A taxpayer-friendly system
Filipinos will no longer have an excuse to procrastinate on fulfilling their obligation to pay taxes now that President Marcos has signed Republic Act No. 11976, or the Ease of Paying Taxes (EOPT) Act,...
View ArticlePulling the plug on voucher program
The frenzy of the holidays may have eclipsed the Dec. 18 memorandum issued by the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) which directed all state and local universities and colleges (SUCs and LUCs) to...
View ArticleWhen a Cha-cha ad backfires
If the intent had been to generate public discussion, some proponents of current moves to amend the 1987 Constitution have certainly succeeded—in a negative way. A television commercial blaming the...
View ArticlePreserve and restore, not demolish
Another heritage building is set to face the wrecking ball: the 104-year-old Sta. Mesa Fire Station along Magsaysay Boulevard in Manila. The fire station was built in 1919—the last in the American and...
View ArticleCabinet revamp to combat inflation
After months of intense speculation, Deputy Speaker Ralph G. Recto finally took his oath as the new secretary of the Department of Finance (DOF) last week, replacing Benjamin Diokno who in turn took...
View ArticleThe pitfalls of Asean neutrality
It’s often said that good fences make good neighbors, but in the case of the Philippines, the fence is the deep blue sea, one it has the misfortune of sharing with China and a handful of other...
View ArticlePUVMP as a human rights issue
There is no denying the wisdom nor the urgent need to make the iconic jeepneys that have long served the commuting public and have become part of the Filipino cultural landscape, more efficient and...
View ArticleToxic display at mass piety
This year’s celebration of the Feast of the Black Nazarene in Manila showed, once more, the strong attachment of Filipinos to some religious rites of the Catholic Church. Last Jan. 9, approximately 6.5...
View ArticleLong weekend: Boon or bane?
Who doesn’t love long weekends? President Marcos’ long weekend policy has recently gained traction in the business community with two of the biggest groups voicing support for it. This is quite a...
View ArticleAn action plan for agriculture
As consumers continue to reel from high prices of rice and other commodities, it is upsetting to hear that nearly a third of the country’s agricultural production is wasted simply because of the poor...
View ArticleTraffic capital of the world
Coldplay’s lead vocalist Chris Martin didn’t mince words describing the traffic gridlock his entourage endured en route to the Philippine Arena in Bulacan for the group’s “Music of the Spheres” world...
View ArticleLTO’s plastic card fiasco
Unless something drastic happens to improve the status quo, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) will run out of driver’s license plastic cards by the end of next week, forcing Filipino motorists to...
View ArticleRisking lives for vanity
Health authorities should clamp down on the alarming trend of taking medical procedures — driven by the need to conform to beauty standards of being slim and fair — that not only put patients’ lives at...
View ArticleLoopholes in laws for seniors, PWDs
In response to mounting complaints especially on social media, Speaker Martin Romualdez two weeks ago called for a congressional investigation on establishments that refuse to honor discounts provided...
View ArticleWhen old becomes new
At best, “Bagong Pilipinas” may be considered a stern reminder from President Marcos himself for government workers to provide “responsive, efficient service,” to define the new brand of governance...
View ArticleQuashing a seditious idea
In a show of pique amid his escalating word war with President Marcos whom he publicly described as a “drug addict,” former president Rodrigo Duterte last week raised the “desirability of Mindanao...
View ArticleUpping our game vs cyberattacks
The Chinese embassy was understandably upset after the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) reported the hacking attempts on several government agencies’ websites by “threat...
View ArticleAn abhorrent incident
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? This initial aghast and hapless reaction over the recent ambush of a young doctor on her way to work in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, was quickly replaced...
View ArticleHealing ailing PhilHealth
What to do with the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. or PhilHealth has been a nagging question since the previous administration, when the state-run agency was found to be mired in corruption, with...
View ArticleMission: Improve air quality
Air pollution, despite the existence of numerous policies and laws, has long been the Philippines’ problem causing thousands of deaths annually and risking the health of millions more Filipinos. But...
View ArticleA CHR that bows to no one
As a constitutional creation, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is something of an anomaly. By virtue of its mandate, the commission is a one-of-a-kind public agency whose purpose is to protect the...
View ArticleNew stewards of La Mesa Ecopark
After almost 25 years, ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. (AFI) is relinquishing its role as steward of the La Mesa Nature Reserve and La Mesa Ecopark, and it is leaving it in a much better state than when it...
View ArticleTest of subpoena power of Congress
A test of wills looms between Congress and Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder and leader Apollo Quiboloy. Speaker Martin Romualdez had issued a subpoena to Quiboloy to attend the hearing of the House...
View ArticleRevitalizing the Filipino film industry
The over P1 billion gross revenues from the recent Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) gave much-needed vigor to the local film industry which has been down in the slumps since the pandemic. The...
View ArticleEnvironmental menace
More than the skirmishes happening above water in the West Philippine Sea, the destruction of corals and marine ecosystems underneath is the bigger crime that should concern countries in territorial...
View ArticleFearing Edsa
So who’s afraid of Edsa, the 1986 people power revolt that ousted strongman President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and ended martial law, one of the darkest chapters in the country’s history? The people behind...
View ArticleCorruption in the way of peace
A senator has alleged that commanders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are taking 50-percent cuts from the P100,000 cash grant given by the government to each rebel returnee in exchange for...
View ArticleUnreliable online surveys
The campaign for the midterm elections on May 12, 2025 has started on social media. There are numerous online posts of survey reports that purport to show that some personalities supposedly enjoy wide...
View ArticleRespect, propriety, and role-modelling
In a classic case of adding fuel to the fire, Sen. Robinhood Padilla initially laughed off the public outcry over his wife Mariel’s beauty drip session inside his office at the Senate last week:...
View ArticleFinancial relief for seniors
Every peso counts in these inflationary times. That’s why the recent increase in the special weekly discount in basic goods extended to senior citizens brings much relief to our graying population....
View ArticleMaking our roads safer
The rapid growth of electric bicycles (e-bikes) and e-trikes is a global phenomenon, brought by the need for a safer and reliable mode of travel, especially during the pandemic when public transport...
View ArticleBeyond ‘Tatak Pinoy’ branding
Filipino mangoes are top of mind when one thinks of “Tatak Pinoy”: sweet and succulent, well-known around the world. Dried mangoes are easily recognizable as a Philippine product overseas. But there is...
View ArticleSecuring PH’s energy future
Described as the largest deal in the energy sector in a decade, three of the country’s top tycoons have forged a mega $3.3-billion deal to launch the country’s “first and most expansive” liquefied...
View ArticleNaia’s resident bloodsuckers
The obvious joke, of course, is that life in the Philippines has become so awful even the local “surot” or bedbugs are making a beeline for the airport to hop off to greener pastures abroad. Then...
View ArticleWinning the fight against obesity
Obesity has become a massive public health concern in the Philippines, where close to two of every five adults aged 20 and 59 are either obese or overweight, putting them at great risk of contracting...
View ArticleNo to eased civilian gun policy
As if the hands of the Philippine National Police were not already full attending to the proliferation of loose firearms in the country, it wants to put more lethal guns at the hands of civilians. A...
View ArticleCure DOH inefficiency
It has been 690 days today since the law granting allowances to public and private health-care workers (HCWs) for their service during the COVID-19 pandemic was signed on April 27, 2022. That’s almost...
View ArticleTraffic czar proposal may work
The suggestion to declare a “state of calamity” in Metro Manila due to the horrible traffic problem and appointing a traffic czar is something worth seriously considering. The Metro Manila Development...
View ArticleAnimal rights as humanity’s test
Humanity’s “true moral test,” the late novelist Milan Kundera wrote in his seminal work, “The Unbearable Lightness of Being,” “consists of its attitude toward those who are at its mercy: animals.” By...
View ArticleBig boost to PPP program
A development seen crucial in attracting private investors to help finance the Marcos administration’s major push to implement vital infrastructure projects transpired without much fanfare last week....
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