Business & Economics Perspective Blogger

Inquirer A day ago, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos (above) was seen ceremonially  giving away 209 Apple MacBook Neo units in Dagupan City, Pangasinan. This was news from the Inquirer . On GMA News , I thought about the DepEd deal with Apple Inc. I will give an excerpt  from the  GMA News   article on the deal itself: " We welcome Apple's participation in this procurement to bring MacBook Neo to our teachers. It isn't just about handing out world-class hardware with five-year warranties; it's about giving our educators the best tools, backed by robust training so they can focus on what matters most: teaching our children ," he (Sonny Angara, emphasis mine) added. Apple Chief Executive Officer John Ternus also spoke about the deal during Apple's Financial Results Conference Call for 4th Quarter 2026. Ternus said he was excited for the opportunities that Apple had ahead of it, including services to fields such as health and education. H...

Ateneo de Manila   It's sad, but life can get complicated. I'm currently having a series of lessons learned from certain health problems, for taking my health for granted. Right now, I'm thinking about making a blog entry on another person that I admire in the world of business and economics, namely Indian Singaporean, and founder of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy , Kishore Mahbubani. It was last October 2, 2026, when Mahbubani went to the Ateneo de Manila University, one of my dream universities back when I was younger. It was too bad I was in the middle of recovering from health issues that may kick in unawares in my 40s. When I think about it, I wonder if Hilario Davide Jr. even had the chance to be there, and I assume that the two probably met because they were both grandfathers who were once United Nations diplomats . Insights given by Mahbubani at the ADMU I gave thought to how Mahbubani recommends the Philippines, as a fellow ASEAN member, to deal with the ...

Some time ago, I wrote about two topics. The first topic was about school insults and the broken windows theory . The second was all about school violence in connection with the broken windows theory . Before August ends, I thought about the nationwide DepEd policy for an active-threat drill. The news from one school shooting after the other makes me think that school shootings aren't a joke. Sure, there are very controlled school environments like Bethany Christian School, where I remember our disciplinarian was like the late Miriam Defensor-Santiago, and that we had a very orderly drill. I had two classmates who were usually boisterous, but during that fire drill , they were at their most behaved; they didn't have to be warned; they simply complied because of the school environment.  The update on DepEd's nationwide active threats is a good thing . This is really something that makes sense: DepEd Undersecretary Malcolm Garma told a Senate hearing Thursday that the departm...

Some time ago, I remember writing about Jollibee's acquisition of Shabu All Day  and Compose Coffee . It might be easy to scream to the top of one's lungs, "Pinoy pride! The Philippines is taking over the world ! However, when news like the  recent plan of the Barito Group from Indonesia to purchase the Energy Development Corporation of the Lopezes  for $5 Billion (which might be in USD) arrived, I'm getting comments like: "This should be blocked by the Philippine Competition Commission!" "Foreign ownership of such a big percentage of our electrical generating capacity might have national security implications." "What does this mean for the Philippines' energy future? Maybe a higher price increase? The Philippines is selling everything! "The Philippines has its own but keeps selling everything." I wonder if the same people who are writing their comments danced, thinking that the Philippines was "conquering the world" th...

Updated on: July 18, 2026 Last July 7, 2026, I read an article from ABS-CBN called " A tale of two economies: Why the Philippines now lags Vietnam ". I found the art above on Facebook; perhaps it's AI art that shows the Philippines lagging behind Vietnam. The Philippines used ot be ahead, but what happened? Speaking of ABS-CBN, I'm still reminded of how the network has the tendency to be hostile to constitutional reform. Now, putting that aside, I'd like to share an excerpt from the article, for a start: The Philippine Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) admitted that the Philippines has been on a slow growth pace for the past decades. Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said many ASEAN neighbors have outgrown the country, including Vietnam. “If you’re asking why we are poor, the big part of the story is the country has not grown as fast as our neighbors,” Balisacan said. Comparing the Philippines to other ASEAN neighbors, Singapore’s GNI per capita ...

Foreign Trade University Some time ago, I remember writing two posts addressed to Kabataan Partylist. The first was where I addressed that  Kabataan Partylist needs to learn economics from Doan Thanh Nien aka the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union . Doan Thanh Nien literally means Youth Union, which makes it nearly synonymous to Kabataan Partylist . It was followed up by a post where KPL should also learn economics from the HCYU . KPL was established on June 19, 2001, while the HCYU was founded on March 30, 1931 . Both the KPL and the HCYU wear blue shirts or use the color blue. Both groups are engaged in community services, with their recruits like disaster outreach programs, cleaning services, and tree planting. However, one group updated its ideology while the other was left in the dust with outdated ideology . The KPL ideology examined  KPL's ideology can be found written in this KPL Laguna   WordPress blog: It believes that the Philippines, as a semi-colonial and...

It's really hot right now, isn't it? El Niño is approaching, yet haven't Filipinos learned anything? Back in 2024, I actually wrote an essay asking if one would rather die from heatstroke or thirst, in the name of Pinoy Pride economics . I could be getting more aggressive than usual right now. It was El Niño when I wrote the post I previously linked. Now, it's time to think about the call to subsidize electricity for the lower class. As good as it might sound on paper , however, the big problem is that the middle class and above aren't an endless wallet.  Why increasing tax rates to subsidize electricity may be a short-term solution I was even thinking if critics of the TRAIN law aren't complaining about excise taxes but the lower tax rates . Did people like those in the Makabayan Bloc and those who support them complain that by lowering tax rates, there's not enough taxes to support the electrical subsidy? Unfortunately, the Philippines' electrical sect...