AS I WRECK THIS CHAIR
by William M. Esposo
from The Philippine Star

We Filipinos are a talented race. The number of Filipino world class achievers is one proof of that. We are not, as some would paint us, a nation of losers. Up to 1965, our economy was leading all other Asian countries except Japan.
While it is true that bad leaders brought us down to where we are today — we also cannot avoid responsibility for helping dig the black hole that we are in. We did that for not knowing our …

From WikiPilipinas: The Hip ‘n Free Philippine Encyclopedia
 
Who made it to the list of the top 10 richest Filipinos for 2009? The answer is found below (and not much has changed for years).
1.  Henry Sy
Henry Sy is retail and banking magnate in the Philippines. He and his group owns the more than 30 branches of SM shopping malls in the country, Banco De Oro-EPCI Bank and majority shareholdings in China Bank. His is a classic rags-to-riches tale that has inspired many entrepreneurs and made him the most affluent man in …

by Manuel F. Almario
Spokesman, Movement for Truth in History
In his article, How did we get to where we are?, published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Sept. 12, 2009, Dr. Bernardo M. Villegas of the University of Asia and the Pacific blamed our nation’s economic failure on the adoption “for 30 long years after World War II” of “inward-looking, import substitution industrialization based on protectionist, anti-market and ultra-nationalist ideologies.” This is a distortion of our history.
In fact, this policy was in force only for 11 years from 1949 to 1960. …

by Fr. Shay Cullen
from PREDA Foundation
The United States has called for a boycott of a dozen Philippine exports because of the widespread use of child labor in agriculture, tobacco, pig raising, fireworks and the making of child pornography. The United States Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) acting under the US Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 and 2008 says some Philippines exports should be boycotted by US customers.
This is a devastating blow to the Philippine economy and should never happen but it is a …

Debate Lives Over Mankayan Sinking
by Artemio A. Dumlao

Mankayan, Benguet (July 3, 2009) – The debate that dates back in the 90’s when the first huge sinking that gobbled up huge portions of land in Colalo barangay here seemed to have endured the test of time.
Ten years after, the finger-pointing have not ceased.  Was it because of mining giant Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company which have been mining Mankayan for over 75 years or was it the faults straddling below the mining town.
Amidst the blame on either causes, the Mines and Geosciences …

AS I WRECK THIS CHAIR
by William M. Esposo
from Philstar

When the Marcos heirs were claiming a big chunk of Taipan Lucio Tan’s business empire, your Chair Wrecker read a news story where former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos was quoted as having called Tan the former ‘magbobote’ — which means used bottle collector.
In the 1950s, Chinese used bottle collectors were a common sight on Metro streets. In the 1950s, there were many Chinese who were no better off than lower middle class Filipinos. In the 1950s, the Chinese were coming here in …

by Alex P. Vidal
 
OAK BROOK, Illinois — While many traders and financial managers in the United States are groping in darkness over the gloomy economic atmosphere wrought by recession, a 41-year-old nurse from Miag-ao, Iloilo in the Philippines has successfully inched her way into home health business in Fairfield Way, Bloomingdale.
The success of Lira Faicol Mueda’s four-year-old home health business that serves the entire state of Illinois however didn’t happen overnight.
“We also encountered some problems in the beginning, but me and my husband, Edwin, do the marketing and directly manage …

by Ben Serrano 
 
            BUTUAN CITY- I had a chance to meet two sales agents of failed Legacy in 2006 and earlier part of 2008 respectively, one with acquaintance businessman in Davao City and the other one in 2008, in Surigao Cty. This time a prominent elected public official who even asked me if I do have some wealthy acquaintances or friends or whatsoever so that I will accompany them (the two) to introduce LEGACY.
 
            They recruited me even to become sales agent saying it really give them good income. By …

PerryScope
by Perry Diaz
Riding the crest of the “Reagan Revolution,” the corporate Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) reached the pinnacle of power in the business world. As the preeminent leaders of American capitalism, they reigned high and mighty. But after three decades of sustained economic growth, their empires are crumbling and the CEOs are falling.
If Ronald Reagan were alive today, he would be horrified to see how his “trickle-down economics” — also known as Reaganomics — had gone wrong during the presidency of George W. Bush. Reagan won the presidential elections …

COMMENTARY FROM PERRY DIAZ
From 7.3% GDP in 2007 to 1.8% GDP in 2009 is a situation that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo would not want to think about these days. Not while she’s dreaming of reigning in an “Enchanted Kingdom” for the next 20 years.
It’s bad enough that IMF’s forecast for 2008 is 4.4%. With the U.S. — the Philippines’ biggest trading partner — officially in recession as of December 1, 2008, the Philippine economy could implode by 2009.
As a non-industrialized economy that is totally dependent of OFW remittances, the spectre …