Economic development as a presidential platform
The cliché derogatory line about the importance of the economy to political realities and to fiscal governance was once eloquently encompassed in the single, rather crude declaration, “It’s the economy, stupid!” The term, uncouth and rather degrading to those it is addressed, those being a government official on one end, and the public on the other, in a good number …
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29 June
Mirroring histories and losses
Picked during a meeting of Women Elders in Action (WE*ACT), the defunct organization to which I belonged, to attend a video presentation on the Alberta Tar (Oil) Sands development, I had acquiesced but added that I didn’t know how to find Coast Salish territory, where it would be held.