Inflation is like taxation. It is a certainty. The only thing that is not certain about inflation is the rate at which it gallops (or trots) along. Sometimes we enjoy low inflation rates and sometimes we suffer high inflation rates. At an individual level, we have no control over the behaviour of this ill-understood economic indicator. It is an aggregate effect that bubbles up from the behaviour of individual agents transacting at the micro level. The only real way indivduals can deal with inflation is to either (1) spend less money or (2) make more money.
The trouble begins when inflation is politicised, as is being done today by some Filipino “thought leaders”. Many variables contribute to the behaviour of inflation numbers. Yet these “thought leaders” are quick to attribute the inflation rate to whoever is the sitting president of the country. That’s just plain lazy thinking packaged into that all-too-familiar brand of mediocre “activism” that prevails the discourse today. The fact is, no one person — not even the president — can directly influence inflation rates, specially in today’s hyper-globalised economy.
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The inflation rate is driven by many factors. There is no one “god” much less a sitting president who can change this rate by edict. So praying to a “god” or whining about a president is a complete waste of time. Nonetheless, Filipino “activists” are clearly exploiting a rather mundane but well-known collective characteristic of Filipino culture — their culture of religion and superstition. Religious people often irrationally attribute their troubles (or fortunes) to a higher power. That’s plain nonsense.
The idea of a more transparent cause-and-effect system underlying the drivers of inflation are apparently too hard to use as bases for most discussions. It is easier to use strong but nebulous cognitive shortcuts and emotional hooks to dishonestly influence superstitious and lazy minds. It is only when Filipinos disabuse themselves of notions that Philippine presidents — and entire governments, for that matter — significantly contribute to individual fortunes (or individual poverty) that a true ethic of wealth creation can take root in Philippine society. When you do something right, the probability of a good outcome increases. Do something wrong, and you are more likely to experience a bad outcome.
Sometimes that cause-and-effect happens within one lifetime (as what happened to tech billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg and to nations like Singapore). Sometimes it takes multiple generations over many decades or centuries for cause-and-effect streams to yield outcomes, such as how it took Europe centuries to claw its way out of the Dark Ages to its golden ages of Enlightenment, empire, and scientific achievement; or how generations of enterprising Chinese immigrants and their descendants accumulated their family estates and built their business empires. This reality should be especially relevant in recent Philippine history where governments change every six years. The economy is too encompassing to attribute specific behaviours at given points in time to whoever happens to be in power at that time.
Filipinos are better off being encouraged to focus their energies towards concerns that they can directly influence. No amount of whining about inflation will change it. But finding more, new and better ways to make more money is something each individual Filipino can do. They can work more, work harder, and/or work smarter. All of the above can yield more income. The latter one works best. Working smarter is what makes people rich. Ultimately that is what the world’s most prosperous societies did — work smarter. To work smart (or for that matter, be smart) one needs to learn how to think. Think more and whine less.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
One cannot solve a problem when one does not know the problem. Case in point: INFLATION
If you think that inflation is the general increase of goods and services, then you simply do not know what inflation is.
Are you DUMB or something?
That’s exactly what inflation is.
I mean that’s literally what INFLATION is.
No wonder the country is in the toilet
See that, ladies and gents? The gull of the ignorant is astounding as they parrot away incorrect concepts they just heard from mainstream economist.
Since even the mainstream economists think this way and most people agree to them, the problem of inflation will never be solved.
Inflation is there and will always be there over the long haul. To what extent may be another story. Still yellows pointing to a reality to make you believe another reality is not reality. Serreno was never CJ was a previous reality. Now let us wait for the dust to the settle if Trillanes legally should have been sprung in the first place. Inflation was there before and will be there after.
Filipinos should not worry about inflation because Filipinos do not understand INFLATION !!!
Inflation is a number. Filipinos are weak in numbers. Numbers are component of mathematics. Mathematics is the language of science. That is why Filipinos are poor in science.
One of the few things I like about Filipinos IS THEY ARE CARING. They care a lot. THAT IS WHY FILIPINOS LOVE TO BE CAREGIVERS IN THE U.S. because that is the best thing they can do. And that is the only thing they knew about aside from thieving and corruption.
What I know of inflation is the effect of it in society especially to the ordinary people, it is called “austerity”. Austerity is a condition of society that ordinary people have learned to adapt, especially of the working people, who have develop their own principles to cope up with the everyday needs, Generally there are three most commonly use principles 1) Be not a burden! 2) Be independent 3) Be practical! Some people think these are bad principles, some think they are good, but from the workers point of view, he/she is the human being, on that basis, that of being human, he/she will always compare themselves to you, me and especially to those who more reluctant in looking for a job. Have you already heard this comparison? “You are no different from me, you are also human, you got arms and legs like mine, you got eyes, nose, ears, mouth and a brain like I have, so get your ass off your bed and look for a job!”. In other words, this is “the way” the workers treat us all, a human being.
Here are what Filipinos consider as bad:
1. Opportunist. Filipinos do not take advantage of opportunity, else, they are called opportunista
2. Ambition. Filipinos do not have ambition so that they are not looked at as ambisyoso
3. Education. Filipinos do not go to school because they do not want to be called educado. Educado is bourgeois. They are even afraid to tell people they are graduate of universities and colleges because they are unemployed and unemployable.
4. Literate. Filipinos do not understand this word, yet, sure they do know what illiterate means and the meaning of illiterate does not mean what we Americans mean.
Inflation is the increase of prices of goods and services over a period of time. It is measured by the consumer price index. Sometimes, it is caused by oversupply of money.
The Philippines has now become a “consumer country”. We rarely produce what we consume. Our exports are OFWs, like most of the rest of us. Our OFWs remit money frequently, the recipients of these remittances, spend them mostly on imported goods. The money is rarely saved.
Inflation has been with us for many years. Especially during the Aquino era. Look at the international exchange rate of the Philippine peso…its value is going down and down every year…
Unless, we produce more of what we consume. There will be no solution to inflation. Politicalization of inflation will never solve it.. .Even, those who politicized inflation would be in power. They would never solve it…Almost everything of our consumer products is imported from China…
Rice is conversation piece among poor Filipinos because Rice is not produced in the Philippines it is either smuggled or imported because Philippines is not agricultural country. They do not want to plant rice because the return is not worth it.
What Filipinos produce are babies. They fertilized. After nine months goes out litters of babies. They pamper them. Feed them. Educate them. At 18 they are exported in the trading floors of POEA. They remit money back others are returned-to-sender in wooden boxes. Some of them fly wingless from high-rise condos in Hong-Kong.
The government are happy they collect on insurance and the slaveholders go free.
Human slaves are prime export of the Philippines. Philippines earn 10% of their GDP from human exports.
LOVELY.
So that’s why I don’t REALLY like to go & work to abroad in the 1st place! Not only we become a modern day slaves, it also causes a division among the Filipino families. Imagine if your son or daughter will go to the U.S. or Saudi Arabia for an economic reason & they should earn more money when they get there & send it to you. But years after they’d left our country & work there & even worse, if their working contracts will extend it or their boss is giving your children a permanent work in his company & promoted rather than his/her working contract were terminated & ready to go back into our country, then your children will forget you and might cause a rift among your family, parents against their children or sibling against his/her other siblings ’cause there are no love & unity among them. That is what happen when we send our OFWs to other countries & having lack or no Direct Foreign Investments in our country due to protectionism of local economy & the restrictions of foreign ownership on operating their businesses here. Its like North Korea without communism and replace it with indirect & chaotic democracy!
It’s high time to change our current constitution especially on the economic side of it & end the 30 year old Yellow democracy. It is better if our proposed federal constitution should be a Singaporean & Swiss style constitution, a hybrid of these two & it’ll work on our country. A social democratic state with oligarch-free market economy, a multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-ethnic country with a sense of discipline, hard work, free of corruption & love of a country!
Here, I recently watched this Youtube video from this Pinoy comedian by the name of Ryan Rems Sarita, who’d won a contest from a noon time show last year & he made this short joke when his mother asked him that he should work on abroad to earn money but he refused it. And the reason why he really don’t want to work on abroad is because if he work there & she’s not there then who’s gonna pay his bail if he’ll be in jailed there: https://youtu.be/TuxZ8hPtyFQ
Maybe his joke are looks corny but there’s a point on it, if you’ll left your family behind & work on abroad to earn money there but in the end instead of finding a gold or milk & honey in a foreign land, you’ll end up in a misery instead of a greater hope & promises.
According to Filipinos PHILIPPINES IS RICH IN NATURAL RESOURCES. BLAH ! BLAH! BLAH!
Problem is the government is not harnessing their natural resources because if they did it causes negative environmental impact.
Filipinos wanted to save the world’s environment. They’d rather die than trash the environment.
I LOVE FILIPINOS. THEY ARE SO FUNNY THAT IS WHY IT IS FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES !!!!
If economic growth would not lag money supply. Then, inflation would be slowed down. Economists know this…On the other hand: we have rarely grown economically.
Produce what we consume. Lower importing consumer goods from China. Jobs must be created locally, thru the establishment of manufacturing companies. Industrialization is a must…
For the past 30 years of Aquino era. The Aquino Cojuangco political axis used the wealth of the nation to be concentrated to the hands of the Feudal Oligarchs. The wealth is deposited to foreign banks. So, there is flight of needed capital for industrialization.
We have done nothing but useless politics. Instead of building the nation. We exported OFW/slaves (I’m one of them)…not finished manufactured products or goods.
Does anybody know the number of Philippine embassy staff in Switzerland is around 30? While sweden only has three staff: Ambassador, Secretary and a Filipino driver who is now a Swiss national married to a Filipina who is also working in a European embassy, oh, pleeez, not Philippine Embassy.
So, the question is. What are those Philippine embassy staff really doing in Switzerland?
Do you know Philippine embassy staff in the U.S. think highly of themselves and the Filipinos they serve are low-class people? Just watch them how they treat their “brothers&sisters”. I have first hand experience. My brown-skin punk’d nose maid-looking pinay GF was treated like a housemaid.
This is like patting the back of all Filipinos that everything is still OK, that the highest inflation rate the Philippines is now facing is not a problem that should be taken too seriously because it is just normal and, that Duterte government is insulated from the blame. Yeah right, another foolish attempt. The economic managers of Duterte are now in great panic and scrambling how to find ways to curb inflation for real, and you yourself think this is not really that serious? Is getreal not getting real ever since?
Hey, the driving factor of this inflation is food, more alarming is rice. And when it comes to rice problem, it is the government that is on top of the situation. This means another stupidity brought to you by NFA and DA for not anticipating and doing anything to solve rice crises from its shortage and price hikes. This is another de javu during Arroyo’s presidency.
Another one is the stupid TRAIN tax law on petroleum products. This government imposes higher taxes on already increasing prices of oil products in world market and so all other things affected which need the oil to get business done are ratcheting up prices also. This can be seen on the prices of meat, vegetables and fish products nowadays, for their transportation from one place to another will not be highly possible without the help of oil. All of these are basic economics and already obvious for decades but still this government lacks initiative and commons sense to begin with.
Indeed, since Duterte government is on top of economic situation and it has the broad powers to solve this crisis then the biggest blame is on him and his team. For now, bye-bye poverty and hunger reductions. 16 million Filipino voters of Duterte are still proud of him anyway and only those who did not vote for him are probably the ones who only get affected by inflation, so, still, no worries. ?
As if the Philippines is the ONLY country that had the highest inflation rate in the world? What you’re doing right now is fearmongering and it shows. Along with your assumptions that led to nowhere.
Half-truth. Rice hoarding and smuggling are also factors so you can’t only just blame on the NFA and DA alone. And since you brought up Arroyo in this, it seems you forgot to add that her administration managed the 2008 Global Rice Crisis. You just love to cherrypick things.
Lack of common sense? Debatable. If you want a soaring economy, the TRAIN tax law serves its purpose to attract foreign investors and they “need this for sustainable growth that leaves no Filipino left behind. TRAIN is already helping poor families and senior citizens cope up with rising prices.”
You’re just assuming too much. The author is right: you just waste your time whining, bitching and moaning so the joke is on you, son. 😛
Woz,
Grasping at straws once again. Yes, the Philippines is not the highest in the world but in Asia, it’s the highest. You want Philippines to be like Venezuela? I pity you.
Rice hoarding and smuggling are here since time immemorial. But this government is not anticipating in stopping or taking measures to stop hoarding in the first place, they did not learn any lesson, they are a bunch of incompetents, thus the result of high inflation rate. This is the same situation during Arroyo era. So Duterte did not learn any in the past.
In contrast, foreign investors are now seriously contemplating of leaving the country with their businesses with them and move to other more affordable countries because of high taxes here brought about by TRAIN law and also electricity cost. This TRAIN law gave additional mendicancy to poor thru CCT program but no visible good outcome because of the high prices of basic commodities by the inflation introduced by Duterte government. So instead of helping, the poor people are now getting poorer and hungrier than before.
I’m not wasting my time because this is a serious issue that needs serious government. But I think this government now is a joke as they expose their incompetencies in dealing with crisis. Instead they focus on selfish politicial persecution as trending now in the case of Trillanes. This government will also use its power to abuse like kicking out associate ombudsman Carandang after it exposed the billions of ill-gotten wealth of Duterte. If Duterte is clean, he should have signed the waiver as challenge to him by Trillanes. But because he is guilty, he keeps on circumnavigating his circus and deflecting on other issues to hide his ill-gotten wealth and pursue those he perceived as a threat to his “presidency.” And Dutertards are still proud of him. LOL! So the joke is on you, kid.
I pity you even more due to your fearmongering nonsense. If anything, what happened in Venezuela is due to the radical socialist policies of the late Hugo Chavez and it still continues under Nicolas Marudo. The situation in Venezuela serves as a reminder what socialism can bring: terrible things.
Another half-truth right there. What’s the problem is that during those times the media even barely reported those until they made it now relevant in the present administration. And you still refuse to acknowledge the fact that the Arroyo administration did their time managing during the 2008 Global Rice Crisis and survived through it. If I were you, we should give credit for what is due.
It’s only a matter of time that we should get rid of the 60/40 clause of our economic system in order to further attract more foreign investors. Of course, you still believe on the media’s discreditation of these kind of matters w/o looking on the bigger picture. If this was a different administration, all I can see is that you will contradict your statements, not to mention your fearmongering rampage.
Ehem, no. Seriously, you are wasting your time, bud.
If anything, the previous government is a bigger joke that the media successfully covered up their BS and they are all out against this admin. It’s hilarious to think that what happened to Trillanes is a ‘selfish political persecution’ while you laud at his tililing rampage against Duterte and you call it ‘democracy’. Associate Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang was fired for graft, corruption and betrayal of public trust and you call it ‘abuse of power’ while the previous administration never did such a thing. And you fall from the stupidity made by Trillanes with his “Duterte has an ill-gotten wealth” fiasco that you applaud him on signing his own waivers and yet you call Duterte ‘guilty’ of these allegations when he refused to sign. Nope, Duterte is so smart that he just comply with the Bank Secrecy Law. Again, the burden of proof is on the accuser, not the accused. He filed a plunder case against Duterte with the Office of the Ombudsman two years ago, but even after it was dismissed and the investigation terminated, Trillanes still goes on media blitzes and post statements on social media trying to keep the issue alive.
Trillanes is not serving the people anymore, only himself and his masters. As a lawmaker, he should know that the burden of proof rests solely on the accuser, not the accused. He is conveniently ignoring this rule. If he has anything on Duterte, he should show it. It seems he tried to use the Office of the Ombudsman to “expose” Duterte’s bank accounts, but the Ombudsman was not willing to participate in his little witchhunt.
You’re still laughing AND choking on your own tears. And still, the joke is on you, son. Take your Yellowtard Pseudo-Socialist trash to somewhere else.
After reading Bobi Tiglao’s article, I’m pretty convinced that you are so gullible for supporting a guy like Trillanes that you even condone his acts of mischief and arrogance.
Next you say “Ipapakulong kita!” on those who disagree with you that you will end up threaten them. Just like the guy who made death threats against Duterte supporters on Facebook two years ago.
It piqued my interest when you said that foreign investors are “now seriously contemplating of leaving the country with their businesses with them and move to other more affordable countries because of high taxes here brought about by TRAIN law and also electricity cost.” But every economist will tell you that instability will make investors more troubled. Ever.
Woz,
And the Philippines is a democratic country compared to Venezuela and yet it is getting terrible because of the drastic TRAIN law policy of this admin., which affects badly the prices of food.
Putting the blame on media again makes you look a certified naive. Let me tell you the truth kid since you are too ignorant. The media is always looking for some bad news to cover in their daily stories for the sake of company’s profit making. The more bad stories, the better for them. Between good news and bad, the latter is more money making. During Noynoy Aquino’s presidency, he also complained about the bad news by the mass media, the mediaman told him honestly that bad news are one of their major sources of income. So for you, don’t rely on mass media. Because even the so-called non-yellow media like gma, manila bulletin and manila times are also reporting bad news against Duterte and the stupid Dutertards are quicked to label them as being paid by the yellows, not knowing they are doing their thing to profit. Same goes to the so-called yellow: Abs, inquirer and rappler also published news good and bad under Duterte’s regime. So for you, if you want positive news, pro-duterte pro-arroyo, pro-marcos news everyday and always, then establish your own media and take your fellow Dutertards with you.
Arroyo’s time was the time when mass media had an abundant of profit because of the bad news brought by Arroyo thru her corruption issues. The result of which, Gibo Teodoro, her party mate suffered a painful lost to Aquino because of Arroyo’s already bad image to the public. It is not about being yellow of the media, it is actually not personal to them, it is all about business. Duterte admin will suffer next if he keeps on bringing in bad news and bad image to the public which the media will devour like vultures just like this one rice crisis. Now you get it, kid?
Looks like your hype 60/40 provision in the 1987 constitutuon is still present in the federal draft constitution. Oh, you don’t know? You are that clueless kid. Seems the drafters of federalism love the 60/40 provision so they retain it. So when are you going to get rid of 60/40? Maybe after 50-100 yrs.? LOL!
It was clearly because of the exposure of billions of wealth of Duterte that Carandang was fired. No amount of truth can cover that. He was clean and just doing his job and just being fair and brave and yet Duterte fired him for sole reason of exposing the latter’s hidden wealth. Uson and Montano should be fired first for their incompetence and abuse of public position.
Duterte cannot be sued because of his immunity, even if Trillanes tried it will be futile in the domestic court because Duterte is hiding under that cloak of immunity. Wait until he steps down from presidency, he will be overwhelmed by cases left and right if his ICC case will not push thru.
@Yellow Citizen:
And? You failed the ‘so what?’ test. And your comparison of the Philippines to Venezuela means that you’re totally running in circles with this one. There’s no radical socialism in the Philippines either I don’t even know what you’re trying point out.
Seriously? The most vocal media outlets like Rappler, ABS-CBN, and Inquirer are out against Duterte while the Manila Times are more fair and unbiased on their reports. Not to mention the first three that I’ve mention had connection with the Yellows. You just love to twist things just for your OWN convenience. I’m using CRITICAL THINKING here while you’re just media obsessed. If you want to satiate your own hate obsession with the current government then do so. Don’t take the Manila Times and Manila Bulletin with you because what you prefer is for your own personal agenda.
You shot yourself in the foot with this. So you fully admit that mass media’s purpose or presenting news is just for the money and not for what is fair and what is true. Back then, Cory Aquino is an inefficient leader that she keeps busy on paying her media friends to make things look good during her term. These media outlets are so lucky that there is no social media during that they can do whatever they can just for profit and their own agendas. And since you put Gilberto Teodoro in this kind of discussion, you only care about publicity and image and not how each candidate is qualified that they put an incompetent nincompoop like Noynoy Aquino to be president because of the use of necropolitics.
Also, I saw your contradicting your own statements regarding the media. So it pretty much confirms that what represented back then is utter sensationalism and half-truths, which it also shows your own naivete and ignorance. Now you get it, son?
I’m just pointing out the root of the problem, but it seems you forgot that instability can also sway a LOT of foreign investors away. So you’re the one who is still clueless, son. Not to mention that you love making assumptions.
Keyword = ALLEGED. But for you, alleged = truth, which is bullshit. Still, the burden of proof is on the accuser, not the accused. But you still love to twist on that. The fact is that Trillanes NEVER proven anything.
And you’re still advocating Laurio, Hillbay, and Yellow “thought leaders” for their replacement upon thinking that they’re a better fit for public position. Lame.
Don’t you ever realized? What Trillanes and co. did all of this time is waging “lawfare” against the seated president. Magdalo’s Rep. Gary Alejano and his colleagues would like to use the ICC to unseat Duterte, which they failed to do after the members of the House committee on justice unanimously dismissed their impeachment complaint against Duterte for lacking in substance. Alejano threatened to file a complaint at the ICC. Unfazed, Duterte encouraged him ‘to go ahead.’ If anything, you have no idea how the ICC works.
So why should we wait for Duterte to step down and being overwhelmed by said ‘cases’ if most of them lack of substance? You failed to make sound arguments this time around, son. Your fearmongering is not welcome on this site. Take this to reddit, plez.
Woz,
How stupid! The inflation rate in the Philippines is the highest in Asia, and my point which you failed to grasp is, should Duterte government wait until the inflation rate be at par with Venezuela’s? That Filipino people will trigger another revolution again? Seriously, inflation rate is a serious matter and is caused by government’s failure to address this problem; whatever your excuses maybe it is government that should get the most blame just like how Salceda stated it. But this author and you loves to take inflation easily just like this article. Wait until the Philippines has inflation rate just like Venezuela and Duterte will feel the wrath of the people.
The problem with you is you take personally what the negative news the mass media are reporting against your presidents Duterte, Arroyo and Marcos, not realizing that, these reports by the media are nothing personal to them but only purely motivated by their own business media interests. I guess you will not forever understand that so go on and enjoy with your baloney.
And what I meant is the different courts including the Supreme Court, that Duterte is immune from suit, and not the court under the Congress during impeachment trial. Even if there is complaint sufficient with substance and form, the impeachment complaint that will be filed in the House of Represenatives against Duterte is still useless because Congress is the rubber-stamp of Duterte. Congress won’t allow impeachment to prosper. Only when Duterte steps down from office that he will be overwhelmed by cases filed in the local courts to the supreme court, Get it? You are just so naive. OMG! Tsk
@Pinoy(?) Citizen:
It really boggles me that you had the tendency to go against people who constantly blamed the media. Quoting Malcolm X:
It’s laughable when you said people who disagree with you should “establish their own media and take their fellow Dutertards with them” shows your ignorance about the existence of alternative media. There’s an old saying, “There are two sides to each story, and then the truth.” The worst case is that when you try to exaggerate the bad, then it shows your utterly biased. Thanks for exposing yourself because all I saw is filthy Yellow Propaganda.
@Yellow Citizen:
Seems someone is on a tililing rampage…
Fearmongering BS. You keep on exaggerating stuff. If anything, our current inflation rate which is “highest” in Asia is just peanuts compared to 18.7% in 1991. And guess who’s the president during that time? Cory Aquino. And I’m just wondering that last year’s inflation rate is 2.9% and now ranges to 6.4%. And you still insist on blaming the government for that? Or you’re advocating for economic sabotage like what your fellow Yellows are doing? BTW, you should wait that the wrath of the people will be pointed at the Yellows and not Duterte. So dream on.
Says much of YOUR baloney to begin with. Don’t you know? Those business media interests from those media outlets also attracts politicians! You’re clueless about the the fact that ABS-CBN, Rappler and Inquirer are actual Yellow Media outlets that they’re doing a demolition job against their enemies. Next is that you’re gonna say Malcolm X’s quote is baloney as well, right? Pathetic.
You’re missing the point. Lacking of substance is another side of the story while your claim is questionable. If anything, what can happen to Duterte, if we go with Alejano’s antics being successful, is just as similar to Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, in order for Duterte to appear in court.
If ever Duterte were to be served a “summon to appear” at the ICC, he doesn’t need to be in The Hague all throughout the proceedings. The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber II issued a “summon to appear” rather than a “warrant of arrest” against Kenyatta because he wasn’t considered to be a “flight risk” and “that nothing…indicates that [he]would evade personal service of the summons or refrain from cooperating if summoned to appear.”
A summon to appear doesn’t entail the detention of the accused. This is different from the fate of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir who was issued a warrant of arrest. I believe the difference lies in the fact that ICC proceedings on the situation in Darfur was done through the directive of the UN Security Council, which was needed as Sudan isn’t a member of the ICC.
Duterte’s situation is more akin to that of Kenyatta than al-Bashir. Like Kenyatta, Duterte could request for excusal from continuous presence at trial. ICC Trial Chamber V granted Kenyatta’s request “in order to permit [Kenyatta] to discharge his functions of state as the executive President of Kenya.” Kenyatta was only requested to appear physically in certain crucial stages of the trial. The trial chamber argued that requiring Kenyatta, a sitting president, to be present all throughout the proceedings “may well appear as a form of punishment” and thus violate the presumption of innocence the accused enjoys (Prosecutor v. Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta).
If Duterte wants to be ballsier about it, his administration could lobby the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) to appeal to the UN Security Council (UNSC) to defer ICC proceedings against him. The Article 16 route could be used to, at least, let Duterte finish his term before ICC proceedings against him are initiated.
I get this more than you do. Alejano is so stupid that they want to use the ICC in order to unseat Duterte and now you said that we should wait that until he steps down? Their reason on filing their case on the ICC is related on his war on drugs and criminality, which is questionable. Cherrypicking stuff and assumptions makes you more naive than ever. Your loss, fam.
Instead of your incessant whining and your fearmongering rampage, you need to take this advice:
Stop blaming the government or the economy for your laziness and negligence. Focus on what you can control! Everything around us will continually grow, and so should we in all aspects of our lives.
I remember this beautiful quote by Albert Elis – “The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny.”
This is one of the reasons why keeping an open-mind to opportunities is one of successful people’s great characteristics. When there is tragedy, there will always be opportunities.
Go to the ant, you SLUGGARD; consider its ways and be WISE!
Woz,
So selective. You should have compared that 6.4% to the highest inflation ever recorded in the history of Philippines which is 62.80% in 1984 during the dictator Marcos and not in 1991 inflation. And the trend now is every month inflation is increasing, so it is not impossible that Duterte’s inflation will reach the same that of Marcos if he will not going to repel his drastic TRAIN 1 law, which causes food prices to increase dramatically nowadays, and his pending TRAIN 2 law will make the Philippines bankrupt because investors are waiting eagerly for that to be passed so that they can have more reasons to be convinced to move their businesses to other countries. One of those are Japanese companies. They are now planning to move to either Vietnam or Thailand. No investors means more unemployment and more unemployment means more poverty incidence in the Philippines. Looks like this government wanted more OFW’s in the future to salvage the third world Philippines.
Your psychological conspiracy theories on yellow mass media is your own doing. Noynoy Aquino berated all the mass media when he was president in front of the public and blaming them on tarnishing his administration’ image and you call those mass media as yellow? No doubt, you are crazy and you are propagating fake news just like your idol Mocha Uson.
You will see either Duterte will be convicted by the ICC or after he steps down from office where he no longer has immunity he enjoys now as president. Your war on drugs is sanctioned by the state coming from the horse’s mouth “it is better to kill 36 addicts a day and maybe we can get rid of what ills this country” it is so explicit and that no amount of interpretation will mean that otherwise. Your president’s mouth and actions are the ones destroying his image, he is self-destructing himself and not because of your pathetic theory of “yellow media.” So have fun and enjoy your baloney and stupidity even more you Dutertard, Arroyotard and Marcostard.
@Yellow Citizen
More like articulate than selective. At least I’m putting perspective here than your emo-induced reasoning. More like I’m using my brains and not based everything on emotions like you do.
I’m sure you love to overrate the 62.80% in 1984 but failed to see the difference. The 1991 inflation is during Cory’s term that there is no political instability during that time while the former represents the fact that instability causes higher inflation. So you’re selective as well. Nothing to see here since this is another fearmongering nonsense.
Grasping on straws as always. This is a REALITY CHECK more than what you call it ‘psychological conspiracy theories’. And your claim about ‘Noynoy berating all the mass media’ is just playing tantrums. It’s just the likes of ABS-CBN, Rappler, and Inquirer are the most powerful. No doubt, you’re just insane and you are spreading Yellow Propaganda just like your idols Florin Hillbay and Jover Laurio. I see it.
You’re assuming too much on the ICC issue. And speaking on the war on drugs:
“In November 2011, in a speech before the UN Security Council, Yury Fedotov, executive director of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), declared that illicit drug trafficking is a major threat to international peace and security (UNODC, November 23, 2011). Meanwhile, during the 33rd Asean Ministerial Meeting in July 2000, foreign ministers of Asean member countries recognized “the threat from drug abuse and drug trafficking on the security and stability of the Asean region.”
With the right messaging, the Philippines war against drugs and narcopolitics could be deemed necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security. ICC interference in the Philippine could weaken the ability of the Duterte administration to dismantle the apparatus of transnational drug syndicates, which made the Philippines a major transshipment point of illegal drugs.
In the guise of pursuing justice, ICC interference could obstruct the campaign of the Duterte administration against illegal drugs and narcopolitics, which are necessary not only for the security of the Philippines but of the Asean region as well. Thus, it’s in the interest of Asean to back the Philippines against any foreign interference that wittingly or unwittingly strengthens the position of the other side of the war on drugs—the transnational drug syndicates.
Magadalo’s lawfare against Duterte is embedded in that larger theater of war. As Alejano et al. move to demolish Duterte’s external legitimacy through their lawfare, who exactly benefits? For sure, it’s not the families, communities and cities wishing to liberate themselves from the terror and violence wrought by shabu.”
Hate to say this, but YOU are self-destructing yourself on your pathetic attempts of making a sound argument. Yellow media is no ‘pathetic theory’; more like a REALITY CHECK. What’s really pathetic that you’re just relying on mainstream media for your ‘arguments’, which is a case of lazy thinking. So have fun wasting your time TROLLING and SHITPOSTING on this good page with your filthy Yellowtardism. And thanks for proving to me that you love to call the late Malcolm X being ‘baloney’ yet he is totally right about the media.
Again, take your Yellow Garbage to somewhere else.
@Aquino-Cojuangco Citizen:
Joke is on you, kid. The Yellow Media is no “pathetic theory”. If we go by your pathetic logic, it’s like saying Hillary Clinton is cheated in the US presidential elections two years ago. C’mon, all the liberals and the MSM (mainstream media) are behind her back as they spend their time and resources spitting and making Trump a laughingstock because they’re expecting Clinton to win. And then there’s her “basket of deplorables” speech, that she self-destructed herself for it; not just her, but all the Democrats, liberals, the left and the left-leaning mainstream media self-destructed themselves with this. The result is Trump won and he became president. The rest is history.
And in case you don’t notice…
So bravo for your sheer idiocy and ignorance. Again, sorry if I’m not drinking the Yellow Kool-aide like you do.
@Woz: let me guess, you’re a Proud Pinoy?
Have you even read TRAIN? It’s mostly uninteresting. It gives more power to the tax authorities to run their little scams, and it increases the tax rate. It doesn’t fix anything that foreign investors would be interested in. Have you seen a flood of new investment? No. Thought not.
In any case, stupid laws are only one reason investors stay away. The other is Filipinos.
As for the stupid rice issue: of course its the DFA’s fault. Where on the planet is there even any such thing as “rice smuggling”? Most countries stopped that kind of nonsense back in the 17th century. Just allow the free buying and trading of foodstuffs. It’s not like Filipinos are capable of growing their own food anyway.
Another S2PDT, as usual, from the government is poor drivers are saddled with increase gasoline and are legislated to be charitable to give discounts to students and senior citizens. THAT IS DOUBLE S2PDT. DOUBLE WHAMMY.
I JUST LOVE THE WAY FILIPINOS THINK. THEY ARE SO INTELLIGENT.
Filipinos are trap in a world where they think it’s the only world there is.
An inefficient arrangement and manpower/workforce certainly make work harder. When they throw that around (“work harder”), it sounds like a motivation for slave work. We need to work and be productive in ways that make sense, not merely generating arbitrary “wealth”.
See? The definition of inflation provided here is ACTUALLY the most common effect of inflation.
General increase in the prices of goods and services IS THE MOST COMMON EFFECT of inflation. IT IS NOT INFLATION. Let me repeat that: IT IS NOT INFLATION.
Perhaps you would like to contact the U K Office of National Statistics, as their website defines inflation as ‘the rate of increase in prices for goods and services.’ They obviously don’t know what they are talking about.
Perhaps you need to know that every government agency dabbling in economics define it as such.
And then maybe someone YOU NEVER BOTHERED TO CHECK IF THE DEFINITION IS ACTUALLY CORRECT.
But hey, keep defining “price increase” as inflation if that makes you happy.
Of course, they do not know what they are talking about, like every darn economist here in this Philippines.
That is why the problem of inflation is perpetual, not just here, but also in 1st world nations.
What exactly is your definition of inflation, as you have claimed that everybody is out of step except you ?
Everybody? You do know that there those called “non-mainstream” economist, right? I am not alone in this, FYI.
So if you are really interested to learn then I suggest you first learn to stop with your f@cking assumptions.
Tobias is right. A general increase in prices is a symptom of inflation, not the proximate cause.
All fiat currencies are predicated on nothing more substantial than trust in the government that issues it – and by extension, the society that supports that government. When people lose trust in the ability of either the government or society to make good on commitments that it makes, the currency loses its value. Currency IS trust.
As for “one man” being unable to make an impact on such things, history is pretty clear on that. One man can make a big difference. Bad ones, mostly. In this case, the government is spending money the country doesn’t have on stuff the country doesn’t need … because that’s what Filipinos do. And by doing so, they’re subverting the currency.
INFLATION means there are plenty of employed Filipinos but short supply of what to buy … equals INFLATION …
Inflation is expected when government does massive spending for infrastructure projects. There are more money in circulation. Take a look at the Ramos years (1992-98). There was massive government spending and Inflation was at 8-9%.
During Aquino’s term, government spending were curtailed, that’s why inflation was at its lowest. PRRD’s Build, Build, Build increased government spending- the result: higher inflation rates.
Some sectors are harping bad news on inflation to agitate the people against the government. Oh well…
There haven’t been any new projects completed under build , build, build. Just like there hasn’t been any new projects under PPP.
It’s all smoke and mirrors. The most disappointing thing about Duterte is he is EXACTLY like Aquino. Except now instead of LAGLAG BALA you get BUKBUK rice! FAIL!
Did you ever rely so much on the media in order for you to say such things or you’re just impatient.
The author was right: you’re just wasting your time whining about it. Try to think outside the box.
Thinking outside the box will not SOLVE inflation which is CAUSED by du30 and his ECONOMIC MISMANAGEMENT and SABOTAGE.
Maybe you should stop reading FAKE NEWS FROM MOCHA UNSON
Of course, it is. Because to you, it’s easy to pin blame on the government because you’re too afraid to suggest ideas and solutions.
Maybe you should stop doing CAPS LOCK and be serious on making a discussion, not someone who wants to shut down or silence them. I never cared for Mocha but I’m laughing my ass off when you call everything from WikiLeaks is ‘fake news’.
Yes, inflation means an over-supply of money and yet where are they? most certain, is not in the hands of the poor.
There is government dole-outs (conditional cash transfers), which literally places some of the money supply into the pockets of the poor.
So inflation is not simply an over-supply of money, but also THE AMOUNT of money circulating in the economy and the amount of goods and services not being able to keep up with that.
Duterte CAUSED inflation.
Plain and simple.
ECONOMIC MISMANAGEMENT.
IDIOCY of the TRAIN LAW.
LEARN BASIC ECONOMICS PEOPLE
It’s easy to blame on the government w/o ever realizing that there are other factors as well. Furthermore, you just fell from fearmongering, etc.
Learn to use your BRAINS, people
What other factors? Please enlighten us.
These are the FACTS.
1) Philippines is the ONLY country in Asia suffering from inflation
2) The gov’t mismanagement of rice supplies caused a shortage
3) There was NO INFLATION problem during Aquino’s time
GO EAT BUK BUK RICE!
More like EXAGGERATIONS than facts.
1.) You failed the “SO WHAT?” test on this one. As if the world ONLY revolves the Philippines, which is not.
2.) Dealing with rice hoarding and smuggling =/= government mismanagement. The media only reported that now.
3.) Of course there’s none. As one of the readers stated, little inflation means curtailed government spending.
You’re just GRASPING ON STRAWS, son. Take your TROLLFAGGOTRY to somewhere else. EMO is for losers.
You would say that because you never had an inkling of thought about what government spending is.
Take your TROLLING to somewhere else, fam. This is what happens when you’re looking for the ‘easy way out’ rather than looking for ideas and solutions.
@Woz
Would you consider Mr. Trump as among those other factors as President Duterte would inclined to suggest? And how exactly?
“Inflation is… Dahil ‘yan sa — kay Trump. When Trump raised the — ‘yung mga tariff niya pati banned other items, nagkaloko-loko…”
http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2018/09/08/Rodrigo-Duterte-Donald-Trump-tariffs-inflation.html
@Tobias
I am interested to learn. That is why I asked for your, and ‘non-mainstream’ economists,definition.
Ok then.
Inflation is the increase in the supply of money and credit.
Now, if the supply of goods and services do not increase as well, in relation to the increase of the supply of money and credit, then prices of goods and services WILL GO UP.
That definition I provided is the ORIGINAL definition of inflation. Study the history of the term and you will see how and why the definition changed and became “general increase in prices of goods and services”.
Thank you for that.
When I studied economics, the dominant economic theorist was Keynes, not Friedman. As a result, I am behind the times.
Ah, I see one does not understand the power of the spirit and synchronicity.
A pity, because that is the sort of thing the Filipino needs now more than ever. Shallow, overt displays of faith can best be described as the virtue signalling nonsense of people who lack it. One who does not have the will to change and improve anything will never be able to do so, even if he has all the tools and knowledge needed to do so.
The fact that you haven’t realized this simple, spiritual reality is why you are stuck in the squalor of an Internet Ghetto that no man, not even the most desperate or depraved would enter.
Maybe, it’s the idea of wanting to become a dysfunctional mob rule country (Democracy) that’s holding us back? Maybe, the so-called Enlightenment we’ve been taught was the cause of all this achievement wasn’t its cause, but an unfortunate tumor that coupled itself with material growth of the time, leading to the inevitable ruin and disaster that those who follow it now face (Europe’s current crisis is directly related to the Enlightenment, it’s ideas, and the rejection of traditional wisdom. It’s coming revival will be because it reclaimed ancient truths)?
I’ve come to see a very discernible pattern here. It’s highly predictable. You find an issue that “most” Filipinos (Read: The Bourgeois/SJW/Chattering Class toadies and tankies that you claim to despise but can’t just ever remove yourself from them) seem to care about for all the wrong reasons, create a rebuttal or debunking, and then insert your nonsense about muh “rationality” (Maybe you are the irrational one? As Taleb says, a thing can only be rational if it contributes to survival. Being a chattering class toady for Intellectualist hogwash isn’t very survivable), muh Modern Democracy, muh Enlightenment, MUH LOGIC, etc, etc, etc. And then, when the great mass of people whom you don’t interact with on a daily basis do something that doesn’t conform to your cute little biases, you make another point complaining about their irrationality (Sounds like the godless atheist is projecting his own status) and continue to masturbate to the ideas you think are so good, but history has shown are not.
It’s amusing, if not sad and pathetic.
Here’s the thing: man is not a rational creature. Man is simply a creature capable of rational thought.
Buying a Ferrari isn’t rational, in the sense the one does not NEED IT. But one needs the emotion we all call ‘happiness’. And rewards trigger the happiness emotion.
This is why economics, TRUE economics, is simply the study and observation of the human action.
Most Failipinos mostly use freedom of speech as freedom to bitch.
FaiLipines is the only country that has patriotic jingle plugged in every station break …. patriotic jingle is only for a country who are not patriotic and nationalistic. The jingle is proof that FaiLipinos would rather be somewhere not FaiLipines so their lives can be run like heaven by foreigners and former-colonists than run by FaiLipinos like FaiLipines.