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With growth in big developed economies all but flatlining, what do firms — investment banks and securities trading houses — whose entire business models hinge upon “growth” ad infinitum turn to? Where else but to ever more volatile and unreliable “emerging markets”. The Philippines is in one of these arbitrary lists of “emerging” economies...
Which of the two should Filipinos demand more? This somewhat rhetorical question popped into my mind when I came across this article depicting yet another one of our country’s tantrums towards the foreigners. Recently, District of Columbia Councilmember Marion Barry earned the ire of the Philippine embassy for allegedly being racist towards our Filipino...
So now we’re suddenly protesting the removal of a couple hundred trees from an area of land upon which an expansion of the SM Baguio mall will be built. I wonder, though: Why only now? Last I heard, the destruction of Baguio City had been going on for decades. Indeed, Filipinos have been destroying...
April 9 in the Philippines marks the Day of Valor (Araw ng Kagitingan), where in 1942, Bataan as the strongest opposition to Japanese invasion fell. To many of us, it’s just another day off from work. On a side note, it kind of feels weird for me to be writing about topics related to...
I remain convinced that America’s immense creative and commercial energy will shine through whatever social order is imposed on it; much the same way as the might of Chinese entrepeneurial and industrial ethic managed to thrive in the repressive communist regime of the mainland as well as in even most the dysfunctional and corrupt...
Pity the 21st Century wife and mother. It seems there is some kind of mysterious social force today that puts pressure on her to be some sort of “supermom”. The typical self-described supermom is a sort of sad caricature of the “liberated woman” aspired to by the old late-1960s feminist movement. She is a...
Ugh…if I see another news headline comparing the Philippines to some kind of animal, I might just get physically sick. “Asian Tiger Economy of the World”; “The dark horse of the region”. Speaking of being sick, at least one headline referred to the Philippines as the “healthy man of Asia” as opposed to the...
Recently, a renowned financial expert in the United States, Suze Orman, was in town for a series of talks about personal finance. Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) brought her over as part of their financial wellness advocacy. Naturally, one of the things she focused, and expressed concerns about, is the Filipino attitude towards...
Persuasion 101. Lay out a strong emotional context, extend sharp emotional hooks, feel the bite from the audience, reel in the catch, then flash the brand. This is the science that earns the ad agencies the big bucks. Using flashy moving visuals — and lots of money to cobble these into an “inspiring” video...
The whole issue about the request of former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) to seek medical treatment abroad and the denial of that request by the Department of Justice under Secretary Leila de Lima is really a non-issue. The Constitution of the Philippines guarantees freedom to travel in and out of the country to...
