Shaun T. Dy's Business & Economics Perspective Blog

It's been some time since Miriam Defensor-Santiago (or MDS for short) died in 2016. It's hard to forget the time she grilled former PNP chief Alan LM Purisima over the demise of SAF-44. While listening to her sermon, I remember the teacher I fondly called "My MDS style teacher!" I still owe a debt of gratitude to her for helping me become better. Yes, she was feisty, and not so many parents liked her temper. However, she was better than that elementary mathematics teacher. I may have not done well in high school but I say she was a good teacher. I failed to think outside the box. She always made us think outside the box. It's easy to say, "Well, we just need good teachers and there's no problem with the system." However, like MDS, I'd react to that and say, "Really?" That was MDS' reaction when Purisima tried to play with words. Purisima was infamous for saying that he didn't give an order and only advice. Even funnier was when

Manuel L. Quezon III"s Twitter Account Make no mistake that as a voter, I didn't vote for President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr., I'm not a Marcos loyalist, and I don't have any doubt about the well-documented assets that the Marcos Family has. However, there's a problem that Filipinos need to face. It's the fact it's already 2024 and some of them are still blaming Marcos for things he couldn't do! Come on, Marcos Sr. has been dead for 35 years! What can a dead person do to hurt the economy? I don't doubt that the Philippines wouldn't suffer much if the Marcoses didn't steal. However, we must look past the Marcos Wealth and the current cause.  I wrote an essay refuting the idea of a neoliberal regime during the first Marcos administration . One source I cited was a study from the UP School of Economics by Emmanuel S. De Dios, citing this: That argument might hold some plausibility if the economic record was brilliant to begi

  It's easy to confuse coconut sugar with arenga sugar. Arenga sugar is derived from the arenga pinnata tree. Filipinos call the fruit "kaong"--most likely derived from the Indonesian word " kolang-kaling" . Both coconut sugar and arenga sugar are commonly palm sugar. However, knowing the difference between them. I tasted Tealive Philippines' limited coconut brown sugar . I tasted their trademark arenga sugar (read here ) and the recent coconut brown sugar. What's the difference between them? Here's an interesting contrast between coconut palm sugar and arenga palm sugar : Sugar vs Arenga – Coconut sugar and arenga sugar are tropical Asia palms. They come from a palm tree family. Despite coming from the same family, it doesn’t mean that they are the same. They are actually different even most people often mistake these two plants as the same. Coconut sugar is a sugar product from coconut tree sap. It is harvested by tapping the flower sap coconut tre

  Uproxx As Christmas is just around the corner--I feel more stress coming in! It doesn't help when people try to use the late Andy Williams' "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" to try and skip the problem. It's already known that most Filipinos love to start Christmas in September . However, the irony is that Filipinos start Christmas early but do their Christmas shopping late. If they began the Christmas Season early, shouldn't they think about what to do before December strikes?  Two years ago, I wrote a post discussing last-minute Christmas shopping . Many Filipinos tend to do last-minute Christmas shopping. They had all of November (when the Christmas sale usually begins) but why do the Christmas shopping in December ? One of the things I blame is the one-day paycheck lifestyle (see here ). It can be observed that many Filipinos never learn to prioritize more important things . One can get their stars when they see their paychecks. However, the

First and foremost, I'd like to tell people that I don't believe that the Marcos Years were the "golden years". I still agree with economist Cielo Magno that land ownership isn't a factor, since some countries without equity restrictions, don't allow foreigners to buy land. In contrast, inflation and the like were rampant during that time. However, we need to realize that any gains after EDSA 1986 weren't realized. As I was looking at Facebook, a page called Punch the Lies by Atty. Mike Navallo stated this:  FACT: The 1987 Constitution does not prohibit entry of global investors into PH. What it regulates is foreign investment in areas deemed critical such as public utilities; exploration, devt and use of natural resources; and certain investments as determined by Congress. (Art XII)   Public utilities (water, electricity, petroleum distribution, seaports, PUVs) are considered vital to socio-economic devt that's why they're subject to foreign owner

  As the countdown to Christmas continues--it's easy to expect the toxic Filipino trait that I'll dub as "Kahit Konting Awa". The literal meaning is "Just a Little Pity". I named it after that song by Nora Aunor, the theme song of The Flor Contemplacion Story . I wasn't a bit surprised when the hit movie was uploaded on VIVA Films' YouTube page last 2013 (read here ). Back on the topic, I noticed it's easy for people to desire to reconcile because it's the Christmas season. The Philippines has the longest Christmas season. However, people love to do last-minute Christmas shopping presumably due to their poor budgetary habits. Ever heard of the one-day paycheck pandemic in the Philippines? It's a common abusive trait in the Philippines to have that "Kahit Konting Awa" attitude. There's the problem of "Utang (debt) is life." It's no surprise that financial literacy is that low in the Philippines. A not fun fact a

Manuel L. Quezon III"s Twitter Account The first issue I've had is people saying on social media, "No to the parliamentary system because the first Marcos Administration was parliamentary!" It's really something because such people never bothered to do any further research. Please, knowledge isn't that expensive! Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" A. Aquino Jr. even stated, "We had a parliamentary form of government without a parliament." Later on, even Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.'s own words showed that the Philippines was still presidential . Why would people still insist that it was a parliamentary form of government? Even more, I'm not surprised that some people are saying on Facebook, "Economic charter change is all about term extension." Even worse, it can be from the Philippine mass media. Sadly, the late Lee Kuan Yew was right to fall the Philippine press rambunctious in his book From Third World to First . I can refer the book t

Tealive Asia I've tasted many milk tea brands. However, Tealive is the first one I've tasted that fits into the halal standards. Tealive Philippines has its more or less standard coffee shop food with a halal twist. During the time when the ube flavors came in-- I wrote that Tealive may want to invest in the Bangsamoro region . I checked the Tealive Asia Facebook page and found some items not yet served at Tealive Philippines. One of them is the Nasi Lemak Ayam Rendang (picture above). Historically, the Philippines has had its settlers from Malaysia and Indonesia. Taiwanese natives also descended from Malaysians and Indonesians. I even remember seeing how Malaysians and Indonesians are often mistaken as Filipinos. One might find similar delicacies between Mindanao Malaysia and Indonesia. For example, reading about  25 Malaysian desserts  made me think, "It's closer than expected!" The lokot-lokot of the Philippines is similar to the garajilu of Malaysia or Indones

I grew up complaining and complaining about stuff. I always looked at the Philippines as a hopeless case. I hated studying the Tagalog subject--which was mandatory by the DepEd. I was told, "Look lazy bum! If you want to make the Philippines a better place--study harder!" In college, I began to apply myself more seriously even if I didn't graduate summa cum laude. I felt a sense of achievement when I won a commerce award for making an outstanding difference. What I never thought was that during the practicum--it was working smart and not working hard. Sure, hard work is there but smart work allows more hard work to be done at a better pace. Not long after, I took my MBA course but it was also at that time, I was scammed . I discovered I wasn't alone in being scammed--many MBA students were scammed during the same time I was scammed! However, what I discovered was the problem of saying, "Your grades will determine your future!" It was typical in Philippine sc

  It's September and the -ber months are here. It's already known that  the Philippines has the longest Christmas celebration in the world . Christmas can be the most expensive time of the year. In the Philippines, Christmas decorations tend to be out earlier. With Christmas in mind, the keywords and key phrases that come to my mind are "overspending", "last-minute shopping", "buried in debt", "spending beyond your means", "feasting over finances", "just add sugar if it's bitter"--just to name a few of the many financial stupidities during Christmas. Such phrases can be linked to  the Filipino's typical lack of financial literacy . That's why discussing business and economics isn't more fun in the Philippines! It's not just because of financial illiteracy but also due to  economic illiteracy . Even worse, some people still adhere to what the late Lee Kuan Yew would call a third-world mentality . Suc