The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
REALPOLITIKBy Benjie Alejandro In the Senate, leadership changes are rarely about principle or institutional continuity. Whether framed as a coup, power sharing, or term sharing, the underlying dynamic is the same: the bargain. Votes are secured, alliances are forged, and promises are made—not for the sake of transparency or reform, but to protect personal interests and maintain the status quo. …
Points of View & Perspectives
February, 2026
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9 February
Building a Bagong Pilipinas: Investments, Infrastructure, and the Empowerment of Filipinos
LOVE FOR ALLBy: Virginia Rodriguez The recent meeting between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Mr. Katsuya Nakanishi, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Corporation, may appear routine in diplomatic calendars, but it carries weighty implications for the country’s economic and social direction. It reflects an administration intent on translating high-level partnerships into concrete benefits that ordinary Filipinos can feel in their …
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2 February
Growth downgrades and the cost of complacency
The recent decision by highly respected international financial institutions to lower their growth forecasts for the Philippines should have set off loud alarm bells than it apparently did in Malacañang. While the Palace has downplayed the revisions, citing inflation as a manageable concern, the downgrades have nonetheless sent ripples of uncertainty through the business community—an audience far less inclined to shrug …
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2 February
Steady Gains and Subtle Symbols: An Economy Finding Its Footing Under Marcos Jr.
LOVE FOR ALLBy: Virginia Rodriguez The Philippines is gradually moving toward economic improvement under the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. While the country continues to face challenges, recent developments show steady progress that deserves recognition. Reports presented during the 7th Economy and Development Council Meeting in Malacañan highlight positive trends in employment and poverty reduction. These figures reflect …
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2 February
Venezuela Today, Philippines Tomorrow?
REALPOLITIKBy Benjie Alejandro On January 3, Washington jolted the international community by seizing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and flying him to the United States for trial. Without UN authorization or even prior consultation with Congress, President Trump declared that America would “run the country” and hand over Venezuela’s oil sector — the largest proven reserves in the world — to …
January, 2026
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26 January
Optics over accountability
The spectacle of accountability in the Philippines has become selective, theatrical and ultimately hollow. A former senator sits in jail. So does a wealthy, well-connected contractor, whose husband was detained in the Senate holding cell. These images are paraded as proof that no one is above the law. Yet, behind the carefully staged optics lies a more disturbing reality: the system …
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26 January
The First Lady, Two Visions of Governance, and the Meaning of Progress”
LOVE FOR ALLBy Virginia Rodriguez When the First Lady stepped into Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, the visit quickly became more than a ceremonial tour. It turned into a moment of political reflection—an encounter with what purposeful, disciplined, and forward-looking leadership can achieve when vision is matched by execution. What greeted First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos was not infrastructure designed …
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26 January
Even Presidents Get Sick
REALPOLITIKBy Benjie Alejandro When President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. quipped, “Rumors of my death are highly exaggerated,” after being hospitalized, the remark carried humor but also a sobering truth: even the highest leader of the land is not exempt from fatigue, illness, and the need for rest. It was a reminder that beneath the title of “President,” there is still a …
October, 2025
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6 October
Unity, accountability in the wake of the Cebu quake
The magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck Bago City, Cebu, on September 30 shook more than just the ground—it rattled a nation already grappling with the weight of corruption, poor governance, and deep regional inequalities. As the rubble is cleared and aftershocks still threaten already damaged homes and buildings, we must take stock not only of what was lost, but what can …
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1 October
The reckoning of Rodrigo Duterte—justice or diversion?
As the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee resumed its high-profile hearings into massive infrastructure-related corruption, another political earthquake rippled through the nation—this time from The Hague. On July 4, the International Criminal Court (ICC) formally charged former President Rodrigo Duterte with three counts of crimes against humanity, related to his bloody and controversial war on drugs. The implications are enormous—not only …