NEWS & ARTICLES

(2nd of 2 Parts)   It is a Constitutional mandate for the State to promote a just and dynamic social order, free the people from poverty and provide an improved quality of life for all.  Towards this end, the Constitution likewise mandates that the State,...

Food security is a major global concern, especially in our country. Obtaining food security means a nation’s population has access to sufficient nutritious food to meet their dietary needs, and live healthy and active lives. Ensuring food security and nutrition is so critical that the...

“Health is economy.” This key idea, which former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia wrote about in 2020, still resonates today as the Philippines continues to recover from the pandemic.   It certainly resounded among the attendees of the Management Association of the Philippines’ (MAP) Forum...

The pandemic continues to place the world in a constant see-saw with the global numbers going up and down. It may be too early to call it, but we are breathing a little easier because the swings have been manageable (so far) and the periods...

(1st of 2 Parts)   The Philippine private pension system has serious flaws that need to be fixed. It is not portable, not funded, not adequate, not actuarially fair, not sustainable.  As a consequence, it does not ensure the continued well-being or provide a comfortable...

“Never let a good crisis go to waste. It’s the universe challenging you to rise to the next level of potential.” This is a quote from Kristen Ulmer, the best female big mountain extreme skier in the world, a status she held for 12 years....

From Threat to Crisis: Worse than Pandemic?   I started writing about the new blue economy in this column in Nov. 2015, just before the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Top political leaders of UN...

Did you know there is a Magna Carta for MSMEs that provides for 10% of government spend to be supplied by this sector? That is a whopping PHP95 Billion that could be availed of by women micro entrepreneurs as they comprise more than 60% of...

Inflation is an ever-looming threat to the survival of many small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It hurts business owners’ bottom lines in every possible way: it reduces consumer spending, especially on non-essential items; increases the cost of labor and raw materials; and places higher interest...