Business & Economics Perspective Blogger

Here's a picture from the Dose of Disbelief Page on Facebook. Here's something that it wrote: Filipinos once trusted locally made products more than imports. Before World War II, the label "Made in the Philippines" carried prestige, not stigma, reflecting a strong sense of national confidence in domestic production. Local products such as shoes, cigars, textiles, furniture, and food were often preferred over imports. This preference was rooted in the belief that local goods were better adapted to local conditions, tastes, and were often of comparable, if not superior, quality. This period showcases a strong historical era of consumer nationalism and thriving local industries. We need to look into the context of Filipino history  If we look at the Philippine history timeline , we must account for 1935-1940, during which the Philippines was under the Commonwealth government. Independence was declared from Spain on June 12, 1898. However, there was a transition period w...

I decided to do a portfolio review, especially because Christmas to New Year is around the corner . I thought about checking my AXA Chinese Tycoon Fund. For the sake of confidentiality , I wouldn't give out the exact loss. I was tempted to sell my AXA Chinese Tycoon Fund (which was at a paper loss , not an actual loss) and go for cryptocurrency . However, after looking at the ghost of Quadriga-CX Crypto Scam  made I said, "I need to stick to what Warren Buffett said about the stock market." Buffett's advice doesn't require an MBA or even a PhD in business administration to understand them. Instead, I was looking at these lessons that Buffett such as: If I'm not willing to open to own a stock for 10 minutes, I shouldn't think of owning it for ten years! Definitely no day trading for me! The stock market is a device that transfers money from impatient people to patient people. I have to be more patient as the stock market inevitably corrects itself, unless t...

I have the tendency to use my MBA as a license to avoid criticism. It's a real problem that some people use their credentials and/or academic achievements to try and win an argument. One incident I wrote about was Rep. Raoul Abellar Manuel flexing his "smarts" by using his cum laude degree to win the argument . It was all about how I would often say, "You're the moron because I have the MBA and you don't." There are times I felt like taking an MBA would make up for my "moral shortcomings" during high school when I was barely passing (and the passing rate was 80% , which is rather high), that I wasn't having honors, and that there was this saying, " Thou grades shalt determine thy future! " That, of course, has led to the reality where cheating is prevalent .  I wanted to make a review. I took my MBA in 2011 and graduated in 2014. I always felt that the MBA program was what I needed to become "invincible". It was also at ...

I expect people to backlash on me. However, I feel I need to publish this harsh opinion. Maybe, DTI Secretary Crisina Aldeguer-Roque failed to do some necessary steps . For one, the term Noche Buena means "Good Night". One could ask, "What's for Noche Buena?" I have seen some people post the simpleng handaan as "Noche Buena" on Facebook. Somebody could say, "We bought hanging rice, grilled pork belly, and made a vegetable salad for greens." Perhaps the person only spent PHP 500.00 for the noche buena, given that the vegetables were based on availability from the time one went to the grocery.  As I read through the November 29, 2025, update  (written by John Eric Mendoza, Krixia Subingsubing, Logan Kal-El M. Zapanta), I noticed some violent reactions are from anti-reform people like the IBON Foundation and Kilusang Mayo Uno : Sonny Africa, executive director of economic watchdog Ibon Foundation , believes that even the agency knows it’s not re...

It's the first day of December. Right now, I don't even feel like celebrating Christmas. Cebu is still in a state of calamity overall. I don't even look forward to Christmas parties. I'm glad some churches have canceled Christmas parties, to divert the fundraising (such as paying PHP 500.00 per head or family) to convert them into relief goods purchases instead. However, some people can have a callous mentality that's akin to the Masque of the Red Death . Boomers may have tried seeing the film Masque of the Red Death starring the late Vincent Price. The story of the Masque of the Red Death had Prospero trying to deny the terrible plague called the Red Death, choosing to hold a lavish feast instead of helping his citizens! Lessandra The typical  Noche Buena can be high in cholesterol and the like. As I thought of DTI Secretary Christina Roque's rather tactless (but probably badly needed) statement that PHP 500.00 is enough for a Noche Buena of a family of four. T...

The Alice Guo saga seems to have come to an end, right? That's, unless of course something happens and she escapes again. This always made me laugh when I realized that, as I was writing my articles, I came across a Vietnamese girl named Ha Thi Thu Trang, aka Ha Trang, who resembles Alice. Right now, Ha Trang could come to the Philippines for a vacation and not get mistaken for the same person. Back on the topic, I would like to point out that I actually wrote a post on whether or not using Alice's controversy should be a call to shut down constitutional reform . Alice's now in jail, what's next?! I would like to let people know in advance, I'm not here to demolish Senator Maria Theresa "Risa" Baraquel-Hontiveros' efforts in getting Alice arrested. In fact, I feel grateful (in part) that Risa managed to expose Alice's lies, along with Senator Sherwin "Win" Ting Gatchalian in exposing Alice's dubious records. However, I'm going to...

Cổng thông tin Trung ương Đoàn TNCS Hồ Chí Minh A few days ago, I wrote about warning Filipinos that they shouldn't wait for more unmitigated typhoon disasters, before realizing that the Filipino First Policy isn't working ! There's a statement that says, "Just because being tanga (inattentive) is libre (free), doesn't mean you should be tanga!"  Analyzing the different policies: why policies  matter I found a Business World article, written by Cesar Polvorosa, Jr., on my Facebook news feed discussing the Vietnamese economy . In fact, it would be better to share some hard truths that the article offers about what really went wrong with the  democratic Philippines compared to Communist Vietnam : DIVERGENT ECONOMIC MODELS  Vietnam pursued an export-oriented manufacturing strategy which has proven significantly more successful over the past half century than the Philippines’ service-heavy, remittances-dependent model . Export performance alone tells a compe...

DSWD Field Office 7 - Central Visayas It's disheartening to know that after the Bogo earthquake in Cebu last September 30, 2025. Today, an earthquake Davao Oriental this day on October 10, 2025. It's sad to think that today is October 10, which is the Double 10 celebration for Taiwan . Right now, it's effortless for fools on Facebook (which is ironic) giving anti-capitalist, anti-business rants, never mind that even Vietnam is no longer solely dependent on State-Owned Enterprises! Instead, it made me think of the COVID-19 incident all over again, such as how Foodpanda and Grab, both foreign delivery services , have been helpful to Filipino businesses . Some idiots said on Facebook (and as always, I will not mention their names, they're public figures ) that it is the workers who did the work, not the owners, and that the government should provide everything. One crazy comment I got from someone on Facebook was, "Why should there be private enterprises? The DSWD is ...

Gemini AI Art A few days ago, I wrote about how Hilario G. Davide Jr. contradicted himself as a UN Diplomat, who's against 100% FDI . Right now, I need to address the partly good/partly bad advice. Indeed, we should never believe everything on the Internet. Some people can even get a paid domain  and be publishing nonsense (ex., Pinoy Ako Blog) while a blogger like myself, is trying to carefully craft posts. I thought about the sheer double standard  that I had to deal with. It's the same anti-charter change people who tell me, "Don't listen to everything on the Internet!" are also the same people who say, "You should always listen to the framers of the inviolate 1987 Constitution!" Such advice is laughable because, for one, even the late Maria Corazon "Cory" Cojuangco-Aquino spoke these words : You must define and protect our individual freedoms and rights; you must decide how our different institutions of state will relate to each other. Do n...

October is United Nations Month. I would like to bring up the issue of Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr., the favorite source and echo chamber of the anti-constitutional reform groups. I wrote an earlier post where I asked to whom Filipinos should listen to between Kishore Mahbubani and Davide, that Davide was actually a former UN diplomat , until such time of his honorable resignation . I Googled "Hilario Davide Jr. United Nations" and discovered Davide actually studied in SOKA University, during the time he was a UN diplomat ! I would even want to share these words written by Davide, 50 years after Soka University was founded. In just fifty years from its founding on April 2, 1971, our SOKA University has more than fully proven itself as the "highest seat of learning for humanistic education; cradle of a new culture; and a fortress of peace for mankind." It has gone beyond the borders of a great nation through various units in other parts of the world and its comprehens...